Kullervo (Madetoja)

''Kullervo'', Op. 15, is a symphonic poem () for orchestra written in 1913 by Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja. The piece premiered on 14 October 1913 with Madetoja conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Society.

Background

Composition

Although Madetoja belonged to national romantic movement in Finland, he did not—unlike many of the movement's artists and composers, such as Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Jean Sibelius—often turn to the ''Kalevala'' as a source of inspiration. Indeed, ''Kullervo'' is Madetoja's only notable composition after the national epic. Madetoja was the fourth composer to tackle the subject of Kullervo. First, in 1860, Filip von Schantz wrote the ''Kullervo Overture'' (), which he had intended as the prelude to an opera; this piece premiered the same year in Helsinki at the opening of the Swedish Theatre. Second, in 1880, Robert Kajanus composed and premiered in Leipzig ''Kullervo's Funeral March'' (); though Wagnerian in its chromaticism, it makes use of the Finnish folk song ''O Mother, so pitiable and poor!'' (). Finally, in 1892, Jean Sibelius composed and premiered in Helsinki the choral symphony '' Kullervo'', for baritone, soprano, mixed chorus, and orchestra; however, Sibelius withdrew his ''Kullervo'' in 1893, and therefore, it could not have served as a model for Madetoja; it is also unlikely that he was familiar with the pieces by von Schantz and Kajanus. Instead, the most readily-available ''Kalevala''-themed examples would have been Sibelius's '' Lemminkäinen Suite'' (from which two numbers, '' The Swan of Tuonela'' and ''Lemminkäinen's Return'', had been published in 1900) and ''Pohjola's Daughter''.

Premiere

''Kullervo'' premiered on 14 October 1913 with Madetoja conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Society. It was the final number on a program that also included other orchestral novelties by Madetoja: the Concert Overture (; Op. 7, 1911); ''Melody and Little Romance'' (; Op. 17, 1913); ''Dance Vision'' (; Op. 11; 1911); , a cantata for mixed choir and orchestra to text by V. A. Koskenniemi (Op. 10, 1911); and the original three-movement version of the ''Little Suite'' (; Op. 12, 1913).

Instrumentation

''Kullervo'' is scored for the following instruments:

*Woodwinds: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in A), bass clarinet (in A), and 2 bassoons
*Brass: 4 horns (in F), 2 trumpets (in C), 3 trombones, and tuba
*Percussion: timpani, triangle, cymbals, bass drum, tambourine, and castanets
*Strings: violins, violas, cellos, double basses, and harp

() published the symphonic poem in 1947; Fennica Gehrman is the current distributor.

Recordings

The sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of ''Kullervo'':

Notes, references, and sources

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{{portal bar, Classical music, Music

Compositions by Leevi Madetoja
20th-century classical music
1913 compositions
Symphonic poems
Music based on the Kalevala