(Larger Image)
|
Rautavaara: Violin Concerto; Angels and Visitations; Isle of Bliss
by (Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara) (Conductor: Leif Segerstam) (Orchestra: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra) (Performer: Elmar Oliveira)
Product Group: Music
Studio: Ondine
ISBN: B000003797
EAN: 0761195088128
UPC: 761195088128
Audio CD
Release Date: 1997-04-22
SKU: 08090041
Condition: Like New Like New
Comments: Audio CD in like new condition with two minuscule scratches. Very nice jewel case with like new art work and labels. CDs always shipped first class.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Stringy yet...sleepy
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-08-23
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I went through a phase involving repeated, intense listenings of Rautavaara's music. Having now revisited his works some years later while plumbing through my CD collection, I have to admit, they're rather banal. The violin concerto is nice and fluvial, but ends rather abruptly. The other pieces are rather dull, sweeping strings, flowing melodies, read: sorry, boring! I've had this issue on re-hearings of much of his music, at least the orchestral works, except for the bird song one. That one is really interesting. And the Naxos Piano Works CD. Anyway, fans of a mystical, Finno-Ugric version of 101 Strings might fancy this one, but not this jaded fan.
|
|
Showing the inconsistency of this minor composer, though "Angels and Visitations" is entertaining enough
Rating  (2)
Date: 2008-03-08
Over the nearly six decades that he has been active, the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara has produced an enormously inconsistent body of work. His early pieces were, though not enormously original or memorable, fairly entertaining. Over the last thirty years or so, however, he has been writing mainly the same pieces over and over again, with a little fresh music falling here and there. This 1997 Ondine disc features examples of both kinds of products of his recent career. Leif Segerstam leads the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
As an example of Rautavaara's tendency to write works with little musical substance, barely indistinguishable from other pieces, you can take the two-movement "Violin Concerto" (1976-77). Starting with a saccharine cantilena, the work grows to a wave of slow tuttis led by the violin. The second movement ups the tempos a bit, but it's more of the same really. Rautavaara paints with the widest brush possible, there's no room for pointillistic passages or sparring between soloist and orchestra, and the only textures here run from "intimidatingly lush" to "lushly intimidating". Think late Takemitsu in mood but "out of focus" and without any sense of adventure beyond triadic harmony, and you'll know what to expect here. The violinist Elmar Olveira gives an unobjectionable performance, but for one used to super-virtuosic 20th-century concertos, the demands of this concerto, downright classical in its simple line, don't seem too great.
The orchestral fantasia "Isle of Bliss" (1995) often mainly suffers from the same problems as the Violin Concerto and most of Rautavaara's output, but some variety at the beginning and end adds some actual musical content to what would otherwise be endless triadic string melodies. All in all, it's not as dull as much recent Rautavaara, but it feels as if it would work better as film music than something that's going to completely occupy an audience's time.
The 20-minute "Angels and Vistations" (1978) is, in my opinion, one of Rautavaara's best works. It is based on the composer's childhood visions of a supernatural presence which apparently were quite frightening, and Rautavaara uses a constant opposition between triadic harmony and common-practice dissonance to express these fears. It opens with images of doom in the bass kept in balance by tinkling percussion, but ultimately these bright tones fade out and grimness sets in. At one point the orchestral players must even shout out in pain. At the end, however, the dissonance fades to symbolize the boy Rautavaara's acceptance of his angel. It's an engaging piece, just as successful a depiction of nightmare as, say, the second movement of Carter's "Symphonia".
"Angels and Visitations" is the only piece here that I'd really recommend to the average fan of contemporary repertoire, though you can hear it for less on a Naxos disc.
|
|
Great introduction to Rautavaara's sound world.
Rating  (5)
Date: 2000-11-10
16 out of 16 customers found this reveiw helpful
Rautavaara is a modern composer accessible to anyone, but without sacrificing musical interest. The three compositions on this disc are a good introduction to his work. The closest "big name" musical kin I can think of would be Sibelius, but Rautavaara's work is more mystical in conception. He is very much his own composer, and his musical personality is well represented here.The violin concerto is more overtly dramatic than many of Rautavaara's compositions, but never vulgar, and the solo part is played with beauty and fire by Elmar Oliveira. "Isle of Bliss" is an orchestral fantasia lasting just a little over 11 minutes. After a strong beginning it goes a bit formless in the middle (somewhat of a weak point with this composer; he tends to sag a bit structurally at times) but masterfully evokes a strong sense of atmosphere throughout. Listening to it, I felt as though I was walking the chilly, rocky coastline of a secluded island, and as it turns out a remote Baltic Sea island was the composer's inspiration for the piece (as he himself explains in the excellent booklet notes). "Angels and Visitations" is another work in this composer's self-titled "Angel Series," but as usual it's no new-age orchestral puff piece. As he explains in the booklet, it was inspired by a terrible recurring dream he had as a child. It stirs up a strong sense of drama, effectively mixing beauty, terror and awe throughout its nearly 20-minute length. Not quite an hour of music, excellently recorded as is usually the case with Ondine. Leif Segerstam obviously believes in this music and leads the orchestra through some of the most effective Rautavaara performances on record. I play this one often and would recommend it to anyone interested in Rautavaara or in approachable, interesting new music.
|
|
Great!
Rating (5)
Date: 1999-12-30
4 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
The violin concerto is a very energetic and interesting work. Very lovely and myserious at points as well. Brilliant orchestration. Angels and Visitions, also the title of the CD, is an almost impressionistic work, and is superb. All in all highly recommended-5 stars.
|
|
Great!
Rating (5)
Date: 1999-12-29
5 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
The violin concerto is a very energetic and interesting work. Very lovely and myserious at points as well. Brilliant orchestration. Angels and Visitions, also the title of the CD, is an almost impressionistic work, and is superb. All in all highly recommended-5 stars.
|
|
|