Rautavaara: Manhattan Trilogy, Symphony No. 3

The last several works issued by Rautavaara have all been excellent compositions. The only drawback would be that they tend to sound very similiar---i.e Autumn Gardens, Piano Concerto 3, Harp Concerto, Symphony 8 and now the Manhattan Trilogy, written as a commition from the Juilliard School of music and as a testament to Rautavaara's student experiences and memories of the Big Apple and more specifically, manhattan. Now, I have to admit that Manhattan was the last place this music made me think of, but, in the liner notes, Rautavaara warned against using the title as a programmtic guide which makes me believe that the titles were mere afterthoughts to relevate the commition.
Now the music itself is, as is all of Rautavaara's post-avant garde works- well crafted, sonorous, hypnotic, and dramatic. One interesting detial that is relatively new to this work is the chamberesque qualities in the form of a solo string instrument and piano(obbligato if you will). These are the best moments of the piece in my opinion and I wish he had focused more on expanding them. The music is at its most beautiful during these moments which enhance the later dramatic turn expounded by accumulating beats on the timpani.
Overall I would say that this is a marvelous piece on its own, tthe only problem is that judging this with the rest of his recent works and you notice a sameness of both sound and texture.
From this new piece, we venture back to his third symphony, a semi-serial piece that doesnt sound like a serial piece--it is most known for being Brucknerian in sound yet serial. This is a pretty good performance, one I prefer to Kommer yet do not enjoy as much as the Naxos version despite the better playing of the Helsinki on this release.
Overall I would highly recommend this to devote Rautavaara fans and also highly recommend it as a introduction to Rautavaara for those seeking out new composers and music to listen to. Rautavaara is the greatest living composer and his body of work is essential listening-though modern it is accessible to those of the modern and romantic tendencies.
Rautavaara masterpieces that you should investigate
On the Last Frontier
Annunciations
Symphony 3,5,7,8
Violin Concerto, Piano Concerto's 1-3
Clarinet Concerto
Harp Concerto
String Quartets 1-4
String Quintet
opera-The House of the Sun(my favourite modern opera)
Alexsis Kivi
Rasputin(my second favourite modern opera)
Isle of Bliss
Angels and Visitations
Song of my heart(vocal work disc)
Anondymene
Apothesios
and on and on and on and on

This is my first exposure to the music of Rautavaara and I have enjoyed what I have heard so far. The music is generally slowly unfolding, and depends on majestic sonorities for its power. I would describe it as impressionistic (the cover art seems to imply so) but the style differs from the impressionism of Debussy, more deliberate and spiritual.

The Manhattan Trilogy portrays three states of mind that the composer relates to his time spent at a student in New York. The Symphony No 3 is (as described by the composer) an attempt to re-imaging the music of Bruckner in a more modern idiom. Both pieces feature long threads of melody, lush orchestration, and harmony seemingly used for color more than anything else. I notice some reviews complaining that this is "more of the same," which I can't evaluate because this is the first I have heard from the composer. But I wouldn't mind hearing more of it.

I really like the music on this CD. It is modern symphonic classical: deep, moody, strange, dynamic. If you like the music Bela Bartok I think you will like this music too.