Search - Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra :: Einojuhani Rautavaara: Before the Icons; A Tapestry of Life

This new recording features the mystical composer's latest orchestral works, two poignant testimonies of a mature artistic, spiritual and human personality. The uplifting orchestral work Before the Icons (2005) is based on the earlier piano cycle Icons (1955) and therefore spans over Rautavaara's entire career. The work drew its inspiration from a book of Orthodox icons. Rautavaara wrote A Tapestry of Life in 2007 after an almost miraculous recovery from an acute illness. 'Few contemporary composers are as skilled () in using tonality without compromise,' wrote the New Zealand Herald, upon its premiere.