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
