The great Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara was born on this date in 1928. In his later years, he was rightly regarded as one of the world’s great composers, the grand old man of Finnish music and the spiritual heir of Jean Sibelius. As a young man, he had actually worked as Sibelius’ chauffeur! In all, he composed eight symphonies, nine operas, 14 concertos, and dozens of other orchestral and vocal compositions. After he died in 2017 at the age of 87, I presented a five-hour marathon of his music on WPRB Princeton.
I was lucky to meet him once, in 2000, backstage at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music, prior to the first performance of his Symphony No. 8. He was kind enough to sign my Naxos CD of his Symphony No. 3, the Piano Concerto No. 1, and the so-called concerto for birds and orchestra “Cantus Arcticus.” I wonder what he thought of this peculiar, 33-year-old, American fan?
Here’s a performance of the Piano Concerto No. 1, with my recent acquaintance, Yifei Xu of the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, as the soloist.
The Philadelphia Orchestra touring Rautavaara’s Symphony No. 8, “The Journey.” I didn’t even know this video existed!
This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” in this season of bitter temperatures and falling snow, keep your spirits up with music inspired by Finland’s avian life.
Einojuhani Rautavaara’s concerto for birdsong and orchestra, “Cantus Arcticus,” from 1972, incorporates tape recordings made by the composer on the bogs of Liminka, near the Arctic Circle. More than just a gimmick, the piece is an inspiring triptych that manages to transcend its potentially New Age conceit. The work falls into three movements: “The Bog,” “Melancholy,” and “Swans Migrating.” The final movement takes the form of a long crescendo for orchestra, and incorporates the songs of whooper swans.
Jean Sibelius’ uplifting Symphony No. 5 culminates in a grand theme inspired by swans in flight around his home on the shores of Lake Tuusula in Järvenpää. The symphony is standard repertoire, but we’ll hear it as it was first performed in 1915, before it was substantially revised to become the masterwork we know today.
Encountering the Fifth in its original guise illuminates the composer’s remarkable clarity of purpose, uncanny objectivity, and iron will in reshaping his raw materials to achieve a loftier, definitive vision. It’s not for nothing that Sibelius was described by one critic as “a great artist whose imagination has the wings of an eagle.”
Take flight with Finnish music. Join me for “Snow Birds,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
EIGHT DAYS OF SIBELIUS, in anticipation of the composer’s birthday anniversary on December 8:
One day, back in the late ‘90s, when I was still an antiquarian bookseller with a weekend full of radio obligations, a stranger wandered into my shop and stood transfixed. Robert Kajanus’ world premiere recording of Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3, set down in 1932, was emanating from the mantle speakers. The man turned to me and remarked upon the quality of the performance. I told him it was Kajanus, which he acknowledged with a nod. Then he introduced himself by saying the music was composed by his grandfather. This is how, by purest chance, I struck up a friendship with Anssi Blomstedt, a documentary filmmaker, then living in Philadelphia, and the youngest grandchild of Jean Sibelius.
Not long after, I made some phone calls and was able to get Anssi into a rehearsal of Simon Rattle conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra in Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5. The ebullient Rattle was overjoyed to meet him. The encounter happened to coincide with an interview Rattle was doing backstage with somebody from Vanity Fair, I think, and somewhere there is a photograph of the future Sir Simon planting a kiss on Anssi’s forehead.
One good turn deserves another, and it was through Anssi that I actually got to meet Einojuhani Rautavaara, back in the year 2000. At the time, Rautavaara was Finland’s most revered living composer. As a young man, he had actually worked as Sibelius’ chauffeur! Now he was in Philadelphia for the first performance of his own Symphony No. 8, subtitled “The Journey.” Anssi took me backstage at the Academy of Music to introduce us. The venerable composer was friendly and obviously amenable to a photograph (taken by Anssi, and posted here, in all its pre-digital glory).
Rautavaara was also kind enough to sign my Naxos CD of his Symphony No. 3, the Piano Concerto No. 1, and the Concerto for Birds and Orchestra, known as “Cantus Arcticus.” I wonder what he thought of this peculiar, 33-year-old, American fan.
It was through Anssi that I also acquired an autographed photo of Sibelius, which he brought back from the composer’s home, Ainola, in Järvenpää, Finland, located 23 miles north of Helsinki. I have yet to come across it since my move to Princeton, but it is around here somewhere! Sometime this week, I’ll try to post a photo of the Sibelius letter I acquired earlier, as a bookseller, which I had framed with a photo of the composer enjoying a good cigar. (The letter is a note of thanks for a box of cigars, one of Sibelius’ notable weaknesses.)
Later, Anssi lived for a time in Easton, PA, another amazing coincidence, since Easton happens to be my hometown. He then moved back to Finland, so it’s been a number of years since we’ve seen one another. I’m thinking today might be a good time to try to reestablish contact.
Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3, conducted by Robert Kajanus:
Probably Einojuhani Rautavaara’s most frequently-heard work, the “Cantus Arcticus,” with bird songs recorded by the composer in the bogs of Liminka, near the Arctic Circle:
Yet to come this afternoon, I’ll be sharing a couple of knockout symphonies, by the Latvian composer Janis Ivanovs (2:00 EDT) and the late Finnish master Einojuhani Rautavaara (3:00 EDT), whose music is as enthralling as the spelling of his name.
David Osenberg will be joined by Philadelphia composer David Serkin Ludwig at 4:00 EDT. They’ll be talking about the upcoming premiere of Ludwig’s monodrama, “The Anchoress,” which will take place at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., under the auspices of the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Ludwig is on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music.
Check out this old-style photo of me with Rautavaara backstage at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music in 2000. The picture was taken following the premiere of the composer’s final symphony, the Symphony No. 8, subtitled “The Journey.” Guess which one is me. The photo was snapped by Anssi Blomstedt, grandson of Jean Sibelius.
Ivanovs and Rautaavara coming your way, on this, the anniversary of their births, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
On this Columbus Day, discover music by Johann Wilhelm Hertel, Camille Saint-Saëns, Janis Ivanovs, and Einojuhani Rautavaara. We’ll celebrate the birthday anniversaries of this very interesting assortment, from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
PHOTO: A callow Classic Ross Amico backstage with Einojuhani Rautavaara at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music in 2000, following the premiere of the composer’s Symphony No. 8 “The Journey.” The photo was taken by Anssi Blomstedt, grandson of Jean Sibelius.
