Artist: Ismo Eskelinen, Lapland Chamber Orchestra, John Storgårds
Title: Kalevi Aho: Guitar Concerto; Quintet for Horn; Contrapunctus XIV
Year Of Release: 2024
Label: BIS
Genre: Classical
Quality:  24bit-96kHz FLAC (tracks + booklet)
Total Time: 01:04:51
Total Size:  1.07 GB

Tracklist:

1. Aho: Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra: I. Introduzione (2:52)
2. Aho: Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra: II. Allegro molto (5:24)
3. Aho: Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra: III. Interludio (1:50)
4. Aho: Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra: IV. Andante cantabile (6:23)
5. Aho: Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra: V. Misterioso (4:06)
6. Aho: Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra: VI. Presto (4:06)
7. Aho: Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra: VII. Epilogue (4:07)
8. Aho: Quintet for Horn and String Quartet: I. Misterioso (4:33)
9. Aho: Quintet for Horn and String Quartet: II. Con moto (5:15)
10. Aho: Quintet for Horn and String Quartet: III. Adagio (8:06)
11. Aho: Quintet for Horn and String Quartet: IV. Vivace (5:30)
12. Bach: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus XIV (Arr. for Strings by Aho) (12:47)

Although the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho is best known as a symphonist, his constantly expanding catalogue includes numerous concertos as well as countless chamber works and arrangements of works by other composers. This disc brings together works from these three genres. The Guitar Concerto, dedicated to Ismo Eskelinen, posed many challenges for Aho, who is not a guitarist himself. It is a seven-movement work exploring the different ways the guitar can be used – sometimes with far from traditional techniques –and exploring its sonic possibilities. The Quintet for Horn and String Quartet was commissioned by Ilkka Puputti, who had previously premièred Aho’s Solo X for horn. Particularly demanding for the soloist, the quintet explores various atmospheres, in turns mysterious, whimsical, dramatic and dance-like. Contrapunctus XIV from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Art of the Fugue was left unfinished owing to the composer’s declining health. As he was dissatisfied with previous attempts to complete it, Aho decided to write his own, aiming to remain true to Bach’s style. This completion exists in several versions, including the one for string orchestra heard here, expertly performed by the Lapland Chamber Orchestra conducted by John Storgårds.