Roxana Constantinescu (above) sings Britten’s LES ILLUMINATIONS in a performance from the Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus, 2014. Pekka Kuusisto is the concert-master.
Watch and listen here.
Tag: Pekka Kuusisto
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Britten’s LES ILLUMINATIONS ~ Roxana Constantinescu
Roxana Constantinescu (above) sings Britten’s LES ILLUMINATIONS in a performance from the Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus, 2014. Pekka Kuusisto is the concert-master.
Watch and listen here.
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Kuusisto/Sundquist ~ A Little Night Music
Above: the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse at Lincoln Center
Author: Ben Weaver
Saturday July 27th, 2019 – Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto and Swedish double-bassist Knut Erik Sundquist had a long evening at the Mostly Mozart Festival: first they performed a full concert of Bartok and Vivaldi with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Manze, followed by a special appearance at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse for a series called A Little Night Music, an intimate one-hour program of music and wine.
Pekka Kuusisto is not your traditional classical violinist. Although classically trained and a winner (first place) of the Jean Sibelius Violin Competition (Kuusisto was the first Finn to win there, in 1995), he spends as much time performing non-classical music as classical. “Crossover” would not be the right word; he’s not necessarily playing arrangements from Cats. But his dedication to playing many different types of music and his improvisational skills place him in a somewhat different category from most other concert violinists. When he does venture into the strictly classical repertoire – as he did last year with a recording of J.S. Bach’s complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin – the results are unpredictable and often electrifying.
Kuusisto is a dynamic stage personality; encountering him in a small space like the Kaplan Penthouse is a singular experience. With the night-time NYC skyline shining behind the stage, Kuusisto and his frequent stage partner, the great double-bassist Knut Erik Sundquist, easily filled the hour with a wide range of music, hilarious banter (like a vaudeville act, the ease of their interactions can only be perfected over many years of friendship) and sound life advice (after a night of drinking, make sure you go home before you go to bed.)
The duo broke up the musical selections into aptly titled Minuet Section, Sad Section, and Happy Section. The Minuets were courtesy of Bach and traditional Finnish folk dance, played and improvised seamlessly. The middle Sad Section was launched by a mysterious Austrian tune Kuusisto once heard on TV while watching a weather report at the Ischgl ski resort and transcribed for posterity. (Since Kuusisto has never been able to figure out the source of the tune, he simply calls it Memories from Ischgl.) Occasionally he hummed while playing this lovely, orphaned tune. And the final Happy Section of cheerful traditional melodies from Finland and Sweden, and – of all things – a Spanish tango from Poland that’s especially beloved in Finland. (Here I was reminded of a famous line from Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence about the opening night of the (Old) Met: “She sang, of course, ‘M’ama!‘ and not ‘he loves me,’ since an unalterable and unquestioned law of the musical world required that the German text of French operas sung by Swedish artists should be translated into Italian for the clearer understanding of English-speaking audiences.”)
The beauty of all this music and the intimacy of the presentation made for a fascinating evening. Kuusisto’s command of his instrument, the ease of the playing, his ability to transform the sound from a “serious violin” to a “dancing fiddle” were extraordinary. The dreamy expression on his face when playing Bach and a Finnish folk tune reveal a deep love and appreciation for music, the source is secondary.
Sometimes classical music lovers can get too hung up on purity. Truth is that music from any source can trigger the deepest feelings and memories: from Traditional to Bach to Cole Porter to Madonna. As the only truly universal language on Earth, music of all kind can bring out every imaginable emotion. This ability to communicate in different musical languages – and helping the audience embrace the differences – may be Kuusisto’s greatest gift to his audience.
~ Ben Weaver
Note: Oberon has written about the July 26th performance of the Suusisto/Lundquist/Manze Four Seasons here.
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Pekka Kuusisto @ Mostly Mozart
Above: Pekka Kuusisto, photographed by Kappo Kamu
~ Author: Oberon
Friday July 26th, 2019 – An unusual and exciting program at Mostly Mozart this evening as violinist Pekka Kuusisto joined the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra under Andrew Manze’s baton. The program featured music of Bartók, plus Mr. Kuusisto’s setting of Vivaldi’s beloved Four Seasons into which folk music from Norway and Finland has been woven.
Béla Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, arranged for string orchestra by Arthur Willner, opened the evening on an upbeat note. Mr. Kuusisto and his sidekick, bassist Knut Erik Sundquist, participated as members of the ensemble, further spicing up the already lively music. What a treat to hear these pieces played live! They have an irresistible impulse, to which the two guest soloists introduced embellishments that gave an additional flair.
The six-dance suite commences with Jocul cu bâtă (“Stick Dance”), with an interesting ‘pulling’ rhythm. Then comes the jaunty Brâul (“Sash Dance”), followed by the Pe loc (“In One Spot”) into which Mr. Kuusisto injected a spaced-out, high violin passage. Buciumeana (“Dance from Bucsum”) was my favorite of the dances, being slowish and tinged with sadness. (Sample it is Emmanuel Pahud’s flute rendition here.)
Then came the lively Poarga Românească (“Romanian Polka”) after which Mssrs. Kuusisto and Sundquist lit into a fast and funky duet which morphed into the Mărunțel (“Fast Dance”); here the violinist exceeded the speed limit with his amazing technical facility as well as fancy foot-work – as much fun to watch as to hear. Sweeping on with the orchestra to a grand finale, the players were awarded a vociferous ovation from the crowd for their exhilarating performance.
If Mr. Kuusisto was in the limelight all evening, bassist Knut Erik Sundquist (above) made a vivid impression in his own right. I imagine that. had he not been constrained by holding onto his bass, he would have joined in the dancing. His facial expressions were priceless.
Without intermission, the performance continued with the ultra-familiar Vivaldi Four Seasons, rendered – as if by time-warp – as a fusion of Baroque and contemporary modes, into which Mssrs. Kuusisto and Sundquist interpolated traditional music from Finland and Norway. If you’re going to fiddle around (!) with the classics, this is the way to do it.
The great lilting start of “Spring” was flowing along congenially when suddenly sounds like a swarm of birds were heard. Later, the violas sounded seasick, and later still the drone of a bagpipe was evoked. In “Summer”, the strings melted and drooped, the violin and a cello engaged in an off-pitch dialog, and the music sizzled or soured before turning briskly exciting. A decrescendo brought whispers and falterings; and an en masse turn of the page was truly amusing. A storm breaks, the finale carries on with more interruptions and some scraping motifs.
“Summer” was perhaps the highlight of the Seasons, and a program note mentioned the fact that this concerto is “…built of exclusively unpleasant conditions, (connecting) it with the ongoing climate debate.”
Kuusisto and Sundquist opened “Autumn” with a duet; the music sometimes took on an ‘outer space’ feeling. A snoring woman next to us rather spoilt the effect, but she woke up when Mr. Kuusisto started whistling. The tapping of bows on instruments and a ‘drunken’ passage kept us engaged.
Animated plucking – and a bit of humming from the orchestra members – were among the felicities of “Winter”; Mr. Kuusisto was by now in full “mad violinist” mode, his virtuosity simply mind-boggling.
An enormous standing ovation ensued, the audience clearly thrilled by what they had heard. Maestro Manze and the two soloists were called and re-called, to veritable tsunamis of applause.
Before the concert started, Maestro Manze spoke of what we were about to hear, and he asked that everyone in the audience “..stay to the end…”; I’ve never heard that kind of request at a concert. At any rate, a few people did head for the exits during The Four Seasons. But one woman, who was seated in the stage seats, attempted to leave and was sent back to her seat by an usher.
~ Oberon
Oberon's Glade 