Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Estonian Music

Estonian Composers Eller Kapp and Sumera

One needn’t vault the Baltic in order to enjoy tones from Estonia.

This week on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll hear music by the so-called father of Estonian music, Heino Eller. Eller, born in Tartu in 1887, studied violin at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He also studied law. For 20 years, he taught theory and composition at the Tartu Higher School for Music. In 1940, he became a professor of composition at the Tallinn Conservatory, where he remained until his death in 1970.

Eller composed many beautiful tone pictures. We’ll hear his violin concerto, in a performance taken from a concert given in celebration of the composer’s 80th birthday.

Among Eller’s pupils were Eduard Tubin, Arvo Pärt, and Lepo Sumera. Sumera was born in Tallinn in 1950. In his teens, he studied with Veljo Tormis; then, beginning in 1968, with Eller, at what was then the Tallinn State Conservatory. He went on to compose six symphonies, as well as many chamber and choral works.

In the 1980s, he became interested in electro-acoustic music. He founded the Electronic Music Studio at the Estonian Academy of Music in 1995. He served as its director until 1999. Sumera died of heart failure in the year 2000, at the age of 50.

His Symphony No. 4, subtitled “Serena Borealis,” was composed in 1992. Western ears may detect the influence of minimalist techniques, but it’s worthwhile to note that the folk tradition of Estonian runo songs, handed down orally, relies equally on repetition. And the Estonian nationalists were nothing if not in tune with their musical past.

Finally, we’ll hear from Artur Kapp, who lived from 1878 to 1952. Like Eller, Kapp studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where Rimsky-Korsakov was among his teachers. He himself became a professor at the Tallinn Conservatory, where he taught many notable Estonian composers, among them, his sons, Eugen and Villem. Kapp is regarded as the head of the Tallinn school of composition, a counterbalance to Eller, who was the head of the Tartu school.

We’ll be listening to the finale from one of Kapp’s most enduring works, the oratorio “Job,” in a recording sent to me by the very generous Neeme Järvi (also born in Tallinn), while he was music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

I’ll share the wealth, on this hour of musical discoveries from Estonia. “Tallinn’s Got Talent,” on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – ALL NEW! – Saturday at 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

November 16, 2024
Neeme Järvi: Champion of Forgotten Music

How great a debt do we record collectors owe to Neeme Järvi?

Järvi must be one of the most prolific recorded conductors of all time. He certainly stands out in his choice of repertoire, thanks in no small part to enterprising and supportive independent labels like Chandos and BIS (the latter for which he recorded the complete works of Jean Sibelius, more or less).

Of course, Järvi also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, but by then he was able to use his influence to gently nudge this most mainstream of classical music record labels closer to the fringes of the repertoire.

From Järvi, you could always expect first-rate performances of music relegated to the lower drawers. It was from him that I learned all the Prokofiev symphonies, when all anyone else wanted to record was 1 & 5. It was his performances that convinced me that Glazunov was actually a fairly decent composer. He’s the only conductor to persuade me that Joachim Raff’s Fifth Symphony can be a compelling work. He also managed a thrilling and idiomatic recording of Duke Ellington’s “Harlem.”

Frankly, there are too many composers who have benefited from Järvi’s advocacy to list them all here. Among those who are now much better-know internationally, thanks to him, are Arvo Pärt, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Niels Wilhelm Gade, and Eduard Tubin.

Järvi excels in music of the Romantic era and the 20th century, and appears to be able to assimilate scores fairly quickly. And the more opulent, the better. His set of orchestral music from the operas of Rimsky-Korsakov is another highlight. His Strauss tone poems mesmerize. His recording of Prokofiev’s “Alexander Nevsky” is a knockout.

How about his Beethoven? Who cares? Järvi is one of the rare talents in his field who managed to buck the tradition of having to prove his metal against the core Austro-Germanic repertoire. Frankly, I’m much more interested to hear his Halvorsen.

A native of Tallin, Estonia (he emigrated to the United States in 1980 and has been an American citizen since 1985), Järvi trained under the Soviet system. His teachers included Yevgeny Mravinsky and Nikolai Rabinovich.

He went on to helm such orchestras as the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (1963-79), the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (1982-2004), the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (1984-88), the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (1990-2005), the New Jersey Symphony (2005-2009), the Resident Orchestra of the Hague (2005-12), and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (2012-15).

As a performer, he’s a real throwback. Aside from his superb recordings, he also frequently excels in concert. On a good night, when he catches fire, his performances are marked by a romantic spontaneity and passion. The results can be thrilling. No other conductor, at least since the days when Dennis Russell Davies was a presence, would have been able to sway the Philadelphia Orchestra to perform Hans Rott’s Symphony in E – on the second half of the program, no less.

Of course, the orchestra loved him for having stepped up to conduct Tchaikovsky on a joint concert with the New York Philharmonic during an orchestra strike in 1996. The program was prepared in one rehearsal. Jarvi donated his services for the concert and received no fee – an unpopular move with management, but one that made him a hero to musicians.

All his children have entered the family business. His sons, Paavo and Kristjan, are also conductors, and his daughter, Maarika, is a flutist. According to the most recent information, he resides with his wife in New York City.

While personally I never met him, he did respond to my request to sign some CDs of Estonian music to be used as “thank you” gifts during a radio membership drive for “The Lost Chord,” and into the bargain he also sent me a recording of Artur Kapp’s oratorio “Job,” with a very nice letter.

Is it possible everything he’s recorded can be considered “great music?” Of course not. But is it interesting and historically significant? You bet! It would be a very boring world indeed, and a less enlightening one, if all we ever heard was Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony.

Järvi is 85 today. Happy birthday, Maestro, and many, many more!

Järvi in conversation with Bruce Duffie

http://www.bruceduffie.com/jarvi.html

Edvard Grieg, “Symphonic Dances”

Eduard Tubin, Symphony No. 4 “Sinfonia Lirica”

Alexander Glazunov, “Stenka Razin”

Wilhelm Stenhammar, “Serenade”

Arvo Pärt, Symphony No. 3

Joachim Raff, Symphony No. 5 “Lenore”

Zdenek Fibich, Symphony No. 2

Sergei Prokofiev, “Alexander Nevsky ”

Duke Ellington, “Harlem”

Jean Sibelius, “Andante Festivo” (in concert)

June 7, 2022
Jaan Rääts Estonian Composer Dies at 88

I only just learned of the death of Estonian composer Jaan Rääts, on Christmas Day. Rääts was the composer of ten symphonies, 24 concertos, six string quartets, seven piano trios, and ten piano sonatas. He also wrote extensively for film. Early experience as a sound engineer at Estonia Radio fueled his interest in modern technology in music. Broadly speaking, his overall output tends to favor rhythm and repetition over development in the classical sense, and his music is subject to rapid contrasts. One of Estonia’s best-known composers, Rääts was 88 years-old.

More biographical information here:
https://www.helilooja.ee/en/members/jaan-raats/

Concerto for Chamber Orchestra (1961)

Symphony No. 8 (1985)

Piano Concerto No. 2 (1983)

Piano Trio No. 6 (1989)

Electronic Marginalia (1982)

Toccata (1968)

December 29, 2020
Estonian Composers Eller Kapp Sumera

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll immerse ourselves in tones from Estonia.

We’ll have music by the so-called father of Estonian music, Heino Eller. Eller, born in Tartu in 1887, studied violin at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He also studied law. For 20 years, he was professor of music theory and composition at the Tartu Higher School for Music. In 1940, he became a professor of composition at the Tallinn Conservatory, where he taught until his death, in 1970.

Eller composed many beautiful tone pictures. We’ll be listening to his violin concerto, in a performance taken from a concert given in celebration of the composer’s 80th birthday.

Among Eller’s pupils were Eduard Tubin, Arvo Pärt, and Lepo Sumera. Sumera was born in Tallinn in 1950. In his teens, he studied with Veljo Tormis; then, beginning in 1968, with Eller, at what was then the Tallinn State Conservatory. He went on to compose six symphonies, as well as many chamber and choral works.

In the 1980s, he became interested in electro-acoustic music. He founded the Electronic Music Studio at the Estonian Academy of Music in 1995. He served as its director until 1999. Sumera died of heart failure in the year 2000, at the age of 50.

We’ll hear his Symphony No. 4, subtitled “Serena borealis,” composed in 1992. Western ears may detect the influence of minimalist techniques, but it’s worthwhile to note that the folk tradition of Estonian runo songs, handed down orally, relies equally on repetition. And the Estonian nationalists were nothing if not in tune with their musical past.

Finally, we’ll hear from Artur Kapp, who lived from 1878 to 1952. Like Eller, Kapp studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where Rimsky-Korsakov was among his teachers. He himself became a professor at the Tallinn Conservatory, where he taught many notable Estonian composers, his sons, Eugen and Villem, among them. Kapp is considered the head of the Tallinn school of composition, a counterbalance to Eller, who is considered the head of the Tartu school.

We’ll be listening to the finale from one of Kapp’s most enduring works, the oratorio “Job,” in a recording sent to me by the very generous Neeme Järvi (also born in Tallinn), in response to an enthusiastic letter I had sent him while he was still music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

I’ll share the wealth, on this hour of musical discoveries from Estonia – “Tallinn’s Got Talent” – this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and at wwfm.org.

December 4, 2016

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