Classic Ross Amico

Category: Daily Dispatch

Kaija Saariaho Dies at 70

Kaija Saariaho, the first woman to have a work staged at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in over 100 years – since Ethel Smyth’s “Der Wald” in 1903! – has died. Saariaho was one of Finland’s foremost composers.

Saariaho’s “L’Amour de loin” (“Love from Afar”) was performed at the Met in 2016. Originally presented in Salzburg 16 years earlier, the opera is a meditation on the idealized love between a French troubadour and a countess of Tripoli. The two are separated by the Mediterranean Sea.

Saariaho’s most recent opera, “Innocence,” composed in 2018, examines the aftermath of a school shooting in Helsinki. “Innocence” is projected to be heard at the Met in the 2025-26 season.

In February 2021, Saariaho was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, but was able to carry on successfully until fairly recently, when she entered the terminal phase of her illness. Her last completed work was a trumpet concerto, “Hush,” completed in March and scheduled for performance in Helsinki in August.

Saariaho was born in Helsinki in 1952. She studied at the Sibelius Academy with Paavo Heininen. Following summer courses in Darmstadt, she attended the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, where she studied with Brian Ferneyhough and Klaus Huber. In Darmstadt, she was influenced by a concert of spectral music by Tristan Murail and Gérard Grisey. This led her to Paris to study electronic music at the avant-garde institute IRCAM.

Saariaho claimed to experience a kind of synesthesia, in which all of her senses were engaged in composition. She once commented that “the visual and the musical world are all one to me.”

She was married to composer, computer scientist, and sometimes collaborator Jean-Baptiste Barrière. The two were separated for a time, as the COVID-19 pandemic intensified while she was away, visiting Helsinki, and they were forced to live apart. “L’Amour de loin,” indeed!

Even in the years she lived abroad in Germany and France, she always held Finland very dear. Like Sibelius, she found inspiration in the country’s ample natural world, citing specifically the big forests she knew during the summers of her childhood; also the sounds of wind, waves, and footsteps in the snow.

In April, Saariaho endowed the construction of a new organ at the Helsinki Music Center with one million euros (US $1,072,450) . She was also the chair of the International Kaija Saariaho Organ Composition Competition.

During her career, she was the recipient of many awards. In 2011, “L’Amour de loin” was recognized with a Grammy for Best Opera Recording.

This morning, she died peacefully at her home in Paris. At the time of her death, she was counted among the world’s leading composers. Saariaho was 70 years-old.

“L’Amour de loin” at the Met

“Graal théâtre” for violin and orchestra

“Orion”

“Nymphéa (Jardin Secret III) for string quartet and electronics

“Six Japanese Gardens” for percussion

“Sept Papillons” for solo cello

A brief interview with the composer

June 2, 2023
Picture Perfect vs. Sci-Fi Airing Conflict

And all at once, I find I am competing against myself…

Since my shows were dropped from WWFM The Classical Network, after a combined run of 23 years, the only way to enjoy their broadcast is in syndication. As things stand, the most reliable source for “Picture Perfect” and “The Lost Chord” is now KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon.

Unfortunately, that means that “Picture Perfect” now streams directly opposite “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner!” Holy Agamemnon!

But I’m working on it. Now that the sound files are in my possession, and I’ve got the equipment so that I can finally think about recording some fresh episodes, I’ll be pushing for the shows’ distribution to other markets, so that hopefully soon they will be available to listen to at a variety times.

For tonight, you’ve got a difficult decision to make, between a recorded hour of music from films set during the Restoration, on “Picture Perfect,” and a livestream discussion of Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange,” on “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.”

Interestingly, there is some overlap, as both employ references to the music of Henry Purcell (“The Fairy Queen,” on the one hand, and “Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary,” on the other).

That said, this week on “Picture Perfect,” beauty patches are back! It’s an hour of lace and licentiousness, with music from movies set during the reign of Charles II.

“Restoration” (1995) features quite the cast, with a pre-“Iron Man” Robert Downey, Jr. as a young doctor torn between duty and debauchery. He succumbs to the latter at the court of Charles, played by Sam Neill, before finding redemption as he battles the Great Plague and braves the Fire of London. The film also stars David Thewlis, Polly Walker, Meg Ryan, Ian McKellen, and Hugh Grant. The main title of James Newtown Howard’s score takes its impetus from Purcell’s “The Fairy Queen.” And indeed, there are baroque inflections throughout.

George Sanders plays Charles in “The King’s Thief” (1955). Edmund Purdom is a highwayman who pilfers an incriminating book from David Niven. An aristocratic schemer, Niven will stop at nothing to get it back. The swashbuckling score is by Miklós Rózsa.

I don’t recall Charles making an appearance in “The Draughtsman’s Contract” (1982), Peter Greenaway’s saucy, though strangely aloof, Restoration opus. However, there is plenty of licentiousness and an abundance of outlandish wigs. And, it being a Greenaway film, it is certainly strange in more ways than one. Michael Nyman’s score puts a minimalist spin on baroque sources. (Purcell is listed in the film’s credits as “musical consultant.”) For the theme, Nyman whips “The Fairy Queen” into a kind of musical egg cream, complete with 1950s-style rock and roll saxophones.

Finally, “Forever Amber” (1947) is based on a then-scandalous novel by Kathleen Winsor, about an ambitious young woman’s rise through the bedchambers of the Royal Court. The film was directed by Otto Preminger. Linda Darnell is Amber. Once again, George Sanders plays Charles, eight years before reprising the role for “The King’s Thief.” Cornel Wilde, Richard Greene, and Jessica Tandy are also in the cast. Philadelphia-born composer David Raksin, he of “Laura” fame, plays fast and loose with music of the era.

Bwoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! It’s so naughty! Everyone, giggle into your handkerchiefs and wear ribbons on your shoes. We’ll be powdering our faces and going heavy on the rouge, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, now in syndication on KWAX.

“Picture Perfect” and “The Lost Chord” can now be streamed at the following times at the link below. Keep in mind that KWAX is on the West Coast, so there’s a three-hour time difference (conversions are included in parentheses) – actually rather convenient for those of us located in the vicinity of their erstwhile home at WWFM.

PICTURE PERFECT – Fridays on KWAX at 5:00 PACIFIC TIME (8:00 PM EDT)

THE LOST CHORD – Saturdays on KWAX at 4:00 PACIFIC TIME (7:00 PM EDT)

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

The ”Clockwork Orange” livestream can be seen here, on Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, tonight at 7:30 EDT:

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

June 2, 2023
A Clockwork Orange: Funny or Frightening?

With my lifelong love of classical music – and subversive sense of humor – one might well wonder why it’s taken us so long to get around to discussing “A Clockwork Orange” (1971). Stanley Kubrick’s controversial adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel presents an intelligent young sociopath who gets up to all sorts of hooliganism while worshipping Beethoven. We’ll talk about it this week on “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.”

Oscar Wilde wrote, “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all.”

One could just as easily apply Wilde’s maxim to Kubrick’s film. Both film and book portray acts of “ultra violence” that, by all rights, should be both horrific and repellent, and yet Kubrick presents the material in such a way that the story comes across, basically, as a black comedy. And there’s the rub.

The film is actually quite funny, in a twisted sort of way, with deliberately outrageous costumes and set design, grotesque cinematography, and exaggerated performances. Electronically-altered Beethoven and hyperkinetic Rossini grace the equally over-the-top soundtrack. And then there’s Gene Kelly.

We’re like Alex and his droogs, exceeding all speed-limits, on a nocturnal joyride in a stolen supercar. When all at once we’re brought up short by the content of a particular scene that we know should be horrifying, suddenly we’re conscious of the inappropriateness of the rigored smile on our lips. That’s when the movie becomes truly disturbing.

Kubrick subjects us to an inversion of Alex’s rehabilitation therapy, in which we find a peculiar enjoyment in violence, but then the therapy is reversed, so that we realize how monstrous we’ve allowed our sympathies to become. It’s a great trick, Kubrick turning a cold lens on the viewer. It’s the most subversive element in a film that seems to embrace subversion.

The peel of “A Clockwork Orange” turns out to be a multilayered one. There are all sorts of interesting questions raised about free will, government, science, correctional institutions, violence and objectification, and yes, morality. Watching “A Clockwork Orange” is like being stretched around inside a taffy puller. Yet somehow, it’s also very, very funny. To some.

Over the years, I’ve come to realize there are those who are not equipped to take the journey: basically those who see no humor in it at all. These fall into two categories: those who find the characters’ behavior too difficult to watch; and those who glorify and emulate it. It’s a movie that inspired copycat crimes, and which became a popular defense among attorneys arguing for lighter sentences for their juvenile clients. Kubrick himself had it pulled from distribution in the U.K., where he made his home, after receiving multiple death threats. The film is especially attractive to young people, which is why you still see so many Little Alexes strolling around college campuses at Halloween.

Should we blame the movie for celebrating violence? Or is, in fact, “A Clockwork Orange” neither moral nor immoral? It’s a film that plays with our perceptions by forcing us to acknowledge some nauseating truths – holding our eyes open, as it does Alex’s – even as we laugh at some very inappropriate jokes.

For the politically correct, I’m guessing, it’s a film that has aged very badly; but for students of human nature, it’s all too up-to-date.

Just one man’s analysis. There’s plenty of food for thought, as we mark my third anniversary as neither a moral nor an immoral co-host on Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Orange you eager to be in the comments section? We’ll be there like “Clockwork,” as we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc., this Friday evening at 7:30 EDT.

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

Viddy well, little brothers!

Did you know that Anthony Burgess himself was a composer? In fact, he considered himself as much a composer as a writer. You can check out his “Petite Symphonie pour Strasbourg” here:

A rediscovered Cello Sonata, appropriate Memorial Day, it turns out, since the slow movement bears the dedication “For the Dead 1939-45.”

Burgess works for piano

June 2, 2023
Bach’s Leipzig Cantor: 300 Years of Music

On this date in 1723 – 300 years ago today – Johann Sebastian Bach was formally inducted as Thomaskantor in Leipzig. In this capacity, he was to direct the St. Thomas School and provide music for four churches: primarily the St. Thomas Church and the St. Nicholas Church, but to a lesser extent also the New Church and St. Peter’s Church. It’s easy to understand why this would have been regarded as the leading cantorate in Protestant Germany. Bach held the position for 27 years until his death in 1750.

During that time he gained further prestige through honorary appointments at the courts of Köthen and Weissenfels, as well as that of the Elector Frederick Augustus in Dresden (who was also King of Poland).

As can be imagined, with all these professional obligations to fulfill, Bach churned out an extraordinary amount of music. In the first three years alone, he composed most of his over 300 cantatas (more than 100 of which have been lost).

The crushing workload must have seemed all the more burdensome because of frequent clashes with his employer, Leipzig’s city council, which was begrudging when it came to ever spending any money.

It may seem incredible in hindsight, but Bach was not the first choice for the position. That would have been Georg Philipp Telemann. But Telemann declined, because the money was too good in Hamburg.

The second choice was Christoph Graupner, not exactly a household name today, perhaps, but he composed a lot of music worth rediscovering. Graupner had an “in” as a former student of Bach’s predecessor as Thomaskantor, Johann Kuhnau. Unfortunately, his patron at the time wouldn’t let him go. But to his credit, Graupner graciously wrote Bach a glowing recommendation.

Both Telemann and Graupner were able to leverage the prestigious job offer to improve their worth to their current employers. In particular, Graupner was able to collect his back salary in financially rocky Darmstadt, and he was given a substantial raise.

Here is the first of the cantatas Bach wrote for his new post. “Die Elenden sollen essen” (“All the starving shall be nourished”), BWV 75, was first performed on May 30, 1723, the first Sunday after Trinity, in St. Nicholas Church, two days before the composer took up his official duties.

Leipzig certainly got its money’s worth with its new hire. You might say, it got a lot of bang for its Bach!

PHOTO: Bach statue outside St. Thomas Church

June 1, 2023
Kryptonian Reporter Earthly Adventures

Great Scott! That’s what happens when you take a mild-mannered reporter from the red sun of Krypton to the yellow sun of Earth.

Watch for my next article, about this year’s Princeton Festival, in the June 7 edition of the Princeton weekly U.S. 1.

While you’re waiting, check out the festival schedule and start making plans: princetonsymphony.org/festival

May 31, 2023

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