(1928-2016)
Einojuhani Rautavaara was born in Helsinki in 1928 and studied with Aarre Merikanto at the Helsinki Academy (1948-52), with Vincent Persichetti at the Juilliard School in New York (1955-56), and with Roger Sessions and Aaron Copland at Tanglewood (1955). He first came to international attention in 1955 when the neo-classical A Requiem in Our Time for brass and percussion won the Thor Johnson Composer’s Competition in Cincinnati. He studied serialism and soon integrated twelve note techniques, without displacing his essential Romanticism. For instance, Symphony No.3 (1961) may be the first totally serial Finnish work, yet it is also a tribute to the symphonies of Bruckner, complete with Wagner tubas. In the late 1960s Rautavaara distanced himself from serialism and his mystical character came more to the fore. His operas have often explored issues of creativity and madness, such as Vincent (1986-87), Aleksis Kivi (1995-96) and Rasputin (2001-03), and his symphonies and concerti have increasingly been commissioned by orchestras outside his native Finland, including Symphony No.8 ‘The Journey’ (1999) for the Philadelphia Orchestra, a Harp Concerto (1999-2000) for the Minnesota Orchestra and a Clarinet Concerto (2001-02) for Richard Stoltzman and the National Symphony in Washington. Works by Rautavaara over the past decade include the orchestral work Tapestry of Life (2007), the concertos Incantations for percussionist Colin Currie (2008), Towards the Horizon for cellist Truls Mork (2008-09), and Summer Thoughts (2008) toured by violinist Midori. His Missa a cappella (2010-11) received first performances in the Netherlands, Australia, the UK, Sweden and Germany and Into the heart of light (2011), composed for the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, was toured by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 2012. Balada for choir and orchestra, setting texts by Lorca, was premiered in Madrid in 2015. Rautavaara's music has been recorded on the Ondine, Finlandia and Naxos labels and DVDs have been released of his operas The Gift of the Magi, Aleksis Kivi and Rasputin.
Einojuhani Rautavaara was born in Helsinki in 1928 and studied with Aarre Merikanto at the Helsinki Academy (1948-52), with Vincent Persichetti at the Juilliard School in New York (1955-56), and with Roger Sessions and Aaron Copland at Tanglewood (1955). He first came to international attention in 1955 when the neo-classical A Requiem in Our Time for brass and percussion won the Thor Johnson Composer’s Competition in Cincinnati. He studied serialism and soon integrated twelve note techniques, without displacing his essential Romanticism. For instance, Symphony No.3 (1961) may be the first totally serial Finnish work, yet it is also a tribute to the symphonies of Bruckner, complete with Wagner tubas. In the late 1960s Rautavaara distanced himself from serialism and his mystical character came more to the fore. His operas have often explored issues of creativity and madness, such as Vincent (1986-87), Aleksis Kivi (1995-96) and Rasputin (2001-03), and his symphonies and concerti have increasingly been commissioned by orchestras outside his native Finland, including Symphony No.8 ‘The Journey’ (1999) for the Philadelphia Orchestra, a Harp Concerto (1999-2000) for the Minnesota Orchestra and a Clarinet Concerto (2001-02) for Richard Stoltzman and the National Symphony in Washington. Works by Rautavaara over the past decade include the orchestral work Tapestry of Life (2007), the concertos Incantations for percussionist Colin Currie (2008), Towards the Horizon for cellist Truls Mork (2008-09), and Summer Thoughts (2008) toured by violinist Midori. His Missa a cappella (2010-11) received first performances in the Netherlands, Australia, the UK, Sweden and Germany and Into the heart of light (2011), composed for the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, was toured by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 2012. Balada for choir and orchestra, setting texts by Lorca, was premiered in Madrid in 2015. Rautavaara's music has been recorded on the Ondine, Finlandia and Naxos labels and DVDs have been released of his operas The Gift of the Magi, Aleksis Kivi and Rasputin.
