Fagerlund: Drifts
The Finnish composer Sebastian Fagerlund already made a name for himself at the turn of the millennium, but his real breakthrough and stylistic outburst came with the clarinet concerto in 2005-2006. He has since composed concertos for violin, guitar and bassoon, the last of which was nominated for the Nordic Council’s music prize. His first opera was the chamber opera Döbeln (2009), which connected to the war of 1808–1809 between Russia and Sweden (to which Finland then belonged). The opera Höstsonaten, based on Ingmar Bergman’s feature film, premiered at the Finnish National Opera in 2017. Drifts from 2017 is the middle section of an orchestral triptych.
Fagerlund already had in mind to compose a three-part ensemble when he composed his previous orchestral work, Stonework (2014–2015). Fagerlund intended to make Drifts a mainly slow movement. And as such it begins, labeled Largo misterioso. But like so many composers, Fagerlund found it difficult to stick to an overly detailed plan and the musical material began to take on a will of its own. After its sluggish start, Drifts picks up speed in a sprightlier Energico. These two basic tempos dominate the piece, but even though the fast material has begun to push forward, so to speak, the feeling of slow music still permeates through the fact that the two tempo zones can overlap or be superimposed on each other. The piece was commissioned by the Finnish Radio Symphony, Gothenburg Symphony and Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia. The premiere took place in May 2017 in Helsinki and was conducted by Hannu Lintu.
