November 11 in the Grand Guild for the first time with Latvian National Symphony Orchestra the new Finnish conductor will perform Tavi Oramo. It will be a multimedia event in the series “Symphonic Hits with Goran Gora”, which will look for a fateful turn in the relationship between Emils Darzins and Jean Sibelius in the visual form created by the artist Krišs Salmanis together with the director Roberts Rubins. Goran Gora’s account of the personality of Sibelius and Dārziņš will be complemented by video animations, as well as a discussion with conductor Tāvis Oramo about his thoughts on the “duel” of the two composers. The program includes Emil Darzins’ “Melancholic Waltz” and Jean Sibelius’s “The Swan of Tuonela” and the Sixth Symphony.
The live broadcast of the concert will be available on Thursday, November 11, from 7 pm to 8 pm free of charge on the LNSO website and YouTube account, as well as on TV4.
Conductor Tāvi Oramo has acquired conducting skills under the direction of Jorma Panula at the Panula Academy, as well as under the direction of Professors Atso Almila and Hannu Lintu at the Sibelius Academy of Music. In addition to conducting, he is fascinated by singing, and Tāvi is a great tenor, as well as in his own electroacoustic improvisation group. Filling he works with live electronics and plays the clarinet.
Do singing and playing instruments help in conducting?
Both singing and playing the instrument, as well as conducting, are part of creating music – there are many similarities and deep traditions in these areas. I have played the clarinet both as an orchestra musician and as a soloist with an orchestra, and I have sung in a choir for several years – this experience helps a lot in conducting. I have also sung Latvian music in the semi-professional Helsinki ensemble EMO, as well as in the professional choir – Helsinki Chamber Choir.
Which era’s music is most in your sight, because in Finland, as you know, contemporary music is respected? Have you ever conducted and sung at the same time?
Yes, contemporary music is played a lot in Finland. I’ve sung a couple of Romantic scores, but the structure of the music is more important here than the era. Sometimes singing and conducting go hand in hand, but it’s a big challenge! I don’t tend to highlight priorities in the age of music – I’m a universal conductor and I try to immerse myself in every direction.
How can music attract your attention – listening to it or watching a score?
It can be different, but sometimes, when you just open the score, you get an intuitive feeling that the work is absolutely complete and complete, it doesn’t happen often, but if it happens, the intuitive confirmation is very strong. And, in my opinion, this is exactly the “Melancholic Waltz” of Dārziņš – nothing to add or take away. It is a pearl and this feeling occurs only when watching the score, without even hearing the composition.
Emils Darzins and Jean Sibelius are unlikely to be friends in life – various negative events have connected these personalities. Was the choice of the program up to you or did the idea come from an orchestra?
The program was chosen by the orchestra.
Do you see a similarity between “Tuonela’s Swan” and Dārziņš’s waltz?
These are genre-specific works with little resemblance to the genre. However, it must be said that both the “Melancholic Waltz” and the “Swan of Tuonela” depict the era and speak the language of their time, so from the point of view of expression, similarities can be seen in these works.
Did you know that Darzins’ score “Lonely Pine” was called the plagiarism of “Tuonela’s Swan”. The garden was insulted by his Latvian colleague, and the composer sent his score to Sibelius. Sibelius claimed in the affirmative, and Darzins destroyed his symphonic works. But we hope to find this score in the archives of Sibelius.
I know this story, but I haven’t thought about it in detail, but I believe that the Sibelius archive is well cared for, even though several decades have passed and both composers are dead. It will open soon, in my opinion, in 2028, 70 years after the composer’s death.
What is the symphonic poem “Tuonela’s Swan” about and why is this work so important to the Finnish people?
“Tuonela Swan” is part of Leminkainen Suites, while Leminkainen is an image from the Finnish national epic “Kalevala”, which was written in the 19th century. the end. This work plays an important role in shaping Finnish nationality and is therefore a cultural artifact. Tuonela is the place of death, most likely the cave where the river flows and the Tuonela swan floats there. The epic describes the scene of Lemikainen’s mother’s visit, a very impressive and colorful page in Finnish mythology. Sibelius emphasizes the meaning of the swan in his work – in the epic it does not play a significant role, but in his symphonic poem Sibelius has illuminated the swan as a sublime, majestic and mystical symbol of death. As a farewell gesture.
The Sixth Symphony is one of Sibelius’s late works, which the composer described as cool spring water. Perhaps you can explain this Sibelius phrase to the Sixth Symphony?
This symphony is unusual with a harmonious plan solution – places in the score are total diatonic and right next door – dense chromatics. The main tone of the symphony is the sound of the moral reminor, which in my mind is associated with purity, freshness and coldness. In the symphony you will not find such drama as is typical of the genre with conflict and its resolution or victory. I would rather describe it as a work that depicts processes, such as the arrival of spring, when plants begin to sprout out of the ground and get rid of frost.
Does the absence of narrative or dramatic tension complicate or facilitate the conductor’s task in reading the symphony?
Most music doesn’t have that story! Sibelius’ Sixth Symphony is more complex in terms of conducting due to an unusual dramatic solution that does not fit on the tracks of the well-known romantic symphony with the alternation of tension and relaxation. Here the drama is composed of harmonious language, while the symphony itself is flowing.
Have you already met the LNSO and how would you describe it?
The orchestra is very responsive, I see a lot of new musicians in it, the sound is also strong.
Next to both opuses of Sibelius will be the “Melancholic Waltz” of the Garden, which our musicians know almost by heart. Do you have a different point of view in interpreting this work, or do you trust the orchestra in part?
I have a few small initiatives, but I will also trust what the music itself says, and also the orchestra, because that music is already in their blood.
Which of the conductors would you call your teachers?
I have close to several great conductors of the 20th century – Leonard Bernstein, Mravinsky, Klaiber, but I cannot take over much of what they have done today. Every conductor has to find his own inner path, it can’t be copied from anyone else, and I think that’s the only way to become a good conductor.
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