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5.0 out of 5 stars
More magnificence from my new favourite Finn, 15 Jul 2009
I am writing this review immediately after my first listening to this disc, in the hope of delivering fresh impressions of these works, from the Finnish composer who has been my big find of 2009.
The first piece on the disc is a small orchestral miniature, Isle of Bliss, from 1995, which is an immediate hit from a few bars in. It has the fine 'taking a line for a walk' quality that first came to my attention with the gorgeous final movement of his Symphony No.6, the Vincentiana. The music moves freely, never noticably repeating, seeming to rise and rise in pitch and intensity without ever actually doing so. The line is lyrical and moves against a harmonic background that seem quite conventionally tonal, but one knows with Rautavaara that there are probably quite radical formal things going on underneath, but who's edges he has become ever more adept at blunting with age and wisdom. This is Rautavaara in his most personally unique and radiantly beautiful soundworld.
Next we have his piano concerto No.3 of 1999. In harmonic language it's a subtle blending of the atonal within the tonal, similar to the previously described work. If their are serialist aspects to it then they are well disguised. Again the music moves between luminous beauty and tremendous excitement. It is in the more excited phases that the piano suddenly shifts into more radical modes of expression, but the lush supporting orchestration continues to provide an attenuating cushion that ensures that the listerner,s delight is never seriously threatened. The final movement is a very satisfying display of coruscating fireworks.
We then have his Piano Concerto No.2 from 1989. This work makes apparent Rautavaara's journey from what I'm taking to be a middle period of formalist experimentation, as represented by this more obviously serialist work, and his golden final period, exemplified by the works described above, wherein he seems to have ceased searching and homed in on his entirely unique and personal voice. Though this work is obviously serialist, it remains lush and lyrical, with none of the intention to shock that characterises so much of such music. The orchestra for this work is somewhat more exotic, with an interesting array of bells and additional percussion. The piano writing is terrifc.
I would dearly love to get at more detailed biographical information on this extraordinary composer, but the web is unusually sparse on details. Several times I have come across people's estimations of him as derivative of all sorts of composers, from Shostakovich to Respighi. Such assessments are usually based on his symphonies, and the early ones at that, and neglect the fact that he is now a very old man and one can come very far in a lifetime. I would confess to having come to similar initial conclusions myself. However, as I get to hear more of the man's works, it is apparent that there was a long period of experimental searching, up to the 4th Symphony and beyond, before his personal voice began to really manifest, in what would have been his late 50s. It also seems to me that for Rautavaara the symphonic medium, which I have come to know through Rautavaara: The 8 Symphonies - Limited Edition Box, was actually a problematic one, which he tended to use as laboratories for the testing of his new ideas and procedures, and as such might not be the best medium through which to form judgements of him.
So some more beautiful works, with Naxos sound and performances as reliably excellent as we have come to expect, from the man who has replaced Linus Torvalds (the inventor of the Linux operating system) as my new favourite Finn.
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