Post by erik on Mar 20, 2021 17:27:36 GMT -5
Einojuhani Rautavaara, arguably the greatest composer to come out of the Nordic landscape that is Finland since Jean Sibelius, is in the Classical Works Spotlight with a modern but very approachable symphony.
Einojuhani Rautavaara: SYMPHONY NO. 7 (ANGEL OF LIGHT)
There is very little question that Einojuhani Rautavaara has proven to be the single most important composer to come out of the Nordic landscape of Finland since the death of Jean Sibelius in 1957. Of course there are differences between the two. Sibelius’s works, particularly his symphonies, reflected a certain icy austerity at a time (the early 20th century) that was poised between the last flourishes of the Romantic movement and the first sparks of the Modernist movement. Rautavaara had a radically more modernist slant by comparison, though his appreciation of his home country’s landscape was as much reflected in his music as that of his illustrious predecessor (indeed Rautavaara was born in 1928, one year after Sibelius basically stopped composing altogether). Though his early works, from the early 1950’s, were defined as “serial”, in fact they reflected some of the influences of Alban Berg and Anton Bruckner. One of his most popular works, “Cantus Arcticus” (a “concerto for birds and orchestra”), composed in 1972, remains highly popular inside and outside of Finland, possibly because of its similarities to the “swan-call” motif that occupies the last movement of Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony. Rautavaara also composed eight symphonies, the most popular of which was the Seventh, which he sub-titled “Angel Of Light”. Incredibly, he had composed it on a commission from the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra in Indiana, which, at the time of the work’s composition, was celebrating its 25th anniversary. Scored for a modern symphonic orchestra, “Angel Of Light”, though very modern in structure, even at times very spatial, remains fairly tonal and mostly free of dissonance. The work’s premiere by the Bloomington Symphony in 1994 was met with a large amount of acclaim; and in 1997, it received its world premiere recording by the composer’s home country’s leading orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, under the direction of Leif Segerstam. The recording was also nominated in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America for Best Classical Contemporary Composition at the 1998 Grammy Awards.
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/LEIF SEGERSTAM (Ondine)
Included:
ANNUNCIATIONS (CONCERTO FOR ORGAN, BRASS GROUP, AND SYMPHONIC WIND ORCHESTRA) (Organ: KARI JUSSIA)
Einojuhani Rautavaara: SYMPHONY NO. 7 (ANGEL OF LIGHT)
There is very little question that Einojuhani Rautavaara has proven to be the single most important composer to come out of the Nordic landscape of Finland since the death of Jean Sibelius in 1957. Of course there are differences between the two. Sibelius’s works, particularly his symphonies, reflected a certain icy austerity at a time (the early 20th century) that was poised between the last flourishes of the Romantic movement and the first sparks of the Modernist movement. Rautavaara had a radically more modernist slant by comparison, though his appreciation of his home country’s landscape was as much reflected in his music as that of his illustrious predecessor (indeed Rautavaara was born in 1928, one year after Sibelius basically stopped composing altogether). Though his early works, from the early 1950’s, were defined as “serial”, in fact they reflected some of the influences of Alban Berg and Anton Bruckner. One of his most popular works, “Cantus Arcticus” (a “concerto for birds and orchestra”), composed in 1972, remains highly popular inside and outside of Finland, possibly because of its similarities to the “swan-call” motif that occupies the last movement of Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony. Rautavaara also composed eight symphonies, the most popular of which was the Seventh, which he sub-titled “Angel Of Light”. Incredibly, he had composed it on a commission from the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra in Indiana, which, at the time of the work’s composition, was celebrating its 25th anniversary. Scored for a modern symphonic orchestra, “Angel Of Light”, though very modern in structure, even at times very spatial, remains fairly tonal and mostly free of dissonance. The work’s premiere by the Bloomington Symphony in 1994 was met with a large amount of acclaim; and in 1997, it received its world premiere recording by the composer’s home country’s leading orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, under the direction of Leif Segerstam. The recording was also nominated in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America for Best Classical Contemporary Composition at the 1998 Grammy Awards.
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/LEIF SEGERSTAM (Ondine)
Included:
ANNUNCIATIONS (CONCERTO FOR ORGAN, BRASS GROUP, AND SYMPHONIC WIND ORCHESTRA) (Organ: KARI JUSSIA)