From the Gaudeamus Suite of 1995
Every year, the Gaudeamus Music Week brings together young composers from around the world. They send their scores to the Netherlands in the hope of making a name for themselves. Five are selected to present their work at the festival, where one of them is ultimately chosen as the winner.
Although the winner often goes on to become a major name, the festival also features plenty of music by composers who have already established themselves. Occasionally, this means music by composers who are no longer with us, but more often than not it is by living composers who have created some of the modern classics of recent decades and now see their music performed in concert halls.
We have often visited the Gaudeamus Festival to make recordings, and we never overlooked the concerts featuring established composers. We’ll play two concerts from the 1995 edition, which was presented that year as the “Gaudeamus Suite”.
The name presumably emphasised the thematic connection between concerts. In this case, the theme was Northern Europe, with many of the featured composers hailing from that region. Finland in particular seems to have been well represented, with masters such as Kaija Saariaho and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Italian composer Ferrucio Busoni, whose music was enjoying something of a renaissance around this time, also fits the theme with his Finländische Volksweisen. The programme also explores Baltic music, ranging from modernism to the works of Lithuanian romantic composer Mikalojus Čiurlionis.
Playlist
- Ferruccio Busoni – Finländische Volksweisen, Op. 27
- Matti Kuulberg – Sonata for two pianos
- Bronius Kutavičius – Mažasis spektaklis
- Paul Dambis – Games: Nos. 4, 5 and 6
- Erik Bergman – Borealis
- Esa-Pekka Salonen – Yta II
- Mikalojus Čiurlionis – Prelude in C major
- Mikalojus Čiurlionis – Prelude in D minor
- Mikalojus Čiurlionis – Prelude in G minor
- Mikalojus Čiurlionis – Prelude in D minor
- Newt Hinton – Vilnius-Café
- Kaija Saariaho – …Sah den Vögeln
