Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016)
Symphony No. 5 (1986)
Performers:
- Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra
- Max Pommer, Conductor
The subtitle "Monologue with Angels" was later dropped by Rautavaara, and instead his 7th Symphony "Angel of Light" was to complete his commissioned "Angel Trilogy."
Notes:
"The Fifth Symphony was written in 1985, 23 years after its predecessor, the Arabescata Symphony. Nevertheless these two works stand in a natural relationship to each other in the dialectical continuity of Rautavaara's symphonies, the Fifth constituting a synthesis of the modernistic tendencies of the Fourth and the romanticism of the Third. The Fifth is Rautavaara's only single movement symphony. The work breaks down into eight clearly defined sections: though some are related in terms of atmosphere, none is a direct recapitulation of another. The overall form could be compared to a widening spiral - while one may return to a place that seems familiar, it is nevertheless one revolution further up and out on a journey that presses ever forwards. The Fifth Symphony, with its orchestral richness and its large spans, crowns Rautavaara's cycle in masterly fashion. It is almost as if the work aspires beyond both the depiction of subjective states of mind and abstract constructivism towards something far wider and more universal, leading the listener towards new worlds and new realities."