CD REVIEW: Tüür- "Magma"

FT.com

FT WEEKEND - CRITICS' CHOICE: CLASSICAL CDS & DVDS
By Andrew Clark, Financial Times
Published: Aug 18, 2007


Tüür: Magma
Evelyn Glennie/Paavo Järvi
Virgin Classics
The symphonic music of Estonian composer Erkki- Sven Tüür (b.1959) evokes the hard edge of rock, the textural colours of post- Impressionism and the tonal imagination of Nordic modernism. It's a tempting cocktail, though the music's atmosphere always seems more alluring than its argument. Magma is the title of Tüür's half-hour Fourth Symphony: it's really a many-splendoured percussion concerto for Glennie, who responds with dazzling virtuosity. The CD includes two less interesting choral works and a moody string tribute to Tüür's compatriot Arvo Pärt.