Say what you will about the music of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, at its best it is overwhelmingly moving, irresistibly exciting, and, above all, absolutely original. Whether at the austere heights of the Seventh Symphony or the severe depths of the Fourth Symphony, you always know you're listening to Sibelius and nobody but Sibelius. The same cannot be said of the music of Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja. At its best it is clear cut, colorful, and strong. But even at its best, its not at all original -- it sounds like Sibelius. Of course, Madetoja was not the only Scandinavian composer born a generation after Sibelius to sound like Sibelius; virtually all of them did. But sounding like Sibelius was nowhere near as good as being Sibelius, and too often his imitators only make the original sound better.
How deeply you want to explore the music of Madetoja depends on how much Sibelius you already know. For some, his three generically heroic symphonies will do for comparison with the master's utterly unique heroic symphonies. Others may want to go further and try the gaudy-colored suite from his opera The Ostrobothinians or the cheerfully pleasant Comedy Overture. Few, maybe, will reach this fifth volume of his complete orchestral works performed by Arvo Volmer leading the Oulu Symphony Orchestra. Starting with his Kullervo Overture, a work derived in part from Sibelius' Pohjola's Daughter and in part from Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture, and ending with the second suite from the ballet-pantomime Okon Fuoko, a work overlaying Sibelian harmonies and ostinatos with a polish of Bartokian percussion and a patina of Stravinskyian rhythms, Volmer leads the Oulu in thoroughly prepared and completely committed if less wholly persuasive performances. If you've already heard the first four volumes in this series, this disc will be an inevitable. Alba's sound is dry and close, but loud and clear.
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