Martin Katz, piano
Karita Mattila, soprano
Karita Mattila’s Helsinki Recital, recorded live at the Finnish National Opera
This hybrid SACD contains a rare recital performance of star soprano Karita Mattila in her native Finland. In front of an electrified audience, the best-selling Finnish artist in classical music performed in sold-out concerts at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki in October 2006 ("What an evening, what a show!" - Helsingin Sanomat)
The centerpiece of the featured programme is the ecstatic song cycle Quatre Instants (Four instants), a musical setting by Karita Mattila's compatriote Kaija Saariaho of poetry by noted French writer Amin Maalouf. Described as "a quasi-operatic monologue that plunges into the erotic, extreme territory that Mattila conveys so well", Quatre Instants was written for Mattila in 2002 and premièred by her in Paris and London to international acclaim ("A sensational recital by a sensational artist" - The Guardian/UK). This recording represents the first commercial release of this piece.
The programme also includes familiar songs by composers of the late Romantic period, Henri Duparc and Sergei Rachmaninov. Another highlight is the popular song cycle Gypsy Melodies by Antonin Dvorák.
Described by Musical America as "the most electrifying singing actress of our day, the kind of performer who renews an aging art form and drives the public into frenzies" upon receiving the prestigious "Musician of the Year" award in 2005, Karita Mattila is one of today's most exciting lyric dramatic sopranos.
Karita Mattila is accompanied on piano by Martin Katz, dubbed "dean of accompanists" by The Los Angeles Times, and in 1998 recipient of Musical America's "Accompanist of the Year" award.
