Varying, eclectic pieces, often reflecting haunting Sibelian sonorities (...). An original voice is there throughout, though (...). Leif Segerstam and the Turku Philharmonic are as usual excellent.
Toivo Kuula (1883-1918), a Finnish composer with significant melodic gifts and a private pupil of Sibelius, is best-known as a tragic national-romantic composer of vocal music. Although Kuula's focus was in vocal music he took considerable interest in writing orchestral music and in his orchestral works he is often a conjurer of powerful Nordic moods. Kuula had also aims of becoming a symphonist but his untimely death left the project unfinished.
This new disc features a large portion of Kuula's orchestral works which were completed by the time of his premature death. They were mostly written during the 1910s when Kuula travelled extensively in Germany, France and Italy - and also came in contact with the works of Debussy. In his works he used elements from the folk music of his home region in Northern Finland but was also influenced by the new trends present in European art music.
The two South Ostrobothnian Suites belong to Kuula's most popular orchestral works. They combine melodies collected by the composer from his home region (South Ostrobothnia) with Impressionistic nuances. After the premiere of the first Suite Kuula was hailed by some in the Finnish press as a successor for Sibelius. Now for the first time these two classic works in Finnish orchestral repertoire are released together on one disc. The disc also includes Festive March (written in Paris in 1910) and Prelude & Fugue (written in Italy and completed in 1909).