COMPOSERS: Rautavaara
LABELS: Catalyst
WORKS: Symphony No. 5; String Quartet No. 4; Cantus Arcticus (Concerto for Birds and Orchestra)
PERFORMER: Leipzig RSO/Max Pommer; Sirius Quartet
CATALOGUE NO: 09026 62671 2 DDD
For those inclined towards melancholic, nature-evoking tone poems, Einojuhani Rautavaara, one of Finland’s senior living composers, should be an obvious port of call. His Cantus Arcticus, with its tape of birdsong interwoven in the texture, creates a rare, successful harmony of natural and man-made elements. In the Fifth Symphony, the natural world is no less pervasive, with its powerful, original opening characterising the relentless pounding of the sea. Atmospheric performances. Deborah Calland
Rautavaara: Symphony No. 5; String Quartet No. 4; Cantus Arcticus (Concerto for Birds and Orchestra)
For those inclined towards melancholic, nature-evoking tone poems, Einojuhani Rautavaara, one of Finland’s senior living composers, should be an obvious port of call. His Cantus Arcticus, with its tape of birdsong interwoven in the texture, creates a rare, successful harmony of natural and man-made elements. In the Fifth Symphony, the natural world is no less pervasive, with its powerful, original opening characterising the relentless pounding of the sea. Atmospheric performances. Deborah Calland
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:15 pm