For a decade after his Cello Concerto, Einojuhani Rautavaara explored the concerto genre by consistently writing for different solo instruments, never repeating one until the Ballad for harp and strings.
Composer Biography
Einojuhani Rautavaara, born in 1928, was already a seasoned composer by 1968, having written four symphonies, an opera, and several chamber works.
Composition History
Einojuhani Rautavaara wrote his First Piano Concerto (1969) for himself, allowing him to perform as a soloist with orchestras across Finland despite his limited keyboard skills.
Composer's Artistic Vision
For Einojuhani Rautavaara, the composer of these concertos, a concerto always represented a drama or conflict between the individual soloist and the collective orchestra.
Composition History
Einojuhani Rautavaara's Third Piano Concerto, 'Gift of Dreams,' was composed with the specific request from soloist Vladimir Ashkenazy that he be able to conduct while playing, limiting rhythmic complexity.
Composer Biography
In the late 1960s, Einojuhani Rautavaara underwent a profound stylistic transition, abandoning strict dodecaphony for a free-tonal style with late Romantic sonorities.
Compositional Technique
Einojuhani Rautavaara's Cantus Arcticus, subtitled 'Concerto for Birds and Orchestra,' uniquely contrasts a neo-Romantic orchestral texture with actual birdsong recorded by the composer.
You might also enjoy...
Dohnányi: Concertos
Holmboe: Chamber Concertos Nos. 1-3
Luciano Berio: Orchestral Works
Milhaud: The 6 Little Symphonies, Le bœuf sur le toit, L'homme et son désir & Other Works
