A distinct and diverse set of premieres

BBC Magazine "Orchestral Choice"

Steph Power

09.08.2022

Estonian Premieres

Works by Tauno Aints, Tõnu Kõrvits, Ülo Krigul, Lepo Sumera and Helena Tulve

Estonian Festival Orchestra / Paavo Järvi 

Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi has long championed his homeland's orchestral composers, and the combination of his tautly expressive Estonian Festival Orchestra (EFO) and the five creatively diverse voices here is captivating. All are aged between 44 and 53 - except for the much-missed Lepo Sumera (1950-2000), whose Olympic Music I makes a poignant album close. Written for a 1980 Moscow Olympics opening ceremony,  its intriguing contrasts helped lay the groundwork for the robust, surging soundscapes of younger peers while looking forward to his own six symphonies to come. 

Tauno Aints (b1978) is more overtly muscular in his 2014 Ouverture Estonia, composed for the Pärnu Music Festival which has birthed Järvi's EFO three years before. Yet the celebration is initially overcast by clouds which only slowly dissipate. The "shadow behind you" becomes a starting point for Helena Tulve (b1972), in whose L'ombre derriere toi a flickering, undulating string orchestra supports and envelops a resonant of viola and two cellos (Mate Szücs, Indrek Leivategija ja Marius Järvi). 

Two works by Ülo Krigul (b1978) colorfully explore ambiguities of title and sound: Chordae - chords, accord, a string- and The Bow- string-playing, a physical gesture of acknowledgment. Most striking and affecting, Tõnu Kõrvits (b1969) offers an exquisite paean To the Moonlight. Written as a lockdown "Three Blues for Symphony Orchestra", his smudged harmonies and melting textures fashion melancholy into something radiant- and thrillingly distinctive.