# Thoughts on Kalevi Aho



## kanishknishar (Aug 10, 2015)

What are you thoughts on Kalevi Aho? I think I love his music because it sounds so much similar to Shostakovich - same reason why I love Penderecki. I am listening to his Fourth Symphony and the influence is undeniable. I am not quite sure I understand how he 'carries forward the tradition' in this work as opposed to simply writing another Shostakovich symphony. They sound similar and that's... bad?

That logic applies to works by Hummel. But is Hummel really unimaginative or is the similarity a source of more good music?


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

I have 4 of his works in my listening library. All four stylistically are different. So my take is that he's a chameleon..a very talented one and one that sometimes captures my imagination, but I can't pin him down.


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## kanishknishar (Aug 10, 2015)

Vasks said:


> I have 4 of his works in my listening library. All four stylistically are different. So my take is that he's a chameleon..a very talented one and one that sometimes captures my imagination, but I can't pin him down.


Which four of his works do you own?


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

Symphonies 4, 5, 7 and Chinese Songs.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Vasks said:


> I have 4 of his works in my listening library. All four stylistically are different. So my take is that he's a chameleon..a very talented one and one that sometimes captures my imagination, but I can't pin him down.


My experience has been the same - I don't hear _his _voice.


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

Enthusiast said:


> My experience has been the same - I don't hear _his _voice.


Same here, and I want to like any composer who writes so much for odd concerto instruments...


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

I think I'm in agreement with the last two comments. I've got a handful of CDs of his music, all on BIS, and find everything I have interesting and satisfying. But I cannot identify an "Aho sound", which I can do with some Rautavaara, say, and nearly all of the Sallinen I have heard (and admire hugely, btw...)

This is the work of his I seem to enjoy the most, as well as the relatively brief Symphonic Dances.


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

Aho was listed in another thread on modern tonal composers and my half-joke that nobody knows them was taken badly... 

so I'll try to be serious and say that I'd link Aho to John Adams among the tonal composers I'm familiar with... the latter's recent sax concertos are so breathlessly convoluted in the attempt to be interesting that they nearly exhaust me... Aho is not so bad but for all the complaining about atonalism being such a powerful academic cult one has to wonder why so much modern tonalism sounds so academic...


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

philoctetes said:


> Aho was listed in another thread on modern tonal composers and my half-joke that nobody knows them was taken badly...


But there's times when Aho is quite atonal. I believe there are huge sections of the 4th symphony that are like Ives at his most extremely chaotic mass (mess?) of sound. And there again suggesting he's capable of being a chameleon.


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

CnC Bartok said:


> I think I'm in agreement with the last two comments. I've got a handful of CDs of his music, all on BIS, and find everything I have interesting and satisfying. But I cannot identify an "Aho sound", which I can do with some Rautavaara, say, and nearly all of the Sallinen I have heard (and admire hugely, btw...)
> 
> This is the work of his I seem to enjoy the most, as well as the relatively brief Symphonic Dances.
> 
> View attachment 119544


Storgards seems to be making good recordings, from what I've heard on Spotify... and I need to hear more... it's not always an advantage IMO to record on BIS, I'm one of those who dislikes their dynamics, but I've also heard exceptions... some of them recently...


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

The editor of American Record Guide wrote this about Aho: "A completely uninspired composer whose music is stultifying – and just gets worse as the years go on." Ouch!

I've tried some of his music - I was drawn by the Contrabassoon Concerto, and guess what? There still isn't a great one for that beast of an instrument. Aho has some skill, clearly has talent - but just not for my taste.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

He's a prolific craftsman. I have his bassoon concerto CD, and Symphony No.11/Symphonic Dances. Honestly, on the bassoon disc I prefer the Fagerlund concerto. I also have his clarinet concerto, but I don't like it as much as the Magnus Lindberg concerto.


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