The only complete recorded survey of Rautavaara’s piano music: the sequel to Morta Grigaliūnaitė’s acclaimed collection of Bacewicz on Piano Classics.
‘Nothing scares the brilliant Morta Grigaliūnaitė.’ (Diapason)
In her own detailed booklet essay, introducing the piano output of Einojuhani Rautavaara, Morta Grigaliūnaitė remarks that it was the otherworldly mood of works such as the Cantus Arcticus which initially drew her to the Finnish composer’s music. ‘I was equally captivated by the strength of character and unreserved virtuosity of his compositions… Rautavaara’s music… never imposes or forces itself, [it] consistently hovers between our world and the realm of the unknown.’
Not least through the global success of Cantus Arcticus, his ‘concerto for birds and orchestra’, Rautavaara remains one of the most frequently performed Finnish composers to this day, but his piano music is underappreciated in comparison.
However, over the course of a long career, Rautavaara shifted between various compositional styles which may be traced from the Bartókian folk dances of his Fiddlers suite Op.1, from 1952.
Even as his language embraced greater complexity, he took inspiration from Christian themes with a cycle of piano Icons (1955) followed by the First Piano Sonata (subtitled ‘Christ and the Fisherman, from 1969), and then the Second Sonata (‘The Fire Sermon’, of 1970)
In the meantime, collections of Preludes and Etudes demonstrated Rautavaara’s talent for drawing on the Romantic vocabulary of piano literature while speaking in his own language, just as Messiaen had done in the Vingt Régards. The textures often shimmer and glitter, demanding high virtuosity from the pianist and rewarding listeners with evocative tone-pictures of water, fire and light.
Morta Grigaliūnaitė completes her survey with a solo-piano arrangement of Cantus Arcticus in its first recording: she remarks that the transcription by Peter Lönnqvist ‘challenges the pianist to not only engage with the utmost level of virtuosity, but also to embody the sensitivity that Rautavaara’s music requires.’
- Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928–2016) is recognized as one of the most versatile contemporary composers, distinguished by a vast and diverse creative output. His extensive catalogue includes numerous symphonies, concertos, operas, chamber and choral compositions, sonatas for solo instruments and various other works, making him one of the most frequently performed Finnish composers to this day.
- In his piano music, Rautavaara expresses his musical ideas in a way that strikes a balance between structure and creativity. Often labelled as ‘mystic’, Rautavaara shifted between various compositional styles: modernist, avant-gardist, serialist. In the end however he said “The only way for me was to write the kind of music which I myself liked.”
- This new recording presents Rautavaara’s complete pianistic output: two piano sonatas and several sets of preludes, etudes and character pieces. Fascinating music, full of melodic and pianistic invention!
- With performances broadcast live in 40 countries through the classical music channel Mezzo, Lithuanian pianist Morta Grigaliūnaitė has established herself as an active soloist and chamber musician. Since the release of her debut album in 2019, she has received outstanding reviews for her interpretation of piano works by Grażyna Bacewicz.
- Described by critics as “powerful and dramatic”, her recordings have been featured on BBC Radio 3, as well as receiving five-star reviews on Fanfare and Diapason magazines.
