Rautavaara's Fifth

Composers Datebook

Synopsis

In the 1980s, the Finnish Broadcasting Company had come up with the idea of commissioning a whole evening’s worth of orchestral pieces by native composer Einojuhanni Rautavaara, which, when taken together, would form a conventional concert program of overture, concerto and symphony. These three works have come to be called the Angel Trilogy, since each of them has a title with the word “angel” in it.

Rautavaara’s Fifth Symphony, with the working title Monologue with Angels, premiered on today’s date in 1986, was originally to be the symphonic conclusion of this triple commission. But Rautavaara dropped the title, and his Symphony No. 7, (Angel of Light), ended up being the third part of the Angel Trilogy, alongside the overture Angels and Visitations and the double-bass concerto Angel of Dusk.

If you asked the mystical Rautavaara why he changed his mind, he would probably have said it really wasn’t his idea at all. Rautavaara believed his compositions already existed in “another reality,” as he said, and his job was just to bring it into our world in one piece.

“I firmly believe that compositions have a will of their own,” he said, “even though some people smile at the concept.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016): Symphony No. 5; Leipzig Radio Symphony; Max Pommer, conductor; BMG 62671