On The Last Frontier: Segerstam / Helsinki.po

This disc of works by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara contains music composed between 1968 and 1997. With obvious nods to Bartok, Stravinsky, and fellow countryman Sibelius, Rautavaara is nonetheless an extremely individualistic talent. His 'Anadyomene' is a programmatic work of swirling sonorities that conjure mythological escapades and adventures, with a beautiful ending that fades into the sunset.
Rautavaara's Flute Concerto is in four movements, all terse in their musical statements with the exception of the opening movement, which begins with a declamatory entrance by the soloist (played here expertly by Patrick Gallois). Written just seven years after 'Anadyomene,' one can hear a very defined change in Rautavaara's writing style. Angular, and in some ways more dissonant, the concerto's orchestration is more disjointed than the first work on this release.
Rounding out the recording is a much more recent and very large-scale work, 'On the Last Frontier,' which is a fantasy for chorus and orchestra. Indeed, Rautavaara goes to town in this work, pulling out all of the stops, and returns to an earlier style of writing. The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Finnish Philharmonic Choir under Leif Segerstam perform admirably throughout.