Title: Dense, Demanding, But Rewarding
Product review: Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) is a contemporary Finnish composer who writes dense, dynamic, demanding, but very rewarding music. Both pieces on this CD are utterly fascinating. The 9th Symphony, which shifts in style from modern to archaic and all around with an effortless ease, is the piece more likely to impress upon first hearing. This is not music for the faint of heart, but for those with a taste for musical modernism, this CD is a must-hear, and is excellently recorded to boot. It is always a thrill to discover a composer you have never heard of, and when I first heard this soon after its initial release, I thought it was one of the most exciting new orchestral CDs I had heard in years.
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