Marielle Nordman's and Helsinki PO's recording of Rautavaara's Harp concerto at Spotify

Piano reduction for Einojuhani Rautavaara's Concerto for harp and orchestra (2000) available for the first time (2024)! This product includes also the solo part edited by Kalen Smith.

The composer tells about the three-movement work: "The concerto is in three movements. After the orchestral introduction, the harp leads into a gradually thickening texture that progresses into a series of powerful culminations. Once these subside, the expansive motifs of the introduction return. The solo is echoed by two harps in the orchestra: I wanted the magnificent sound to be multiplied. The simple melody in the second movement is coloured in a very archaic way by the orchestra; we might imagine the performance of a troubadour or a bard in ancient times. The finale is festive, 'solenne'. It presents the combined sonority of the three harps at its most colourful and melodic."

Duration: 23'
Orchestra: 2222-4220-12-2hp-str (performance material is available for hire from the publisher).

The study score is available for sale (M042091586).

Einojuhani Rautavaara (9. October 1928 - 27. July 2016) is internationally one of the best known and most frequently performed Finnish composers. He was by nature a romantic, even a mystic, as is often apparent from the titles of his works: for example Angels and Visitations for orchestra or his double-bass concerto Angel of Dusk. Despite Rautavaara's label of “mysticism” he was a complex and contradictory figure whose works cannot be categorized in stylistic terms.