Death of the composer Einojuhani Rautavaara
The Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara has died in Helsinki at the age of 88. The symphonist, who was able to study in New York thanks to a grant from Jan Sibelius, was also a student of Wladimir Vogel in Ascona.
According to his publisher Boosey & Hawkes, Rautavaara was regarded as the leading Finnish composer of his generation. He combined modern elements with a romantic mysticism in his late style, wrote a series of orchestral works inspired by metaphysical and religious themes and achieved great popularity with the recordings of his works on the Ondine label, including his best-selling Symphony No. 7 (Angel of Light).
In his operas, Rautavaara mostly dealt with aspects of artistic creation and history, for example in "Vincent" (1986/87), "Aleksis Kivi" (1995/96) and "Rasputin" (2001-03). He has also written choral works that have been performed many times around the world, such as "Vigilia" (1971/72, rev. 1996), and has been commissioned by leading orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic.
Einojuhani Rautavaara's most successful works include: "Cantus arcticus" (1972) concerto for birds and orchestra, "Book of Visions" (2004) for orchestra and the
"Manhattan Trilogy" (2004) for orchestra.
