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Sonja Fraki - Kalevi Aho: Works for Solo Piano (2014)

Posted By: Designol
Sonja Fraki - Kalevi Aho: Works for Solo Piano (2014)

Sonja Fräki - Kalevi Aho: Works for Solo Piano (2014)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 246 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 169 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: BIS | # BIS-SCAD-2106 | Time: 01:13:22

Known particularly for his orchestral output 16 symphonies and 21 concertos to date! the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho was recently described in Gramophone as having a strong claim to the title of greatest living symphonist. But as followers of the ongoing releases of his music on BIS will know, Aho has also composed a large number of works for smaller forces quartets and quintets, duos and solo pieces. On the present disc, the Finnish pianist Sonja Fräki presents his output for solo piano, comfortably fitting on one disc, but nevertheless spanning some 30 years of a long career. The disc in fact opens with Ahos earliest published work, the Nineteen Preludes from 1965-68, written before the composer had begun any formal studies of either composition or the piano. There is even a first version of Prelude No. 8 dating from 1963, when Kalevi Aho was in his early teens and was just beginning to teach himself the piano, writing music intended mainly as practice pieces for his own use. Since then Aho has composed for other budding pianists the Two Easy Piano Pieces for Children and the Sonatina but as in much of his other music, the works for piano display his characteristic fascination with the virtuosic and technically brilliant side of music-making. On the present disc, this quality comes to the fore in the Sonata, with its sparkling first movement and percussive, toccata-like second movement followed by a searching Tranquillo molto, characterized by a trill which continues almost without interruption throughout the movement. Commissioned as a set piece for a piano competition, Solo II is likewise a challenge for any pianist, and forms part of a series of big (roughly ten-minute) solo works for various instruments, of which several have been recorded by BIS.

BIS’s unwavering commitment to the music of Kalevi Aho means we seldom have to wait very long to hear the composer’s latest creations on disc or download. The most recent were the horn and theremin concertos, the first of which impressed me a great deal, the second rather less so (review). While the latter may have disappointed me a tad, Carolina Eyck's mastery of the 'ether organ' is beyond question. Now we have a collection of Aho's piano music, some of which dates from his school days; ah yes, one might think, the derivative/precocious scribblings of a young wannabe. Well, nothing could be further from the truth.

The pianist Sonja Fräki is new to me; she specialises in contemporary music and the fact that she chose Aho’s piano works as the subject of her doctoral thesis at Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy must surely make her an ideal interpreter of these pieces. The recording was made in the composer’s presence, which adds even more weight to this enterprise. I would have expected Aho to write the liner-notes, but this time it’s left to Fräki; she’s admirably concise and strikes a good balance between the music’s genesis and content.

The classical canon is peppered with significant sets of preludes, so carrying on this noble tradition might seem like an impossible challenge, especially since Aho began his while he was just sixteen. I'm astonished by the variety and imagination of these pieces, played here with a burning advocacy that most composers can only dream about. Yes, there are many references to earlier composers, stretching back to Bach, but as so often with Aho he integrates these echoes into music that’s unequivocally – even defiantly – his own.

I tend to praise Hyperion for the excellence of their piano sound, which few labels can match. Well, I’m happy to make an exception here, for the BIS team have captured all the richness and weight of Fräki’s Steinway D in a recording of tremendous range and presence. There's no doubt that the combined immediacy and sophistication of this release adds much to one's enjoyment - and critical perceptions - of this moreish music. Ditto the choice of performing space, the crystal clear but never sterile-sounding Nya Paviljongen, Grankulla.

In 1971 Aho set out to write a set of ten études, which he never completed; the Three Small Piano Pieces are as far as he got. Less than four minutes in length this is a powerful, imposing set of miniatures that combines spike and spontaneity, reflection and robustness. That same compactness is transferred to the Two Easy Piano Pieces for Children which, as the title implies, were written for teaching purposes. The solemn but quirky little Andante is charming and the sudden tantrums of the Allegretto had me laughing out loud. Now this is the kind of witty and refreshing fare I’d have loved when learning to play the piano.

The three-movement Sonatina for Piano shows how far Aho had come by the early 1990s; added to that early assurance is a formal clarity and heightened awareness of shape and colour. The scintillating Toccata is splendid, but it’s the metropolitan rush and jangle of the Prestissimo that will take your breath away. Fractious but never fractured, Fräki brings a precision and energy to these bravura bursts that had me mentally applauding her at every turn. Solo II, written as a competition test piece, could so easily deteriorate into a fatigue-inducing obstacle course for aspiring concert pianists; that it doesn’t is a tribute to Fräki’s ability to imbue the ‘double notes, fast leaps and runs’ with a surprising degree of warmth and character.

As if that weren’t enough the Sonata for Piano does indeed live up to Fräki’s description of it as Aho’s most important piece for solo piano. Cast in three fairly short movements it has an elusive, tangential opener that underlines this pianist’s remarkable powers of articulation, not to mention her sure sense of musical shape and thrust. The work itself is technically demanding and yet, as so often with Aho, it still engages and entertains. That’s a sleight of hand, to encompass all these things at once; indeed, this must be one of the most fertile and intellectually satisfying solo piano pieces I’ve heard in ages. The Tranquillo molto emerges as if in a daze, only to morph into a finale of formidable stamina and length of stride.

Anyone who reads and dips into a newly celebrated author’s early oeuvre is apt to be disappointed by those fledgling efforts. Not so Aho’s Nineteen Preludes which, already so well formed, point confidently towards the future. Precocity there is none, just fine music intelligently wrought. Factor in Fräki’s fabulous playing and BIS’s bar-raising sonics and you have a very desirable issue indeed.

A genuine jaw-dropper, this; almost certain to be one of my recordings of the year.

Review by Dan Morgan, MusicWeb-International.com


Sonja Fraki - Kalevi Aho: Works for Solo Piano (2014)



Sonja Fraki - Kalevi Aho: Works for Solo Piano (2014)

Sonja Fräki


Tracklist:

01. Nineteen Preludes - 1. Tranquillo (01:36)
02. Nineteen Preludes - 2. Allegro vivace (00:28)
03. Nineteen Preludes - 3. Semplice (01:43)
04. Nineteen Preludes - 4. Presto (02:19)
05. Nineteen Preludes - 5. Grave (02:13)
06. Nineteen Preludes - 6. Maestoso (01:33)
07. Nineteen Preludes - 7. Presto (02:04)
08. Nineteen Preludes - 8. Allegretto (01:16)
09. Nineteen Preludes - 9. Lento assai (02:11)
10. Nineteen Preludes - 10. Prestissimo (01:22)
11. Nineteen Preludes - 11. Andante (00:55)
12. Nineteen Preludes - 12. Allegro - Maestoso (02:03)
13. Nineteen Preludes - 13. Allegretto (01:33)
14. Nineteen Preludes - 14. Grave (01:57)
15. Nineteen Preludes - 15. Moderato grazioso (01:40)
16. Nineteen Preludes - 16. Moderato (02:03)
17. Nineteen Preludes - 17. Andante - Allegro - Adagio (03:09)
18. Nineteen Preludes - 18. Lento assai, esitante (02:56)
19. Nineteen Preludes - 19. Tranquillo (01:54)

20. Three Small Piano Pieces - 1. Maestoso (02:10)
21. Three Small Piano Pieces - 2. Tranquillo (01:10)
22. Three Small Piano Pieces - 3. Maestoso (00:39)

23. Two Easy Piano Pieces for Children - 1. Andante (01:30)
24. Two Easy Piano Pieces for Children - 2. Allegretto (00:46)

25. Sonatina for Piano - 1. Toccata. Presto (01:38)
26. Sonatina for Piano - 2. Andante (02:48)
27. Sonatina for Piano - 3. Prestissimo (01:59)

28. Solo II (10:57)

29. Sonata for Piano - 1. (03:20)
30. Sonata for Piano - 2. Allegro molto (03:19)
31. Sonata for Piano - 3. Tranquillo molto (07:57)


Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011

EAC extraction logfile from 1. May 2015, 1:48

Sonja Fräki / Kalevi Aho - Piano Music

Used drive : HL-DT-STDVDRAM GU70N Adapter: 0 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
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Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 48
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Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "Date=%year%" -T "Genre=%genre%" %source%


TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
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2 | 1:36.45 | 0:28.15 | 7245 | 9359
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6 | 8:21.50 | 1:33.15 | 37625 | 44614
7 | 9:54.65 | 2:04.39 | 44615 | 53953
8 | 11:59.29 | 1:16.03 | 53954 | 59656
9 | 13:15.32 | 2:11.08 | 59657 | 69489
10 | 15:26.40 | 1:22.05 | 69490 | 75644
11 | 16:48.45 | 0:55.60 | 75645 | 79829
12 | 17:44.30 | 2:03.32 | 79830 | 89086
13 | 19:47.62 | 1:33.61 | 89087 | 96122
14 | 21:21.48 | 1:57.61 | 96123 | 104958
15 | 23:19.34 | 1:40.11 | 104959 | 112469
16 | 24:59.45 | 2:03.35 | 112470 | 121729
17 | 27:03.05 | 3:09.21 | 121730 | 135925
18 | 30:12.26 | 2:56.44 | 135926 | 149169
19 | 33:08.70 | 1:54.21 | 149170 | 157740
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21 | 37:13.68 | 1:10.59 | 167543 | 172851
22 | 38:24.52 | 0:39.67 | 172852 | 175843
23 | 39:04.44 | 1:30.00 | 175844 | 182593
24 | 40:34.44 | 0:46.41 | 182594 | 186084
25 | 41:21.10 | 1:38.52 | 186085 | 193486
26 | 42:59.62 | 2:48.37 | 193487 | 206123
27 | 45:48.24 | 1:59.66 | 206124 | 215114
28 | 47:48.15 | 10:57.29 | 215115 | 264418
29 | 58:45.44 | 3:20.01 | 264419 | 279419
30 | 62:05.45 | 3:19.26 | 279420 | 294370
31 | 65:24.71 | 7:57.44 | 294371 | 330189


Range status and errors

Selected range

Filename C:\temp\BIS-SACD-2106 - Aho - Works for Solo Piano - Fraki\Kalevi Aho - Piano Music.wav

Peak level 95.9 %
Extraction speed 2.3 X
Range quality 100.0 %
Test CRC EE68DF91
Copy CRC EE68DF91
Copy OK

No errors occurred


AccurateRip summary

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None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database

End of status report

==== Log checksum F2E832B133CCCB87149F6CC981C944F1E30E17768C037DB95A044E149A6FC941 ====

foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-01-27 15:58:56

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Sonja Fraki / Kalevi Aho - Piano Music
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR12 -10.70 dB -28.72 dB 1:37 01-Nineteen Preludes - 1. Tranquillo
DR11 -4.72 dB -20.37 dB 0:28 02-Nineteen Preludes - 2. Allegro vivace
DR11 -12.75 dB -30.39 dB 1:44 03-Nineteen Preludes - 3. Semplice
DR12 -2.56 dB -17.94 dB 2:19 04-Nineteen Preludes - 4. Presto
DR12 -2.70 dB -20.45 dB 2:14 05-Nineteen Preludes - 5. Grave
DR11 -4.03 dB -18.86 dB 1:33 06-Nineteen Preludes - 6. Maestoso
DR11 -2.50 dB -17.16 dB 2:05 07-Nineteen Preludes - 7. Presto
DR12 -8.14 dB -24.35 dB 1:16 08-Nineteen Preludes - 8. Allegretto
DR15 -7.01 dB -28.10 dB 2:11 09-Nineteen Preludes - 9. Lento assai
DR12 -1.82 dB -17.31 dB 1:22 10-Nineteen Preludes - 10. Prestissimo
DR11 -11.87 dB -25.78 dB 0:56 11-Nineteen Preludes - 11. Andante
DR12 -4.66 dB -21.11 dB 2:03 12-Nineteen Preludes - 12. Allegro - Maestoso
DR10 -5.31 dB -19.13 dB 1:34 13-Nineteen Preludes - 13. Allegretto
DR13 -10.93 dB -29.19 dB 1:58 14-Nineteen Preludes - 14. Grave
DR10 -5.21 dB -19.23 dB 1:40 15-Nineteen Preludes - 15. Moderato grazioso
DR11 -5.52 dB -19.70 dB 2:03 16-Nineteen Preludes - 16. Moderato
DR11 -3.06 dB -19.91 dB 3:09 17-Nineteen Preludes - 17. Andante - Allegro - Adagio
DR13 -8.29 dB -28.09 dB 2:57 18-Nineteen Preludes - 18. Lento assai, esitante
DR12 -10.75 dB -26.75 dB 1:54 19-Nineteen Preludes - 19. Tranquillo
DR12 -2.49 dB -19.21 dB 2:11 20-Three Small Piano Pieces - 1. Maestoso
DR10 -9.76 dB -26.09 dB 1:11 21-Three Small Piano Pieces - 2. Tranquillo
DR10 -2.98 dB -15.86 dB 0:40 22-Three Small Piano Pieces - 3. Maestoso
DR12 -11.46 dB -30.15 dB 1:30 23-Two Easy Piano Pieces for Children - 1. Andante
DR17 -0.37 dB -22.28 dB 0:47 24-Two Easy Piano Pieces for Children - 2. Allegretto
DR11 -0.53 dB -16.81 dB 1:39 25-Sonatina for Piano - 1. Toccata. Presto
DR12 -11.72 dB -28.21 dB 2:48 26-Sonatina for Piano - 2. Andante
DR10 -2.09 dB -16.61 dB 2:00 27-Sonatina for Piano - 3. Prestissimo
DR12 -1.81 dB -18.94 dB 10:57 28-Solo II
DR13 -3.06 dB -20.95 dB 3:20 29-Sonata for Piano - 1.
DR12 -0.36 dB -15.95 dB 3:19 30-Sonata for Piano - 2. Allegro molto
DR12 -3.43 dB -21.38 dB 7:58 31-Sonata for Piano - 3. Tranquillo molto
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 31
Official DR value: DR12

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 466 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

Sonja Fraki - Kalevi Aho: Works for Solo Piano (2014)

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