Search - Einojuhani Rautavaara, Jean Sibelius, Aarre Merikanto :: Aurora Borealis

Finland has turned out a remarkable number of great composers in the past 100 years, and this collection is a terrific introduction to several of them. From Rautavaara's Concerto for Birds and Orchestra through Nordgren's glowing and homespun "Fiddler's Favorite Tune" to Sibelius's stormy "Storm" and Merikanto's lushly Romantic Lento, this CD enchants consistently. Nature is omnipresent in Finnish music, and that's about the only stereotype one can find here, although all of these composers were obviously well-schooled in the music that preceded them--one can catch a bit of Debussy here, a hint of the Russian romantics there. In any case, this is ravishing and highly recommended. --Robert Levine