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Einojuhani Rautavaara
Post-War · 1928–2016
Einojuhani Rautavaara was Finland's best-known composer of the generation after Sibelius, and Sibelius himself gave him his start: in the 1950s the old man chose the young Rautavaara for a scholarship that sent him to study at Juilliard in New York. Born in Helsinki in 1928, he later taught for many years at the Sibelius Academy while composing steadily.
He tried out many styles over his long career, from strict modernism to a glowing, spacious sound often described as mystical. Angels recur in his titles, not as decoration but as a personal symbol he took seriously. In the 1990s his Symphony no. 7 found a wide international audience, a rare thing for new orchestral music, and he kept writing until his death in 2016.
Start with Cantus Arcticus, a concerto for orchestra and recorded Arctic birdsong, then the Symphony no. 7, Angel of Light.
147 works in the catalog, across 5 genres. Log what you listen to with Opus, the classical music journal for iPhone.
Chamber
- April Lines
- A Requiem in our Time, for brass, op. 3
- Eingang, for voice and string quartet
- Fanfare for 4 Trumpets
- Hymnus, for trumpet and organ
- Lost Landscapes
- Monologues of the Unicorn, for guitar
- Notturno e Danza
- Octet for Winds
- Partita for Guitar
- Playgrounds for Angels, for 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, horn, and tuba
- Serenades of the Unicorn
- Serenades of the Unicorn, for guitar
- Sonata for Flute and Guitar
- Sonetto for Clarinet and Piano, op. 53
- String Quartet no. 1, "Quartettino"
- String Quartet no. 2, op. 12
- String Quartet no. 4, op. 87
- Summer Thoughts
- Tarantará, for solo trumpet
- Varietude
- Whispering, for violin and piano
Keyboard
- 6 Etudes, op. 42
- 7 Preludes for Piano, op. 7
- Ikonit, suite for piano, op. 6
- Ikonit for piano, suite for piano, op. 6
- Laudatio trinitatis, for organ
- Pelimannit
- Piano Sonata no. 1, op. 50, "Christus und die Fischer"
- Piano Sonata no. 2, op. 64, "The Fire Sermon"
- Ta Tou Theou, for organ
- Toccata for Organ, op. 59
Orchestral
- Angels and Visitations
- Cantus Arcticus, for orchestra and taped bird songs, op. 61
- Piano Concerto no. 1
- Symphony no. 7, "Angel of Light"
- Symphony no. 8, "The Journey"
- Violin Concerto
- Adagio celeste, for strings
- A Finnish Myth, for string orchestra
- Anadyomene, "Adoration of Aphrodite"
- Annunciations, concerto for organ, brass and symphonic winds
- A Soldier's Mass, for wind ensemble, op. 40
- A Tapestry of Life, for orchestra
- Autumn Gardens
- Ballad for Harp and Strings
- Before the Icons, for orchestra
- Book of Visions
- Canto 1, for string orchestra
- Canto 2, for string orchestra
- Canto 3, for string orchestra, "A Portrait of the Artist at a Certain Moment"
- Canto 4, for string orchestra
- Cantus Arcticus for orchestra and taped bird songs, op. 61
- Cello Concerto
- Cello Concerto no. 2, "Towards the Horizon"
- Clarinet Concerto
- Divertimento for string orchestra
- Divertimento for String Orchestra
- Epitaph for Béla Bartók, for string orchestra
- Flute Concerto, op. 63, "Dances with the Winds"
- Garden of Spaces
- Harp Concerto
- Hommage à Kodály Zoltán, for string orchestra
- Hommage à Liszt Ferenc, for string orchestra
- Lintukoto
- Lintukoto, for orchestra
- Manhattan Trilogy, for orchestra
- Modificata, for orchestra
- Pelimannit, for strings, op. 1
- Percussion Concerto, "Incantations"
- Piano Concerto no. 2
- Piano Concerto no. 3, "Gift of Dreams"
- Pohjalainen polska
- Pohjalainen polska, for orchestra or strings
- Symphony no. 1
- Symphony no. 1
- Symphony no. 2, "Sinfonia intima"
- Symphony no. 3, op. 20
- Symphony no. 4, "Arabescata"
- Symphony no. 5
- Symphony no. 6, for orchestra and synthesizer, "Vincentiana"
Stage
- Aleksis Kivi Opera
- Auringon talo, tragedia buffa, chamber Opera
- Kaivos
- Marjatta matala neiti
- Runo 42 'Sammon ryöstö', choral for male choir, soloists and tape Opera
- Thomas
- Vincent, Opera
Vocal
- 2 Preludes by T. S. Eliot, for male chorus, op. 32
- 3 Sonnets of Shakespeare, song cycle for high or medium voice and piano
- 4 Romances from the opera Rasputin, for male chorus
- 4 Serenades, for male chorus
- 4 Songs from the Opera Aleksis Kivi, for voice and piano
- 5 Sonnets to Orpheus, for medium voice and orchestra
- Ave Maria, for male chorus, op. 10, no. 1
- Ave Maria gratia plena, for chorus
- Canción de nuestro tiempo
- Canticum Mariae Virginis, for chorus
- Credo
- Die erste Elegie
- Die erste Elegie, for chorus
- Die Liebenden, song cycle for high voice and chamber orchestra
- Elämän kirja, 11 songs in 5 languages for male chorus and soloists
- Guds väg, song cycle for high or medium voice and piano
- Halavan himmeän alla
- Hallin Janne, for male chorus
- Herran rukous
- I min älsklings trädgård, for SSAA chorus
- I min älsklings trädgård, song cycle for voice and piano
- Isontalon Antti ja Rannanjärvi, for male chorus
- Katedralen, for chorus and soloists
- Kettu ja sairas kukko, for male chorus
- Kvällen stundar, song for chorus
- Lapsimessu, for children's chorus
- Laulaja, for male chorus
- Legenda, for male chorus
- Lehdet lehtiä, for male chorus
- Lorca Suite, for mixed or children's choir
- Lorulei, for SSA chorus
- Ludus verbalis
- Lähtö
- Maailman uneen, song cycle for voice and piano
- Magnificat, for soloists and chorus
- Magnificat, for soloists and chorus
- Marjatan jouluvirsi, for chorus
- Matka, song cycle for medium voice and piano
- Missa a cappella
- Missa Duodecanonica, for 3-part chorus
- Morsian
- Nattvarden
- Nirvana Dharma, for chorus, soprano and flute
- Och glädjen den dansar
- Och glädjen den dansar, for chorus
- On the Last Frontier, fantasy for chorus and orchestra
- Our Joyful'st Feast, for chorus
- Praktisch Deutsch, suite for chorus
- Psalms, for male or mixed chorus, op. 37
- Puusepän poika, for SSA chorus
- Pyhiä päivä, song cycle for high or medium voice and piano
- Rakkaus ei koskaan häviä, for soprano and female chorus
- Sommarnatten
- Sommarnatten, for chorus
- Syksy virran suussa, for male chorus
- True and False Unicorn, for chorus and orchestra
- Viatonten valssi, for SSA chorus, violin and piano
- Vigilia, for soloists and chorus
- Wenn sich die Welt auftut, for SSAA chorus
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