Magnus Lindberg: Al largo, Cello Concerto No. 2 & Era

Featuring

Hannu Lintu
Anssi Karttunen
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Magnus Lindberg

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Composition History

Magnus Lindberg's Cello Concerto No. 2 was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic on short notice and is a rewritten and expanded version of his earlier duo, Santa Fe Project (2006).

Compositional Technique

Magnus Lindberg's Al largo, despite its title implying a slow tempo, is described by the composer as the fastest music he has ever written, with a busy surface over a slowly progressing deep structure.

Composer Biography

Magnus Lindberg has written seven solo concertos and is on his second round of concertos for piano, cello, and violin, taking significant time between each to develop new approaches.

Performer Biography

Anssi Karttunen, the cellist on this album, is dedicated to contemporary music, having premiered over 140 works, including 28 cello concertos, and plays a Francesco Ruggeri cello.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Magnus Lindberg consciously composed Era to nod to late Romantic masters and early 20th-century modern classics, drawing inspiration from the musical upheavals before World War I.

Compositional Technique

In his Cello Concerto No. 2, Magnus Lindberg used a reasonably sized, almost Classical orchestra without his trademark percussion, piano, or harp to ensure the cello part remained audible.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Magnus Lindberg, the composer, views his music as a synthesis of influences from Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Zimmermann, Xenakis, and the spectralists, combined with a consistent sense of drama.