Einojuhani Rautavaara: Works for Violin and Orchestra

Featuring

Ulf Wallin
Ari Rasilainen
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra
Einojuhani Rautavaara

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Performer Biography

Ulf Wallin, the Swedish violinist on this recording, plays a violin made by the Venetian master Domenico Montagnana in 1746.

Composer Biography

Despite his musical lineage, Einojuhani Rautavaara had no formal musical training and could not even play the piano when he decided to become a composer in the late 1940s.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Einojuhani Rautavaara believed great music allows the listener "a glimpse of eternity through the window of time," an experience Arthur Koestler called "the oceanic feeling."

Critical Reception

Einojuhani Rautavaara's Third Symphony was initially met with disappointment by his teachers and colleagues for its unabashed romanticism, but a decade later, critics praised it as a modern classic of Finnish music.

Performer Biography

The Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, featured on this recording, is the oldest orchestra in Finland and one of the oldest in the world, with roots dating back to 1790.

Composer Biography

Einojuhani Rautavaara's studies in America were a life-changing experience; he even kept his private diaries in English from 1969 to 1980.

Composer Biography

Einojuhani Rautavaara's father, Eino Rautavaara, was a co-founder of Finnish opera and a well-known opera singer, and his cousin, Aulikki Rautawaara, had an international career as a soprano.