Ondine
Rautavaara: Book of Visions / Franck, National Orchestra of Belgium
$18.99
Details
- Composer
- RAUTAVAARA, EINOJUHANI
- Artist
- NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF BELGIUM
- Format
- SACD
- Label
- Ondine
- Released
- Oct 03, 2001
- Catalog #
- ODE 1064-5
- UPC
- 761195106457
About
This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
This is a stunning disc. Rautavaara continues to operate at the peak of his form, despite suffering a serious heart attack in mid-composition of Book of Visions that kept him hospitalized for six months. It's a remarkable work in four movements (or "tales") lasting some 40 minutes. Each tale has a tantalizing title (Night, Fire, Love, and Fate) vague enough to leave the specifics to the listener's imagination, but full of musical possibilities that Rautavaara seizes with relish. You might call this new work a "Four Lemminkäinen Legends" for the new millennium, since as always that indefinable Finnish sensibility is quite audibly present but is always expressed in the composer's own personal idiom. The music is gorgeous: evocative, mysterious, luminously scored, and extremely well-crafted--and it practically goes without saying that dedicatee Mikko Franck does a spectacular job conducting this premiere. This is a major statement, make no mistake.
Rautavaara's First Symphony has often been revised, from a four-movement original, down to two movements, and back up to the present three, which, as the composer notes, provides a more balanced sequence than previously. It was written when Prokofiev and Shostakovich were major influences, but with the passing of time the lyricism of the first movement now seems fully characteristic of Rautavaara. Adagio Celeste is yet another example (there are many in Rautavaara) of how music based on a 12-note theme can still be very beautiful and approachable. In this regard he recalls Swiss composer Frank Martin. It's a lovely work scored for small orchestra (the "string orchestra" designation on the tray card is incorrect). Once again the performances of this work and the symphony are all that anyone could ask, and the sonics, whether in stereo or multichannel formats, are fully up to the quality of the interpretations. A knockout, not to be missed!
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
This is a stunning disc. Rautavaara continues to operate at the peak of his form, despite suffering a serious heart attack in mid-composition of Book of Visions that kept him hospitalized for six months. It's a remarkable work in four movements (or "tales") lasting some 40 minutes. Each tale has a tantalizing title (Night, Fire, Love, and Fate) vague enough to leave the specifics to the listener's imagination, but full of musical possibilities that Rautavaara seizes with relish. You might call this new work a "Four Lemminkäinen Legends" for the new millennium, since as always that indefinable Finnish sensibility is quite audibly present but is always expressed in the composer's own personal idiom. The music is gorgeous: evocative, mysterious, luminously scored, and extremely well-crafted--and it practically goes without saying that dedicatee Mikko Franck does a spectacular job conducting this premiere. This is a major statement, make no mistake.
Rautavaara's First Symphony has often been revised, from a four-movement original, down to two movements, and back up to the present three, which, as the composer notes, provides a more balanced sequence than previously. It was written when Prokofiev and Shostakovich were major influences, but with the passing of time the lyricism of the first movement now seems fully characteristic of Rautavaara. Adagio Celeste is yet another example (there are many in Rautavaara) of how music based on a 12-note theme can still be very beautiful and approachable. In this regard he recalls Swiss composer Frank Martin. It's a lovely work scored for small orchestra (the "string orchestra" designation on the tray card is incorrect). Once again the performances of this work and the symphony are all that anyone could ask, and the sonics, whether in stereo or multichannel formats, are fully up to the quality of the interpretations. A knockout, not to be missed!
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
Tracklist 8 tracks
-
1 I. Andante 15:44
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Andante
- Duration
- 15:44
- Composer
- Einojuhani Rautavaara
- Ensemble
- Belgium National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Mikko Franck
-
2 II. Poetico 07:41
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Poetico
- Duration
- 07:41
- Composer
- Einojuhani Rautavaara
- Ensemble
- Belgium National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Mikko Franck
-
3 III. Allegro 04:06
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Allegro
- Duration
- 04:06
- Composer
- Einojuhani Rautavaara
- Ensemble
- Belgium National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Mikko Franck
-
4 Adagio celeste 07:31
- Track
- 4
- Title
- Adagio celeste
- Duration
- 07:31
- Composer
- Einojuhani Rautavaara
- Ensemble
- Belgium National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Mikko Franck
-
5 I. A Tale of Night 11:09
- Track
- 5
- Title
- I. A Tale of Night
- Duration
- 11:09
- Composer
- Einojuhani Rautavaara
- Ensemble
- Belgium National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Mikko Franck
-
6 II. A Tale of Fire 07:36
- Track
- 6
- Title
- II. A Tale of Fire
- Duration
- 07:36
- Composer
- Einojuhani Rautavaara
- Ensemble
- Belgium National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Mikko Franck
-
7 III. A Tale of Love 10:09
- Track
- 7
- Title
- III. A Tale of Love
- Duration
- 10:09
- Composer
- Einojuhani Rautavaara
- Ensemble
- Belgium National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Mikko Franck
-
8 IV. A Tale of Fate 11:22
- Track
- 8
- Title
- IV. A Tale of Fate
- Duration
- 11:22
- Composer
- Einojuhani Rautavaara
- Ensemble
- Belgium National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Mikko Franck