Searching for roots

Eduard Tubin (Composer), Arvo Part (Composer), Erkki-Sven Tuur (Composer), Paavo Jarvi (Conductor), Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Kjell Lysell (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Kjell Lysell
• Orchestra: Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Paavo Jarvi
• Composer: Eduard Tubin, Arvo Part, Erkki-Sven Tuur
• Audio CD (July 4, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virgin Classics
• ASIN: B000002SQX
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,225 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. XI Sumfoonia

2. Nekrolog

3. I Sumfoonia

4. I Sumfoonia

5. Searching for roots

6. Insula deserta

7. Zeitraum

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Blooming Branches of Contemporary Music, August 2, 2009

By 

Karl W. Nehring (Ostrander, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Searching for roots (Audio CD)

In this recording, young Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi conducts works by three composers who represent for him the past (Eduard Tubin, 1905-1982), present (Arvo Pärt, b. 1935), and future (Erkki-Sven Tüür, b. 1951) of Estonian music. In the past I have auditioned several of Tubin's earlier symphonies as conducted by Neeme Järvi, and was not particularly moved by what I heard; the same is true with this disk. Tubin's music is pleasant, but I can't say much more than that.

Things get more interesting as we move on to Pärt, represented here by two pieces that were written prior to his conversion to the more tonal, simple style for which he is now famous. Nekrolog, his first orchestral work, is dramatic and declamatory, while his First Symphony, in only two movements, is dramatic and always musically interesting.

We come finally to three pieces by Erkki-Sven Tüür, whose ECM CD Crystallisatio came out of nowhere to be one of my favorite releases of 1996. Tüür is represented on this CD by three works: Searching for Roots (Hommage à Sibelius), Insula Deserta, and Zeitraum, all three of which are fascinating and rewarding. Tüür's music is like no other music I have ever heard, but it is extremely engrossing, and it rewards repeated listening.

The excellent sonics (engineering is by Mike Hatch) serve the music well, helping to illuminate the sometimes complex sonorities favored by all three composers. This in not an easy-listening CD that I would recommend to just anyone, but to anyone with an interest in contemporary orchestral music and its many blooming branches, I recommend Searching for Roots with utmost enthusiasm.