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In this episode of DW Festival Concert, we listen to Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä directing Mahler's "tragic" symphony and music by his compatriot Kaija Saariaho.
The Scent and the Sound of Roses
It is that time of year when I love to putter about in my garden, which somehow feels simpatico with the creativity of composing music. As a matter of fact, a number of great composers have loved nature’s flora and have responded in music. It would be lovely to explore some flower-inspired compositions, but we should first look at the soil in which they grow, the composers’ working methods.
When you think about it, it is rather remarkable that flowers can somehow translate into music. To paint a picture of flowers is one thing, but it is quite another to transform them into the entirely different medium of sound. Flowers must enter the eyes and nose of the composer and by some alchemy come out as lovely music, with all the delicacy and grace of pink petals. Some composers seem to possess the transformative ability Frances Hodgson Burnett wished for in “The Secret Garden”: “I am sure there is Magic in everything, only we have not sense enou