Erkki Melartin - Symphony No. 1 in C Minor Op. 30 No. 1 (1902)
Conducted by Leonid Grin with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra.
I. Adagio - Allegro Molto Moderato E Energico - 00:00
II. Adagio - 8:58
 |
| English: Finnish composer Erkki Melartin. Suomi: Suomalainen säveltäjä Erkki Melartin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
IV. Finale - Allegro Vivace - 18:59
The First Symphony was completed in 1902, and Melartin was careful - consciously or unconsciously - of treading in the footsteps of Sibelius, who had made his debut as a symphonic composer only a few years earlier. The premiere of the symphony in the following year attracted much interest, since at the time symphonic composition had only been seriously practised in Finland (apart from a few curiosities) by Sibelius and Ernst Mielck, who died of tuberculosis at the early age of 21 in 1899. Although the symphony was well received, Melartin refashioned the work in 1905.
The opening movement is in sonata form; it is a dramatic outreach towards the Mahlerian sound ideal. The fifths and octaves of the main theme hark back to Bruckner. As the final third of the movement begins and the music turns into a major key, the orchestra abruptly stops playing and a stroke on the gong is heard - an excellent dramatic moment. The main theme recurs like a leitmotif in the later movements. The Adagio, which is in E major, begins with a broad string theme that becomes more passionate and is repeated on horns and trumpets. The snare drum and bass drum pitch the music into a more feverish drive, but the movement concludes in a slower, lyrical mood.
The Scherzo became a popular concert piece in its own right in its day. The main reason for this was probably the folk song incorporated into it, Ol' kaunis kesäilta (It was a fair summer evening), since when the symphony was written, Finland was being oppressed by the Russian government, and any reference to a Finnish subject constituted a political gesture and aroused national feeling. The quote is particularly delicious in that the duple-time melody is grafted onto a triple-time accompaniment.
In the finale, the most conspicuous theme is the one that later appeared fully developed in Melartin's best known incidental piece, the Juhlamarssi (Festive march) to the music for Prinsessa Ruusunen (Sleeping Beauty). The concluding movement is a good example of Melartin's penchant for counterpoint to bind together several motifs.
Erkki Melartin - Symphony No. 2 in E Minor Op. 30 No. 2 (1904)
Conducted by Leonid Grin with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra.
I. Andante Tranquillo - Allegro - 00:00
II. Andante - 6:46
III. Scherzo - Allegro Vivace - 15:03
IV. Finale - Vivace - 20:45
The Second Symphony differs most conspicuously from its predecessor in that it is ostensibly in a single movement. Although it can be easily analyzed into a traditional four-movement symphony, Melartin did not make the boundaries between the movements clear - otherwise, he might as well have numbered the movements as usual and indicated that they were to be played attacca. The actual form brings out the single-movement structure better, enabling Melartin to use themes across the section boundaries.
The premiere of the Second Symphony was almost as eagerly expected as that of the First. It took place at Melartin's composition concert in Helsinki on February 1, 1905; the Symphony was in fact completed in the previous year. Melartin was clearly determined to establish himself as a symphonic composer, since around this period he wrote three symphonies within a short space of time.
Melartin himself presented an exhaustive thematic analysis of his new symphony in issue 2/1905 of the periodical Finsk Musikrevy. The themes are, if not programmatic, clearly defined in their moods and described by the composer as, for instance, the "threatening fifth motif," the "battle motif," the "cry-for-help motif," the "lonely autumn melody" and the "bellicose theme."
The bellicose theme is the main subject of the first section, and it is referred to several times later. The second subject, appearing in the Andante section, is strikingly similar - even harmonically - to the second subject of the first movement of the Sixth Symphony, written 20 years later. The Scherzo section in E minor is in a brisk tempo, slowing down in the major-key Trio. The ominous theme of the opening returns at the end of the Scherzo.
As in the First Symphony, the proportion of counterpoint in the texture increases as the finale begins, a hallmark of Melartin's. In the main theme of the finale, the composer identified a "Karelian national" tone.
Erkki Melartin - Symphony No. 3 in F Major Op. 40 (1906)
Conducted by Leonid Grin with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra.
I. Allegro Moderato - 00:00
II. Andante - 9:01
III. Scherzo - Vivacissimo - 18:13
IV. Largo - 28:29
Melartin's Third Symphony was his first in a major key. Here, he returned to the four-movement format and an idiom closer to the world of the First Symphony. The atmosphere is dual: bright moments are juxtaposed with more sombre motifs.
The Third Symphony was premiered at Melartin's next composition concert in 1907. He refashioned the work in the following year. He sidestepped direct comparisons with Sibelius by sticking to his chosen mode of expression in which a symphony was to contain, if not "the whole world," at least "the whole of Finland," albeit there are no actual folk song quotes in this symphony.
The Brucknerian main subject of the first movement appears in every movement of the symphony. The Allegro moderato is many-faceted: ethereal string tremolos and quiet moments are set against more dramatic turns where the main subject appears in both major and minor keys. The first movement contains a lot of powerful brass.
The sombre Andante opens with a harmonic continuum for winds. According to Salmenhaara, this was the first Finnish application of Schönberg's Klangfarbenmelodie principle. Melartin was not acquainted with Schönberg's theories, though. The funeral march after the main culmination of the movement associates immediately with Mahler's mournful processions. The main subject of the symphony arches magnificently over the march.
The Scherzo, contrary to usual practice, is not a light-hearted intermezzo but the most weighty movement of the entire work. It contains catchy themes and a Trio featuring a trombone section against which Melartin wrote "Todes Koral" in the score. The Trio is written contrapuntally throughout.
The finale of the symphony is also Mahlerian, being a slow Largo that nevertheless is a far cry from Mahler's gargantuan symphonic finales in several respects - it is fairly short, to begin with. Despite its slow tempo, the finale brings the threads of the symphony together and features the main subjects of all preceding movements.
Erkki Melartin - Symphony No. 4 in E Major "Summer Symphony" Op. 80 (1912)
With Pia Freund (Soprano), Lilli Paasikivi (Mezzo), and Laura Nykanen (Contralto). Conducted by Leonid Grin with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra.
I. Allegro Moderato - 00:00
II. Scherzo - Vivace - 10:33
III. Andante - 16:34
IV. Rondo - Finale - 31:20
The Fourth Symphony was premiered in 1913, two years later than Sibelius's similarly numbered symphony that had provoked deep confusion. No wonder then that Melartin's symphony was received much better, being in a lucid vein as its sub-title shows. It even contained nationalistic stylistic allusions and a direct quote from the well-known "Summer Hymn". However, Melartin was not just trying to score cheap points; his Fourth Symphony is generally regarded as one of his most masterful works, and it is without doubt the most popular of the six symphonies. It is also the most extensive. The first version must have lasted close to an hour, but the composer later revised the work on various occasions.
The opening Allegro moderato is sunny, with an airy and rhythmic main subject. The music is not all bliss, though; the second subject progresses unexpectedly into a passionate and dramatic march that breaks off at its high point into an impressive general pause, after which silent string chords conclude the movement.
The Scherzo, being here the second movement, is brisk. The Trio brings the traditional pool of tranquillity into this playfulness, which is augmented by the xylophone and solo timpani. The theme of the Trio is a counterpoint exercise: an inversion of the main subject of the first movement in triple time.
The most striking feature of the Andante movement is the trio of female singers and the folk song they sing. The solo violin plays a grand glowing Romantic theme. The meditative motif of the soprano is based on the "Birch aria" from the opera Aino, which Melartin had completed three years earlier. The second song presented by the trio is an enchanting stylized folk song.
The finale is a robust rondo. The timpani and strings lead into a new version of the symphony's main theme. The finale too is lucid and goes through several themes before launching into the "Summer Hymn" as a solemn chorale. While the melody is of Swedish origin, it is well known to all Finns and carries National Romantic overtones.
