RAUTAVAARA : The 8 Symphonies (2009) 4xCD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This four-disc set collects Ondine's recordings of the eight symphonies of Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara. The symphonies themselves fall into two groups. The First through Fourth were written from 1955 through 1962 and trace the young composer's growth from neo-classical modernism through neo-expressionism, post-romanticism, and flat-out serialism, while the Fifth through Eighth were written from 1986 though 1999 and are more stylistic homogenous and more all-stops-out ecstatic. The performances range from the merely utilitarian First with Mikko Franck leading the National Orchestra of Belgium through the more acceptable Second through Sixth with Max Pommer directing the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra to the altogether magnificent Seventh and Eighth with Leif Segerstam heading up the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. For a taste of the journeyman composer, try the sweeping, searing Third Symphony. But for a taste of Rautavaara at his best, try the Seventh "Angel of Light" Symphony that fairly radiates incandescent excitement in its towering waves of sound. Throughout, Ondine's digital sound is clear and deep, though the later recordings are clearer and deeper than the earlier recordings. by James Leonard  All tracks