Rautavaara: Cantus Articus; Piano Concerto; Symphony No. 3
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CD Details
Composer: Einojuhani RautavaaraConductor: Hannu Lintu
Orchestra: Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Performer: Laura Mikkola
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1999-03-09
Music Label: Naxos
Soundtracks:
- Suo (The Marsh)
- Melankolia (Melancholy)
- Joutsenet Muuttavat (Swans Mugrating)
- Con Grandezza
- Andante (Ma Rubato)
- Molto Vivace
- Langsam, Breit, Ruhig
- Langsam, Doch Nicht Schleppend
- Sehr Schnell
- Bewegt
Music reviews of Rautavaara: Cantus Articus; Piano Concerto; Symphony No. 3
Music Review: I Can Hear Why This Composer Is Supposedly "Popular"
Rating: 4 Stars
This is my second excursion into the world of contemporary Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara (love that name!). Cantus Arcticus from 1972, a "concerto for birds and orchestra", agreeingly melds the pre-taped sounds of Arctic fowl with light complementary orchestration in three mostly disparate movements. While the use of taped birdsong isn't necessarily unique in serious music, here the combination sounds more of a piece with one's personal contemplation of nature than with the concert hall and its more serious-minded patrons. It's a pleasant enough confection, I suppose. I found the final movement titled "Swans Migrating" to be the most aurally compelling.
The first movement of the Piano Concerto No. 1 (1969) is marked throughout by recurring hard staccato dissonant chords banged out against rolling alternate-hand arpeggios and dramatic orchestration. I have to confess that the purposeful piano dissonances, while certainly ear-catching, are somewhat off-putting and ultimately unconvincing in their musical context here, even after repeat listening. I found the concluding two movements to be more compelling as soloist Mikkola explores both the work's introspective and outwardly modernist expressions often evocative of Prokofiev. At one point during the finale, I actually imagined Keith Jarrett in one of his memorable pseudo-improvisations from shortly after the time of this work.
The opening of Symphony No. 3 (1959-60) is nothing if not reminiscent of Bruckner's Fourth Symphony with its solo French horn call, so much so that it sounds obvious! As the symphony progresses over four movements, we hear this recurring motif in a variety of orchestral statements, usually complemented with flourishes from an ever-present flute, a clarinet, and often a bassoon and what sounds like a cor anglais. The symphony is hardly Brucknerian in scale at just over a half-hour, but the familiar architectural building blocks are there, even if the work culminates in a soft-spoken hush and not a Brucknerian rush. The composer talks about his method in the accompanying notes, but in terms mostly foreign to this lay listener. However, he does make mention of "almost Brucknerian arcs" while discussing the fourth movement. In any case, I certainly enjoyed the Symphony No. 3 as I would any fine symphony; it makes a most substantive conclusion to a CD offering over 73 minutes of readily accessible and mostly thought-provoking music, even if one with a more purist bent may perhaps deem it somewhat derivative.
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