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This new recording features the complete works for violin and piano by iconic Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautaavara (b. 1928), including world premières.
The performers are two of the most fascinating talents from Finland who are know for a fresh approach: violinist Pekka Kuusisto (“may be the best thing to happen to classical music in years” – The Guardian) and pianist Paavali Jumppanen (“immense power and an extraordinary range of colours” – The New York Times), who, for Deutsche Grammophon, made acclaimed recordings of Pierre Boulez’s Complete Piano Sonatas.
This CD also includes Rautavaara's opus 1, the piano suite Pelimannit (The Fiddlers), which is based on traditional polska tunes for the fiddle. Following Pekka Kuusisto's concept, this recording presents the original violin tunes, alternating with the respective movements from Rautavaara's piano suite.
Einojuhani Rautavaara: Lost Landscapes
I. Tanglewood
II. Ascona
III. Rainergasse 11, Vienna
IV. West 23rd Street, NY
Einojuhani Rautavaara: Summer Thoughts
Summer Thoughts
Einojuhani Rautavaara: April Lines
April Lines
Einojuhani Rautavaara: Notturno e Danza
Notturno
Danza
Einojuhani Rautavaara: Varietude
Varietude
Einojuhani Rautavaara: Dithyrambos (version for violin and piano)
Dithyrambos (version for violin and piano)
Traditional: Narbolaisten braa speli
Narbolaisten braa speli
Einojuhani Rautavaara: Pelimannit (The Fiddlers), Op. 1
I. Narbolaisten Braa Speli
Traditional: Kopsin Jonas
Kopsin Jonas
Pelimannit (The Fiddlers), Op. 1
II. Kopsin Jonas
Traditional: Jacob Konni
Jacob Konni
Pelimannit (The Fiddlers), Op. 1
III. Jacob Konni
Traditional: Klockar Samuel Dikstrom
Klockar Samuel Dikstrom
Pelimannit (The Fiddlers), Op. 1
IV. Klockar Samuel Dikstrom
Traditional: Pirun polska
Pirun polska
Pelimannit (The Fiddlers), Op. 1
V. Pirun Polska
Traditional: Hypyt
Hypyt
Pelimannit (The Fiddlers), Op. 1
VI. Hypyt
September 2011
****
“That [Dithyrambos] should have such an effect is partly a tribute to the spirited musicianship of Pekka Kuusisto and Paavali Jumppanen. If Kuusisto ultimately emerges as the star, that's partly because the piano writing in the more recent pieces gives him a lot less scope than Dithyrambos or Pelimannit. But in those earlier scores he's splendidly alert and expressive.”
October 2011
“Kuusisto and Jumppanen are persuasive executants - Rautavaara's challenging technical demands are thrown off with elan...Where the performers are at their best is in The Fiddlers, Rautavaara's vivacious folk-music piano suite (1952), delivered in lively and fully competitive fashion”
14th July 2011
****
“Nostalgia envelops “Lost Landscapes” (2005), in which Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara reflects on places of significance to him. Reminiscences of New York trigger hustle and bustle, and listeners accustomed to his mystical vistas will find many other facets to his creative output in this superbly played selection of his violin and piano works.”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
I. Tanglewood
