Einojuhani Rautavaara wrote his Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1989. The work is in three, linked movements, with the central slow movement longer than the outer movements combined. Although the work employs serial procedures, the style of piano writing is deeply rooted in the

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

tradition combined with Rautavaara's idiosyncratic mysticism.

Movements

The concerto is in three linked movements, and plays for 20–25 minutes. #''In Viaggio'' #''Sognando e libero'' #''Uccelli sulle passioni''

Structure

The first movement (''In Viaggio'') opens with the pianist playing soft, rippling figurations, accompanied by fragmentary calls by woodwinds. The

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

then introduce a passionate theme, but the piano soon takes over the theme, which rises higher and higher. The passionate strings re-enter, with rhythmic interjections from brass and percussion, and the music rises to a climax. The piano lunges into the lowest registers, linking into the slow movement (''Sognando e libero''). The piano starts off solo with a simple

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

with accompanying

chord Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord ( ...

s in the left hand, and the strings and woodwinds soon join in the peaceful repose. The piano exchanges dialogues with different instruments of the orchestra, but the music soon becomes agitated, leading into a central toccata-like episode, the music sometimes harsh, sometimes soft and bell-like. The agitation soon disperses and the initial tranquility is resumed with a reflective piano solo. Brass interjections, however, confer a sense of insecurity. The last movement (''Uccelli sulle passioni'') opens with a subdued interplay between piano, castanets, and pizzicato strings. The rippling piano figurations and passionate string theme from the first movement return, with added "bird sounds" from the highest registers of the piano and also low woodwinds. The passion dissipates into silence after the clarinets give out their last "bird-calls".

Instrumentation

Recordings

Laura Mikkola Laura Imola Mikkola (born 3 February 1974 in Helsinki) is a Finnish pianist. Laura Mikkola, having previously won Pretoria's UNISA TRANSNET and Helsinki's Maj Lind competitions, and been awarded the XII Paloma O'Shea Competition's contemporary m ...

(pianist), Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, Eri Klas (conductor), Naxos (record company) *

Ralf Gothoni Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

(pianist),

Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra The MDR-Sinfonieorchester (in English, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra) is a German radio orchestra based in Leipzig. It is the radio orchestra of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, the public broadcaster for the German states of Thuringia, Saxony a ...

Max Pommer Max Pommer (born 9 February 1936) is a German musicologist and conductor, a director of the Leipziger Universitätschor and the founder and conductor of the Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum. Career Born in Leipzig, Pommer was a student of t ...

(conductor), Ondine (record company) {{authority control Concertos by Einojuhani Rautavaara Rautavaara 02 1989 compositions