FMQ - Einojuhani Rautavaara Articles

Classical world pulling through – concerts here and abroad

Classical world pulling through – concerts here and abroad

Classical world pulling through – concerts here and abroad

In November 2020, the pandemic situation in Finland has remained calm enough for cultural functions to carry on.* In these exceptional times, there is an unusually great hunger for art, and socially distanced concerts provide a vital antidote to anxiety and uncertainty.

Auli Särkiö-Pitkänen

November 20, 2020

Finland is a paradise for composers - Today there are multiple ways to make your mark

Finland is a paradise for composers - Today there are multiple ways to make your mark

Finland is a paradise for composers - Today there are multiple ways to make your mark

The professional profile and operating environment of Finnish composers of classical music have become increasingly international at a rapid rate in the past three decades. Back in the day, few composers spent extensive periods of time abroad, and any trips they did take were mainly for study or for inspiration and did not necessarily involve immersion in the local music scene. This started to change in the 1990s, as the Finnish music industry began to integrate into the international music industry.

Pekka Hako

October 2, 2020

Luminous choral lamentations

Luminous choral lamentations

Luminous choral lamentations

"It is delightful that the ambitious concert projects by the Helsinki Chamber Choir so often become available in recorded form."

Anna Pulkkis

December 12, 2019

Sophisticated spells

Sophisticated spells

Sophisticated spells

"For all the sophistication of Rautavaara’s harmonic language, what he is doing here, basically, is weaving a spell – and I defy you not to be hypnotised by the unearthly beauty of this wonderful music."

Martin Anderson

December 12, 2019

A trio in transit

A trio in transit

A trio in transit

"Bold openings, world class piano playing and top shelf compositions aside, the real showstopper on Art in Motion is the intricate interplay and collective chemistry."

Petri Silas

November 7, 2019

A celebration of historical Finnish women who wrote music, Part 4: Ida Moberg

A celebration of historical Finnish women who wrote music, Part 4: Ida Moberg

A celebration of historical Finnish women who wrote music, Part 4: Ida Moberg

Ida Moberg (1859–1947) wished to command ensembles that produced a large sound while also touching human emotions: Most of her output is for orchestra or choir or both. The topics of her works largely has to do with individual’s spiritual metamorphosis.

Susanna Välimäki

October 11, 2019

Rautavaara and the cello

Rautavaara and the cello

Rautavaara and the cello

"Tetzlaff’s and Süssman’s vision of Rautavaara's music is lucid and profound, never overly sentimental but always highly expressive."

Anna Pulkkis

May 25, 2018

The Rumble of Christmas

The Rumble of Christmas

The Rumble of Christmas

The Helsinki Chamber Choir is one of the best in its kind in the world these days.

Martin Anderson

December 21, 2017

Emotionally powerful tailor-made pieces

Emotionally powerful tailor-made pieces

Emotionally powerful tailor-made pieces

When the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra brings together some of the works that over the years have been dedicated to the orchestra’s long-standing Artistic Director and now Honorary Conductor Juha Kangas, it is obviously going to be a collection of emotionally and expressively powerful and excellent music – pieces tailor-made for the orchestra’s deep-rooted sound and intense music-making.

Mats Liljeroos

November 16, 2017

The Mine by Einojuhani Rautavaara: topical then, topical now

The Mine by Einojuhani Rautavaara: topical then, topical now

The Mine by Einojuhani Rautavaara: topical then, topical now

An opera inspired by the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 had to wait more than 50 years to be properly performed at an opera house. On stage in Budapest, this opera seems frighteningly topical, again.

Vesa Sirén

November 10, 2016

Obit Einojuhani

Obit Einojuhani

Obit Einojuhani

For all the passion at the climax of the Balada and the lusty drama of the last of the Four Songs, the music here sings Rautavaara to rest in the rich autumnal tones that are unmistakably his.

Martin Anderson

October 9, 2016

Flowing flute virtuosity

Flowing flute virtuosity

Flowing flute virtuosity

The performance of Rautavaara's Flute Concerto with Sharon Bezaly, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, and Dima Slobodeniouk is enjoyable in its richness of instrumental colours.

Anna Pulkkis

June 10, 2016

Choral developers

Choral developers

Choral developers

The Helsinki Chamber Choir has always been an ambassador for the most demanding contemporary vocal music and for Finnish music. In summer 2016, the choir is busy hosting the International Einojuhani Rautavaara Workshop and Competition and the Tenso Days festival in Helsinki in August.

Merja Hottinen

May 7, 2016

Rautavaara’s death leaves a huge void in Finnish contemporary music

Rautavaara’s death leaves a huge void in Finnish contemporary music

Rautavaara’s death leaves a huge void in Finnish contemporary music

"Rautavaara's original output and considerable success serve to remind us of a principle of his that applies to all composers of whichever generation: Dare to be yourself in your music." Kalevi Aho writes about Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016).

Kalevi Aho

January 9, 2016

A solid basic treatise on Einojuhani Rautavaara

A solid basic treatise on Einojuhani Rautavaara

A solid basic treatise on Einojuhani Rautavaara

"As an all-round survey, Tiikkaja’s biography earns its place as a solid basic treatise on the life and music of Einojuhani Rautavaara."

Kimmo Korhonen

August 4, 2015

The tone of the north

The tone of the north

The tone of the north

The north is a regular theme in Finnish music. But it is also more. It is the main myth of the region’s inhabitants, an undertone that determines their thoughts and way of life. That is why the north can be heard in Finnish music even when it is not explicitly the theme.

Juha Torvinen

January 9, 2010

Thomas - Analysis of the tone material

Thomas - Analysis of the tone material

Thomas - Analysis of the tone material

In this article Einojuhani Rautavaara describes the background to his opera Thomas, and explains certain technical aspects of the opera's musical structure. Thomas had its first performance at the Joensuu Song Festival in the summer of 1985.

Einojuhani Rautavaara

May 10, 1985

The Story of the Finnish Choir – Social institution and human instrument

The Story of the Finnish Choir – Social institution and human instrument

The Story of the Finnish Choir – Social institution and human instrument

In his article from 1987 Markku Kilpiö takes a look at Finnish choral singing.

Markku Kilpiö

January 8, 1985

Kalevi Aho: a composer of moods

Kalevi Aho: a composer of moods

Kalevi Aho: a composer of moods

"Art should be able to stir us, to wake us from our dreaming and our torpor, so that we should be forced to take a stand on the work and explain to ourselves what it means. If a composition is capable of this, then it has at the same time been able to activate the listener both emotionally and intellectually."

Kimmo Korhonen

January 8, 1985

Rautavaara’s infinity

Rautavaara’s infinity

Rautavaara’s infinity

" Could there be a better performance than what the Latvian Radio Choir and Sigvards Kļava are able to put on? Hardly. It is elegant and harmonically precise throughout. A few harsh-ish squeaks in the high voices, e.g. in the Sanctus of the Missa duodecanonica, don’t matter that much."

January 8, 1985