The Symphony No. 6, From a New Zealand Diary, Op. 65, is an orchestral composition by the Finnish composer Aulis Sallinen, who wrote the piece from 1989–90. The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the commissioning institution, premiered the work on 6 September 1990 in Napier, under the baton of Sallinen's longtime advocate, Okko Kamu. Sallinen and his wife had vacationed in New Zealand the year before, providing the composer with inspiration for the symphony, which—though properly symphonic in scope and in structure—has been described as involving "tone painting"; indeed, each of the four movements contains a descriptive title, unusual for a Sallinen symphony.
Instrumentation According to the publisher, Novello & Co, Symphony No. 6 is scored for the following: Woodwind: 3 flutes (2 doubling piccolo), 3 oboes (1 doubling cor anglais), 3 clarinets in B (1 doubling E clarinet, 1 doubling B bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (1 doubling contrabassoon) Brass: 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B, 3 trombones, 1 tuba Percussion: timpani, percussionists (individual instruments?) Strings: violins, violas, cellos, double basses, harp, celesta
Structure The symphony is in four movements:
Recordings To date, Symphony No. 6 has received two recordings, the first of which is from 1992 with Okko Kamu conducting the Malmö Symphony Orchestra on the BIS label. Finnish conductor Ari Rasilainen has also recorded the symphony as part of cpo's compendium of Sallinen's orchestral works. The Sixth Symphony joins the Cello Concerto (Op. 44, 1977) on the final volume of the cpo series.
Conductor Orchestra Year Recording venue Duration Label (Available on) Malmö Symphony Orchestra 1990Recorded November 1990. See CADENSA and also the PDF available via Chandos. Malmö Concert Hall (Malmö) 42:47 BIS (511) Norrköping Symphony Orchestra 2003 De Geerhallen (Norrköping) 39:33 cpo (999971-2)
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