In the Autumn of 2021, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra together with its new chief conductor, Nicholas Collon, arranged a Thomas Adès festival in Helsinki devoted to the British composer’s music in addition to works by other composers chosen and conducted by Thomas Adès (b. 1971). One of the highlights of the festival’s program was the world première of Märchentänze in its version for violin and orchestra, performed by violinist Pekka Kuusisto, Adès’ long-time artistic partner. This new album by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra includes four recent and exciting orchestral works written by the composer between 2016 and 2021 in world première recordings.
In addition to the Märchentänze, this album includes Adès’ orchestral ‘Hotel Suite from Powder Her Face’, an adaptation based on the music from the opera through which Adès first made a widespread name for himself in the mid-1990s. The orchestral version of ‘Lieux Retrouvés’ could be described as a cello concerto in the spirit of Marcel Proust, played here by the orchestra’s principal cellist Tomas Nuñez. Orchestral work ‘ awn’ was written for the 2020 BBC Proms for ‘orchestra at any distance’, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Adès’ Dawn comes across as timeless music floating in a serene universe of beauty all its own.
This will be Collon’s second CD release with FRSO on Ondine, having released a Sibelius disc earlier this year to rave reviews:
“True gravitas but little grandstanding…flowing like a deep river…everything is clear in Collon’s recording but the moving parts heave despite the sure momentum, giving the discourse a visceral edge…a special tenderness and grace…Fine performances, yes, but also a comprehensive, watertight Sibelius album to cherish.” – Editor’s Choice
Gramophone, July 2022
“smooth and understated, as if to avoid any hint of portentous rhetoric…a widely-ranging yet tightly controlled account…” – 5 stars
BBC Music Magazine, July 2022