Helvi Leiviskä: Orchestral Works Vol. 1 Lahti Symphony Orchestra & Dalia Stasevska

• Helvi Leiviskä (1902 - 1982): Sinfonia brevis, Op. 30:
• 1 Leiviskä: Sinfonia brevis, Op. 30 12:51
• Orchestral Suite No. 2, Op. 11:
• 2 Leiviskä: Orchestral Suite No. 2, Op. 11: I. Kevään tulo (The Coming of Spring) 06:58
• 3 Leiviskä: Orchestral Suite No. 2, Op. 11: II. Humoreski (Humoresque) 03:09
• 4 Leiviskä: Orchestral Suite No. 2, Op. 11: III. Kehtolaulu (Lullaby) 04:03
• 5 Leiviskä: Orchestral Suite No. 2, Op. 11: IV. Epilogi (Epilogue) 06:44
• Symphony No. 2, Op. 27:
• 6 Leiviskä: Symphony No. 2, Op. 27: I. Andantino quasi allegretto - Più animato e ritmico 07:27
• 7 Leiviskä: Symphony No. 2, Op. 27: II. Allegro molto 09:29
• 8 Leiviskä: Symphony No. 2, Op. 27: III. Andante cantabile 11:53
• Total Runtime 01:02:34

Info for Helvi Leiviskä: Orchestral Works Vol. 1

Conductor Dalia Stasevka who received the BBC Music Magazine’s ‘Personality of the Year’ Award in 2023 and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra present three works by the Finnish composer Helvi Leiviskä, who was Finland’s first major female composer. Initially inspired by the language of late Romanticism – she mentioned Brahms as her favourite composer – Leiviskä developed an original, modern style that eschewed all schools, convinced that it was more important to tread one’s own path than to follow fashionable styles. While her output may seem small in terms of quantity, it more than makes up for it in the quality of the works, especially her symphonies, a genre she considered ‘the highest manifestation of music’. This disc presents three works: the Sinfonia Brevis, a confidently crafted work reminiscent of Sibelius; the austere, restrained, melancholy and at times very dissonant Symphony No. 2, which could be called ‘tragic’; and the Suite for orchestra No. 2, which uses material from a powerfully descriptive score originally composed for a film. This recording bears witness to the ‘Leiviskä renaissance’ that has taken place in recent years, which has contributed to the rediscovery of a neglected but important voice in Finnish music.

Lahti Symphony Orchestra
Dalia Stasevska, conductor

Dalia Stasevska
During a career spanning more than a decade, Dalia Stasevska (b. 1984), principal conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, has become one of the most internationally prominent Finnish conductors. Appearances with Finnish orchestras led to numerous invitations, first to other Nordic orchestras and opera houses, and then to Europe, Australia and Asia, and in recent years also to the notoriously hard-to-reach big-name orchestras in the USA.

Highlights of Stasevska’s last season included first appearances in Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Toronto, Philadelphia and Washington. In Great Britain, she remains principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conducted, for example, Benjamin Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream at the 2023 Glyndebourne Opera Festival.

Stasevska had conducted the Lahti Symphony Orchestra only twice before being offered a permanent position. Immediately after the first day of rehearsal with the orchestra, Stasevska observed that the orchestra has a positive working atmosphere and a mindset that takes them a long way. ‘I like the attitude towards making music in Lahti. The musicians dive right in, they’re enthusiastic, they work hard and with ambition’, says Stasevska. ‘I found this very inspiring.’

The choice of repertoire in Stasevska’s this season continues in the same vein as the previous season, with concerts of classics, rarities and novelties.

Stasevska is inspired not only by music but also by art, and is especially fond of contemporary art. When she is travelling, museums of contemporary art are always top of her list to visit. She is also passionate about architecture and design, which always arouse her curiosity, whether the focus is on Italian architecture of the 1960s or on Finnish kitchen utensil design.

She follows classical and light music with equal enthusiasm, and is inspired by opera and, for example, new pop music. And Stasevska has invited some of her favourites to Lahti, such as Yona, Aili Ikonen and Pyhimys.

Stasevska is also strongly drawn to nature. While living on a farm in Tuusula for a couple of years, she had two pet chickens named – fittingly – Clara and Alma. ‘And the rooster, Jorma, also spent his summer holidays in the henhouse’, says Stasevska. She sums up her attitude to both life and the job of a principal conductor: ‘I set great store by playfulness. If you are fearless and go with the flow, unexpected things and insights always follow. Children, too, learn a lot just by playing. I see that the Lahti Symphony Orchestra is equally open-minded.’

Booklet for Helvi Leiviskä: Orchestral Works Vol. 1