To mark the 120th anniversary of Estonia's national composer Eduard Tubin, this exuberant chamber music programme, including two world premiere recordings, traces Tubin's life, which is clearly marked by the dramatic upheavals of the 20th century. Early works side by side with late compositions show deep insights into the artist's soul - we hear his inner struggles, his development and his joys in top-class interpretations by pianist Kart Ruubel and her twin sister Triin, violin, as well as Xandi van Dijk, viola and Theodor Sink, cello.

In the context of Estonian violin music, Tubin composed many of the most outstanding works, including 2 violin concertos, 2 violin sonatas with piano, Sonata for Solo Violin and Suite on Estonian Dance Tunes, as well as a number of shorter pieces. Tubin's works, with their crisp, northerly expression, are profoundly national in character. Sigrid Kuulmann studied at the Estonian Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and at Robert Schumann Hochschule in Dusseldorf. She is a Laureate of Heino Eller International Violin Competition in Tallinn and is gaining further accolades for her performances of Estonian music, especially in Eduard Tubin's works.

Classical Music

BIS has conveniently packaged Neeme Järvi's epoch-making set of Eduard Tubin's complete symphonies, hopefully giving them a new lease on retail life. In case you haven't been paying attention over the past decade or so, these works constitute as fine a legacy of Scandinavian music as the symphonies of Sibelius or Nielsen. There are some extraordinary masterpieces here, including Nos. 3, 5, 6, and 8, and the performances are every bit as marvelous as the music. The only disappointment is the limply played and distantly recorded account of the serenely beautiful No. 4, taken from a live concert in Bergen, Norway, but it would be churlish to deny this important project the highest recommendation as a result of this one lapse. Fortunately, an excellent new version of the Fourth has just been released on Alba so it's easy to supplement this complete set with that one extra work, and be in Tubin heaven. Not to be missed! --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music