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Author Topic: Estonian composers  (Read 8837 times)

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Offline Roy Bland

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #40 on: January 10, 2020, 05:17:07 PM »
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Offline vers la flamme

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #41 on: January 11, 2020, 06:44:51 PM »
I love Arvo Pärt, whose (great) music I feel is sometimes unjustly maligned by certain "serious" classical listeners. I (sometimes) like Eduard Tubin. It's my (very limited!) understanding that these are two of the most important composers in Estonian music. Who else is up there? I know there is also Eugen Kapp and his Kalevipoeg ballet, which was recently recommended to me. I'd appreciate other recommendations!
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Offline Symphonic Addict

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #42 on: January 11, 2020, 07:53:41 PM »
Kaljo Raid with his magnificent 1st Symphony is a clear first candidate. Lepo Sumera, Eino Tamberg, Heino Eller, Artur Lemba. Each of these has, at least, an interesting work to be discovered and enjoyed.
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Offline vandermolen

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #43 on: January 12, 2020, 12:47:58 AM »
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on January 11, 2020, 07:53:41 PM
Kaljo Raid with his magnificent 1st Symphony is a clear first candidate. Lepo Sumera, Eino Tamberg, Heino Eller, Artur Lemba. Each of these has, at least, an interesting work to be discovered and enjoyed.
Raid's First Symphony is magnificent IMO. I also like Sumera, especially Symphony No.2 and all of Tubin's symphonies but especially the under appreciated No.1 and also No.2 'Legendary' another magnificent work, No.3 'Heroic' and nos. 4,5,6 and 10. More recently I've been exploring, with much pleasure, the new Heino Eller series on Ondine.
The CD below is a great introduction to Estonian music:
« Last Edit: January 12, 2020, 12:49:50 AM by vandermolen »
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Offline Christo

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #44 on: January 12, 2020, 12:57:18 AM »
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on January 11, 2020, 07:53:41 PM
Kaljo Raid with his magnificent 1st Symphony is a clear first candidate. Lepo Sumera, Eino Tamberg, Heino Eller, Artur Lemba. Each of these has, at least, an interesting work to be discovered and enjoyed.
Fully agreed. In this category, primarily orchestral composers - in choral music Veljo Tormis equally monumental, yet completely different and independent from, Arvo Pärt - there's one more symphony, "Soviet realism" and all, yet fully enjoyable and honest, I dare to recommend, the 1955 Symphony No. 2 by yet another branch of the Kapp family, Villem Kapp (1912-1964).

And for strong of hearts of course Rudolf Tobias' masterpiece, the mammoth oratorio Des Jona Sendung, roughly comparable with Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln by Franz Schmidt. Love them both, Des Jona Sendung also showing unexpected depths and many glorious moments amidst a sometimes Mendelsohnian-archaic ocean of choral writing, but much more than that.   
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Offline vandermolen

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #45 on: January 12, 2020, 02:10:22 AM »
Quote from: Christo on January 12, 2020, 12:57:18 AM
Fully agreed. In this category, primarily orchestral composers - in choral music Veljo Tormis equally monumental, yet completely different and independent from, Arvo Pärt - there's one more symphony, "Soviet realism" and all, yet fully enjoyable and honest, I dare to recommend, the 1955 Symphony No. 2 by yet another branch of the Kapp family, Villem Kapp (1912-1964).

And for strong of hearts of course Rudolf Tobias' masterpiece, the mammoth oratorio Des Jona Sendung, roughly comparable with Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln by Franz Schmidt. Love them both, Des Jona Sendung also showing unexpected depths and many glorious moments amidst a sometimes Mendelsohnian-archaic ocean of choral writing, but much more than that.
I especially like Tormis's 'Overture No.2'. He is another composer for me to explore more this year. I have the 'Forgotten Peoples' CD. I also like Kapp Symphony No.2. I think that the Chandos release is the same performance as on the BBC Music Magazine disc posted above:

Here's a review:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Dec07/Kapp_chan10441.htm

Forthcoming release:
« Last Edit: January 12, 2020, 02:17:44 AM by vandermolen »
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Offline Symphonic Addict

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #46 on: January 12, 2020, 01:05:26 PM »
Quote from: vandermolen on January 12, 2020, 12:47:58 AM
Raid's First Symphony is magnificent IMO. I also like Sumera, especially Symphony No.2 and all of Tubin's symphonies but especially the under appreciated No.1 and also No.2 'Legendary' another magnificent work, No.3 'Heroic' and nos. 4,5,6 and 10. More recently I've been exploring, with much pleasure, the new Heino Eller series on Ondine.
The CD below is a great introduction to Estonian music:


I do remember that disc. Some fine works on it.

Quote from: Christo on January 12, 2020, 12:57:18 AM
Fully agreed. In this category, primarily orchestral composers - in choral music Veljo Tormis equally monumental, yet completely different and independent from, Arvo Pärt - there's one more symphony, "Soviet realism" and all, yet fully enjoyable and honest, I dare to recommend, the 1955 Symphony No. 2 by yet another branch of the Kapp family, Villem Kapp (1912-1964).

And for strong of hearts of course Rudolf Tobias' masterpiece, the mammoth oratorio Des Jona Sendung, roughly comparable with Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln by Franz Schmidt. Love them both, Des Jona Sendung also showing unexpected depths and many glorious moments amidst a sometimes Mendelsohnian-archaic ocean of choral writing, but much more than that.   

That Tobias work sounds right up my alley. Thanks for bringing it to this conversation.
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Offline Christo

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #47 on: January 12, 2020, 02:45:53 PM »
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on January 12, 2020, 01:05:26 PM

That Tobias work sounds right up my alley. Thanks for bringing it to this conversation.
Be careful, pick out the 'interesting parts first', it's quite a puzzling story and a nut to crack one by one, not as "easy" as the Schmidt mammoth, Tobias can be quite confusing at first hearing.  ???
(I once wrote an essay about it, was forced to crack it, not without reward).  :)
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… music is not only an 'entertainment’, nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Offline Daverz

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #48 on: January 13, 2020, 12:30:46 AM »
I've been enjoying some recordings of Tõnu Kõrvits lately (on ECM and Ondine).  His music is on the lighter, more accessible side:

https://www.ecmrecords.com/artists/1455097120/tonu-korvits

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Offline Mirror Image

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #49 on: January 13, 2020, 08:19:59 PM »
I wish some enterprising label would devote an entire series to Ester Mägi. She deserves it!
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Offline vandermolen

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #50 on: February 03, 2020, 02:52:10 AM »
Giving this a first spin.
Artur Lemba's Piano Concerto No.1 (1905 revised 1910) an enjoyable work, reminding me at times of Balakirev's PC:
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"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

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Offline Symphonic Addict

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #51 on: July 08, 2020, 04:40:38 PM »
Just discovered this lovely symphony by Cyrillus Kreek:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/hESziETywok" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/hESziETywok</a>
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Offline vandermolen

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Re: Estonian composers
« Reply #52 on: July 08, 2020, 08:08:29 PM »
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on July 08, 2020, 04:40:38 PM
Just discovered this lovely symphony by Cyrillus Kreek:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/hESziETywok" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/hESziETywok</a>

Sounds very nice Cesar. Surely a candidate for the favourite composer names thread as well.
 :)
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"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).
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