# SS 27.06.20 - Rautavaara #7



## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

A continuation of the Saturday Symphonies Tradition:

Welcome to another weekend of symphonic listening!

For your listening pleasure this weekend:

Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928 - 2016)

Symphony #7 "Angel of Light"


Tranquillo
Molto allegro
Come un sogno
Pesante - Cantabile
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Post what recording you are going to listen to giving details of Orchestra / Conductor / Chorus / Soloists etc - Enjoy!


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## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

Another weekend is upon us and another Symphony is up for your enjoyment. This weekend it's Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara Seventh Symphony.I hope everyone can join in and give this work a spin.

I have this Ondine box set:








also available in youtube:


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Symphony No.7 "Angel of Light" - Einojuhani Rautavaara
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam

I will spin this on later.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

This version for me
What I have heard of Rautavaara so far I have enjoyed so looking forward to this one


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## DaddyGeorge (Mar 16, 2020)

I will go with Leif Segerstam & Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra:


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

DaddyGeorge said:


> I will go with Leif Segerstam & Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra:
> 
> View attachment 138654


Same one here............


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I actually have the Vanska - the same disc as Haydn man's - so that is the one I'll go with. I remember it as one of those Rautavaara works that I enjoy but it has been a while.


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

Haven't listened to this for a while. Love the elegance, mystery and brutality in this symphony. I'm putting on the Segerstam/Helsinki disc.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Segerstam/Helsinki for me too.

I have a tangential personal connection to this Symphony, in that a cousin of mine was responsible for its commissioning back in the early 1990s, and conducted its premiere in 1995.


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

Segerstam Helsinki here. Oddly, I happened to listen to his Symphony No. 6 "Vincentiana" a couple days ago.


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## Simplicissimus (Feb 3, 2020)

Segerstam/Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra for me, too, via my streaming service. I’m happy finally to check out Rautavaara. Enjoying a first listen this early morning with birds chirping in the background and coffee brewing.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

CnC Bartok said:


> Segerstam/Helsinki for me too.
> 
> I have a tangential personal connection to this Symphony, in that a cousin of mine was responsible for its commissioning back in the early 1990s, and conducted its premiere in 1995.


David Pickett and the Bloomington SO?


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

I have the Ondine box so that will be my recording of choice.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Malx said:


> David Pickett and the Bloomington SO?


Correct, Malx! Am quietly proud of that family achievement, even if I can claim no credit whatsoever!


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## cougarjuno (Jul 1, 2012)

I listen to Rautavaara every so often - always a mystical quality to his music. This is a wonderful symphony. Vanska and Lahti Symphony for me.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Haydn man said:


> View attachment 138653
> 
> This version for me
> What I have heard of Rautavaara so far I have enjoyed so looking forward to this one


For me as well.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Just listened to Vanska's version. I seem to be much more patient with Rautavaara than when I first heard his 7th some years back. Very nice indeed. I'm going to listen again, this time to Segerstam's take on the work. BTW the Ondine box of R's symphonies is free to stream for Amazon Prime members.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Enjoyed this one
I was surprised that it was written in the 1990’s as it sounded quite traditional in style overall
Seemed to me that like many other Scandinavian composers there is a big Sibelius influence at work. Not that this is bad thing because it is a very enjoyable symphony.
Vanska with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra seem right at home with this just as they do with Sibelius 
Another SS worthy of more attention in the future


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I listened to Vanska yesterday and Segerstam today. Both are fine performances in good sound, and at least on first listen I couldn’t choose one over the other.

This is the real deal, music that Hovhaness might have written if he were more talented, more skillful, and had a truer focus. Nonetheless, it reminds me a bit of Górecki’s 3rd Symphony, which enjoyed a sudden broad popularity back when it was first recorded, but faded quickly when listeners got beyond the beautiful façade of its sound world and found its actual substance more troubling than relaxing.

Similarly, it’s hard to imagine a work of this type that’s more attractive and even sensuous on the surface. But Rautavaara’s angels, like Donne’s, are no cartoon characters. They are dangerous beings, capable of burning us into a wisp of ash if we get too close, and for reasons we can never hope to understand.

To me, at least, this comes through in the music. And it may account for a surprisingly limited popularity – for instance, it wasn’t performed in the USA at all in the latest year I have records for. That said, I’m happy enough with these two recordings, and can listen without putting my existence at risk through an unwise proximity to the creatures involved.

A good ‘un for the SS!


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