Various Composers - Pictures from Finland (Rumon Gamba)

Information

• Selim Palmgren - Pictures from Finland, Op. 24
• Leevi Madetoja - Suite pastorale, Op. 34
• Väinö Raitio - Idylli (Idyll)
• Robert Kajanus - Adagietto
• Väinö Raitio - Scherzo ‘Felis domestica'
• Jean Sibelius - Kurkikohtaus, Op. 44 No. 2 (Scene with Cranes)
• Robert Kajanus - Suomalainen rapsodia No. 2, Op. 8 (Finnish Rhapsody)
• Leevi Madetoja - Marian murhe, Op. 27 No. 2 (Stabat Mater)

Oulu Sinfonia

Rumon Gamba, conductor

Date: 2025

Label: Chandos

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Following their successful album Overtures from Finland, Rumon Gamba and Oulu Sinfonia present another programme of works from their native land. The album takes its title from Selim Palmgren’s four-movement suite, written in 1904, offering richly atmospheric character pieces celebrating the changing seasons. Several of the works here take inspiration from the natural world, not least Kurkikohtaus (Scene with Cranes) which Sibelius composed as incidental music for a play by his brother-in-law, Arvid Järnefelt. Robert Kajanus is often considered the father of Finnish music. As a young man, he was one of the standard bearers in the drive for Finnish independence, and he developed a keen artistic interest in Finnish folklore and vernacular traditions. His Second Finnish Rhapsody (Suomalainen rapsodia), Op. 8, dates from 1886 and is the oldest work here. The album also features works by two further key Finnish composers: Väinö Raitio and Leevi Madetoja – the latter a native of Oulu. Taken as a whole, the album presents its own fascinating picture of Finnish orchestral music.

Rumon Gamba (b. 1972) is a British conductor known for his dynamic leadership and extensive recording work. He studied at Durham University and the Royal Academy of Music, where he trained under Colin Metters, George Hurst, and Sir Colin Davis. Gamba served as Chief Conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra (2002–2010), NorrlandsOperan in Sweden (2009–2012), and Aalborg Symphony Orchestra in Denmark (2011–2015). Since 2022, he has been Chief Conductor of the Oulu Symphony Orchestra in Finland, with his contract extended through 2026. A prolific recording artist for Chandos Records, Gamba has released over 50 albums, including film music and works by composers such as Miklós Rózsa, Malcolm Arnold, Bernard Herrmann, and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

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