Symphony No.1 [2003 Version] - Einojuhani Rautavaara

Belgium National Orchestra conducted by Mikko Franck

I - Andante: 0:00
II - Poetico: 15:45
III - Allegro: 23:28

Rautavaara's first symphony was completed in 1956, when the composer was studying in the United States. Originally, the work was divided in the traditional four movements (two slow and two fast alternating), in 1988, however, Rautavaara decided, as he said it, to “rewrite my history, rewrite my life”. I have re-cast the work into two movements and reorchestrated the remainder, bringing “the expression of the work into a precise shape, according to what one well remembers of the fragrance and atmosphere of that era”. In 2003, a third version emerged with the addition of a lyrical slow movement based on a solo song that he had written in the 1950s.

The first movement, andante, is the most extensive, being romantic in spirit. After the entry of the timpani, the strings presents a wide, lyrical main theme, stylistically near to the music of Sibelius. The second theme reminds us of the lyrical melodies of Shostakovich. Development takes us to its climax. The recap begins with the interpretation of the main theme in a more solemn way. It ends with a coda based on that motive.

The second movement, poetico, is based on a previous song as already mentioned. It opens with a calm, lyrical theme presented between a duo of the horn and clarinet with the support of the strings. The dissonances of the strings add a very vivid colour to the music. The orchestra leads up in a brief, dissonant anticlimax, before returning to the inicial statism. Woodwind interventions add thematic variety to a very passive, poetic music. It ends with a calm coda.

The third movement, allegro, is actually a scherzo, derived from the original second movement. It consist in an ironic dance that reminds us of Prokofiev, which is sometimes interpreted grotesquely. A vibrant coda ends the work with a big bang.

In the 50s, Stravinsky, Bartok, Shostakovich and Prokofiev, who were studied by Rautavaara, were considered modernists. According to the composer himself, these authors influenced the first stage of his compositional life. He says that his first symphony was a project too ambitious for that time and therefore he rewrote it in 1988. But it still seemed to me that a slow movement was missing, which I added in 2003, he recounts in an interview conducted by Mark Wiggins, reproduced in Diverdi magazine.

Picture: A photograph of a Tsunami of clouds (Illinois, USA).

Sources: http://www.historiadelasinfonia.es/na...

Musical analysis done partially by me (the second movement)