Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) is one of Finland's leading composers, known for a vast output spanning symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and opera. This album presents two major orchestral works performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under its long-time chief conductor Osmo Vänskä — Aho's composer-in-residence since 1992. Chinese Songs (Kiinalaisia lauluja, 1997) was written for the 150th anniversary of Aho's home town of Forssa. The six-song cycle for soprano and orchestra sets ancient Chinese love poetry translated into Finnish, with texts by Li Yü, Cho Wen-chün and Li Ch'ing-chao, dating from as early as the third century AD. The poems were chosen for their blend of joie de vivre with transitory beauty and a tinge of melancholy; arranged so the mood gradually deepens before the sixth and final song breaks out with irresistible life force. Soprano Tiina Vahevaara is the soloist. Symphony No.4 (1972–73) is considered a cornerstone of Aho's early period, written mainly in Berlin on a DAAD scholarship. The entire three-movement work is built from a single theme presented as a fugue at the opening. The broad, melancholy first movement conceals seeds of tragedy beneath the surface; the explosive Presto second movement culminates in chaos, with only violent percussion rhythms remaining. The third movement begins in desolation, but birdsong-like wind figurations gradually liberate the music, leading to a long, intense cantabile melody in the strings that provides the symphony with its final catharsis. The work was premièred in Helsinki on 12 March 1974 by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Okko Kamu. Classics Today 10/10: 'Important, beautiful music'; Gramophone Editor's Choice.