Cello Suites 1-3 is the newest available interpretation of Cello Suites on French horn. Not any public critics are available yet, but so far the reception has been highly positive: “Hit on the bullseye: Admirable control of the instrument and an interpretation that is worth cellists to listen to, too."

As a whole, the music of Bergman could perhaps be epitomised as the coexistence of two opposing strivings: “human” music with a purpose often founded on melodic material, and music of a ritual, mythical and seemingly timeless nature. This opposition offers one angle on the meaning of modernism in relation to Bergman: rather than being an objective observer of his material in the manner of the 1950s modernists, Bergman was more of a symbolist-expressionist modernist (in the sense and the tone of, say, the poetess Edith Södergran, a Swedish-speaking Finn and a contemporary of T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound) whose works always reflect on the empirical world of the individual in a reality that will fundamentally always remain a mystery.

It is February 2021 and Berlin is unreally quiet. Snow covers the streets and muffles the sound of the few cars braving the streets of a metropolis in lockdown. Our recording location, the Staatsoper Unter der Linden, is in an equally unreal state: the hectic daily rhythm of the opera house is on hiatus, with only one opera in rehearsal, and for only one performance. And this single performance will be for an empty hall, with only cameras for audience. In the midst of this unusually quiet setting are a singer, a pianist, and a special work, Schubert’s Winterreise.The dreamy atmosphere of the city and the theatre feels extraordinarily apt, and helps us focus and tune in to the liminal world of the song cycle, a world that has fascinated us both since beginning of our studies. Winterreise brings both the performer and the listener to the fundamental questions of humanity and existence. The human and social levels of the work remain pertinent and current. Schubert’s marvellous music absorbs and intoxicates, while at the same time, demands of its performers reflection on their own limits as a musician.

The new album Intimate Landscapes for Piano contains eight piano works by our national composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) interpreted by Tuija Hakkila. The album features: Five Characteristic Impressions, Op. 103 (1923-1924), Cinq morceaux pour piano (Flower Series) op. 85 (1916-1917), Five Romantic Compositions, Op. 101 (1923-1924), Der Sturm (Storm) op. 109 (1925-1927), Cinq morceaux pour piano (Tree Series) op. 75 (1914), Fünf Skizzen (Five Sketches), Op. 114 (1929), Zwei Rondinos (Two Rondinos) Op. 68 (1912) and To My Beloved Aino JS 161 (1931).

Janne Oksasen toinen sooloalbumi sisältää Armas Järnefeltin (1869-1958) kaikki pianoteokset. Levyn 22 kappaleesta peräti 15 ovat maailman ensiäänityksiä. Levy julkaistaan maailmanlaajuisesti 19.11.2021 ja on nyt ennakkotilattavissa. Ennakkotilaajalle postitukset Suomeen kaupan päälle!The second solo album by finnish pianist Janne Oksanen includes the Complete Piano Works by Armas Järnefelt (1869-1958). A whopping 15 tracks out of the albums 22 tracks are World Premiere Recordings.

Markus Kuikka writes: “Part of the good fortune that I have had in performing premieres of freshly composed works is in its inherent unpredictability. Such is the case with the present recorded works, which were published almost three hundred years ago. I performed the fantasies for the first time in 2017, incidentally the 250th anniversary of Telemann’s death. Telemann wrote for gamba with a steady hand, displaying intimate knowledge of the instrument. When playing these works, it seemed to me that the composer was at times telling jokes or dramatic stories via the viola da gamba. He also cultivated an endlessly wide variety of composition types and characters. However, although each of the twelve fantasies in the collection of which this recording includes nine are original and unique, all of Telemann’s fantasies for viola da gamba consists of three or four "sonata- style" movements. As a result, they appear to resemble Italian sonata in their movements, although due to its improvisational character, the collection is difficult to place in any specific type of composition: fantasy after all also involves a touch of fantasy”.

Kamus Quartet, which has been awarded with a Finnish Emma Award for the best classical music album of the year and Finnish National Broadcasting Company's Record of the Year recognition, release a beautiful Baltic-themed album "For The Baltic Sea" in collaboration with the Baltic Sea Action Group. The new publication of the string quartet will feature compositions by composers from the Baltic Sea environment - Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The quartet consists of violinists Terhi Paldanius and Jukka Untamala, viola player Jussi Tuhkanen and cellist Petja Kainulainen. The Baltic Sea is a unique sea with a salinity ranging from the almost fresh water of the Gulf of Bothnia to the high salinity of the Danish straits. Therefore, the Baltic Sea is home to a special combination of both freshwater species and marine organisms that have adapted to their habitats. For centuries, the species of the Baltic Sea have had to face nutrient loads from the land and various harmful substances, which has led to, among other things, eutrophication and other serious problems. Climate change is exacerbating the problems. Curbing eutrophication and climate change, as well as protecting the unique species, is essential for rescuing the Baltic Sea. Founded in 2008, the Baltic Sea Action Group aims to restore the Baltic Sea to good ecologi-cal status in changing environmental conditions, focusing in particular on the promotion of Baltic Sea and cli-mate-friendly measures in agriculture and the protection of underwater biodiversity.

This recording is a rarity in the field of contemporary music: a powerful statement dictated by the desire of being heard. "Nostra Culpa" is a three-part recording project named after Birman-Diel’s eponymous, and much talked-about, "Twitter Opera" and exemplifies conductor Nils Schweckendiek and the Helsinki Chamber Choir’s immersive engagement with the repertoire.

On this new album Susanne Kujala plays modern organ music. The compositions of Veli Kujala, Maija Hynninen, Minna Leinonen, Olli Virtaperko and Antti Auvinen do justice to the sound mass, rhythmic vibrations and airy texture of the organ. To give contemporary composers the opportunity to explore these possibilities of sounds even further, to present the features of the organ to composers and to premiere their new works are essential goals of Kujala’s artistic work. Susanne Kujala (b. 1976 in Berlin) performs as a concert organist, chamber musician and improviser.

The fresh new release from Alba Records presents three pieces by the Finnish composer Juha Leinonen performed by world-class artists. The booklet addresses the link between different kinds of art forms as it contains a beautiful painting Landscape in a Landscape (2006) by a fellow Finn, Kuutti Lavonen. The German early romantics thought that because music, painting and poetry at their best constitute a higher poetic tongue, they cannot be described using the inadequate conceptual repertoire of normal language. Only an artwork can explain another artwork. The most perfect musical composition of all is the most perfect description of the most magnificent painted masterpiece.