Canon
Where to start with Rautavaara
Essential works to know this composer by — spread across their styles-
OrchestralCantus Arcticus, for orchestra and taped bird songs, op. 61
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Vocal2 Preludes by T. S. Eliot, for male chorus, op. 32
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Keyboard6 Etudes, op. 42
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ChamberA Requiem in our Time, for brass, op. 3
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StageAleksis Kivi — Opera
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OrchestralSymphony no. 7, "Angel of Light"
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OrchestralAngels and Visitations
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OrchestralPiano Concerto no. 1
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OrchestralSymphony no. 8, "The Journey"
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OrchestralViolin Concerto
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Vocal3 Sonnets of Shakespeare, song cycle for high or medium voice and piano
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Vocal4 Romances from the opera Rasputin, for male chorus
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Vocal4 Serenades, for male chorus
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Vocal4 Songs from the Opera Aleksis Kivi, for voice and piano
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Vocal5 Sonnets to Orpheus, for medium voice and orchestra
Listening guide
Hand-curated paths into Rautavaara's catalogueMost Popular
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Cantus Arcticus (Concerto for Birds and Orchestra)
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Symphony No. 7 ”Angel of Light”
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Vigilia (choral)
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Adagio celeste (strings)
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Violin Concerto
Most Acclaimed
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Symphony No. 7 ”Angel of Light”
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Cello Concerto No. 2
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Piano Concerto No. 3
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String Quartet No. 4
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Annunciations (for organ and orchestra)
Most Weird
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Cantus Arcticusthe orchestra plays with actual field recordings of Arctic birds — three species; the music is built around the recordings, not the other way around
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Rasputin (opera)opera about Rasputin — his most theatrical work
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The Gift of Dreams (for violin and orchestra)written at 84 — his last orchestral work
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On the Last Frontier (choral)settings of Jack London’s descriptions of the Yukon
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Symphony No. 8 ”The Journey”each movement a different mode of travel
Similar composers
Same era, overlapping styles — by genre & period affinityWorks 147
- Orchestral
- ● Cantus Arcticus, for orchestra and taped bird songs, op. 61
- ● Symphony no. 7, "Angel of Light"
- Angels and Visitations
- Piano Concerto no. 1
- Symphony no. 8, "The Journey"
- Violin Concerto
- A Finnish Myth, for string orchestra
- A Soldier's Mass, for wind ensemble, op. 40
- A Tapestry of Life, for orchestra
- Adagio celeste, for strings
- Anadyomene, "Adoration of Aphrodite"
- Annunciations, concerto for organ, brass and symphonic winds
- Autumn Gardens
- Ballad for Harp and Strings
- Before the Icons, for orchestra
- Book of Visions
- Canto 1, for string orchestra
- Canto 2, for string orchestra
- Canto 3, for string orchestra, "A Portrait of the Artist at a Certain Moment"
- Canto 4, for string orchestra
- Cantus Arcticus for orchestra and taped bird songs, op. 61
- Cello Concerto
- Cello Concerto no. 2, "Towards the Horizon"
- Clarinet Concerto
- Divertimento for String Orchestra
- Divertimento for string orchestra
- Epitaph for Béla Bartók, for string orchestra
- Flute Concerto, op. 63, "Dances with the Winds"
- Garden of Spaces
- Harp Concerto
- Hommage à Kodály Zoltán, for string orchestra
- Hommage à Liszt Ferenc, for string orchestra
- Lintukoto
- Lintukoto, for orchestra
- Manhattan Trilogy, for orchestra
- Modificata, for orchestra
- Pelimannit, for strings, op. 1
- Percussion Concerto, "Incantations"
- Piano Concerto no. 2
- Piano Concerto no. 3, "Gift of Dreams"
- Pohjalainen polska
- Pohjalainen polska, for orchestra or strings
- Symphony no. 1
- Symphony no. 1
- Symphony no. 2, "Sinfonia intima"
- Symphony no. 3, op. 20
- Symphony no. 4, "Arabescata"
- Symphony no. 5
- Symphony no. 6, for orchestra and synthesizer, "Vincentiana"
- Vocal
- 2 Preludes by T. S. Eliot, for male chorus, op. 32
- 3 Sonnets of Shakespeare, song cycle for high or medium voice and piano
- 4 Romances from the opera Rasputin, for male chorus
- 4 Serenades, for male chorus
- 4 Songs from the Opera Aleksis Kivi, for voice and piano
- 5 Sonnets to Orpheus, for medium voice and orchestra
- Ave Maria gratia plena, for chorus
- Ave Maria, for male chorus, op. 10, no. 1
- Canción de nuestro tiempo
- Canticum Mariae Virginis, for chorus
- Credo
- Die Liebenden, song cycle for high voice and chamber orchestra
- Die erste Elegie
- Die erste Elegie, for chorus
- Elämän kirja, 11 songs in 5 languages for male chorus and soloists
- Guds väg, song cycle for high or medium voice and piano
- Halavan himmeän alla
- Hallin Janne, for male chorus
- Herran rukous
- I min älsklings trädgård, for SSAA chorus
- I min älsklings trädgård, song cycle for voice and piano
- Isontalon Antti ja Rannanjärvi, for male chorus
- Katedralen, for chorus and soloists
- Kettu ja sairas kukko, for male chorus
- Kvällen stundar, song for chorus
- Lapsimessu, for children's chorus
- Laulaja, for male chorus
- Legenda, for male chorus
- Lehdet lehtiä, for male chorus
- Lorca Suite, for mixed or children's choir
- Lorulei, for SSA chorus
- Ludus verbalis
- Lähtö
- Maailman uneen, song cycle for voice and piano
- Magnificat, for soloists and chorus
- Magnificat, for soloists and chorus
- Marjatan jouluvirsi, for chorus
- Matka, song cycle for medium voice and piano
- Missa Duodecanonica, for 3-part chorus
- Missa a cappella
- Morsian
- Nattvarden
- Nirvana Dharma, for chorus, soprano and flute
- Och glädjen den dansar
- Och glädjen den dansar, for chorus
- On the Last Frontier, fantasy for chorus and orchestra
- Our Joyful'st Feast, for chorus
- Praktisch Deutsch, suite for chorus
- Psalms, for male or mixed chorus, op. 37
- Puusepän poika, for SSA chorus
- Pyhiä päivä, song cycle for high or medium voice and piano
- Rakkaus ei koskaan häviä, for soprano and female chorus
- Sommarnatten
- Sommarnatten, for chorus
- Syksy virran suussa, for male chorus
- True and False Unicorn, for chorus and orchestra
- Viatonten valssi, for SSA chorus, violin and piano
- Vigilia, for soloists and chorus
- Wenn sich die Welt auftut, for SSAA chorus
- Keyboard
- 6 Etudes, op. 42
- 7 Preludes for Piano, op. 7
- Ikonit for piano, suite for piano, op. 6
- Ikonit, suite for piano, op. 6
- Laudatio trinitatis, for organ
- Pelimannit
- Piano Sonata no. 1, op. 50, "Christus und die Fischer"
- Piano Sonata no. 2, op. 64, "The Fire Sermon"
- Ta Tou Theou, for organ
- Toccata for Organ, op. 59
- Chamber
- A Requiem in our Time, for brass, op. 3
- April Lines
- Eingang, for voice and string quartet
- Fanfare for 4 Trumpets
- Hymnus, for trumpet and organ
- Lost Landscapes
- Monologues of the Unicorn, for guitar
- Notturno e Danza
- Octet for Winds
- Partita for Guitar
- Playgrounds for Angels, for 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, horn, and tuba
- Serenades of the Unicorn
- Serenades of the Unicorn, for guitar
- Sonata for Flute and Guitar
- Sonetto for Clarinet and Piano, op. 53
- String Quartet no. 1, "Quartettino"
- String Quartet no. 2, op. 12
- String Quartet no. 4, op. 87
- Summer Thoughts
- Tarantará, for solo trumpet
- Varietude
- Whispering, for violin and piano
- Stage
- Aleksis Kivi — Opera
- Auringon talo, tragedia buffa, chamber — Opera
- Kaivos
- Marjatta matala neiti
- Runo 42 'Sammon ryöstö', choral for male choir, soloists and tape — Opera
- Thomas
- Vincent, — Opera