Sumera's generation of composers came of age during Khrushchev's 'Thaw,' a period of loosened Communist Party dictates, but also experienced the suppression of democratic trends in 1968.
Composer Biography
Lepo Sumera, one of Estonia's most outstanding symphonists, wrote six symphonies that reflect the unique context of composers born after World War II.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Late-Soviet Estonian composers like Sumera adopted 'escapism' as a cultural response to repression, creating personal styles where the composer's personality became symbolically invisible to authorities.
Performer Biography
The Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, led by Chief Conductor Olari Elts, is the country's longest continually operating professional orchestra, with a history dating back to 1926.
Composition History
Lepo Sumera's First Symphony marks his abandonment of atonality for a neo-modal language, while his Sixth Symphony is his final work, premiered barely a month before his death.
Compositional Technique
The symphony genre held a central position in Soviet musical aesthetics, allowing composers to express non-musical ideas and thoughts that were otherwise publicly forbidden.
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