Einojuhani Rautavaara - Piano Concerto No. 1 (1969)

[@Erdnussspass]

I suggest this for my school orchestra

[@pinkfloyddwc]

Good news is they can just play wrong notes and no one would know

[@ChiffCharang]

@Lunatic Panda There's definitely an increased tolerance for wrong notes without people noticing! But not everywhere, that's for sure.

[@mxecho]

@@ChiffCharang naw its dissonance and harmony creating contrast, if you have too much off there is no semblance of music. but just a tad off of natural, brings about a warvely pattern in the melody while maintaining structure

[@ChiffCharang]

@@nickelchlorine2753 Of course they reveal structure, it's just not as apparent on the first listen (or without preparation). I'm saying that if you don't know the piece already, the aural effect would be similar -- in some places -- if there were wrong notes. Much like 12-tone rows: it's really, really hard to *hear* errors in the row, if it was constructed to have an intentionally dissonant effect. Obviously wrong notes damage the *structure*, but sometimes not really the surface effect!

[@ChiffCharang]

@@nickelchlorine2753 oh, I didn't mean to sound defensive, I was just addressing your point too. Good old KZbin comments! Despite appearances, I am serene and uninsulted, and I hope you have a great day :)

[@atsumindesu]

This concerto creates such a feeling of "massiveness" in me it's unreal

[@AndromedaCripps]

YES that is the word I was looking for

[@whaijorhujishkomunyk]

the feeling is very close to the same when i listen to Prok 2nd

[@GovernorBroadsideDS]

I agree this concerto makes me quite massive as well

[@Maxime_Grisé]

After hearing the first movement, I could nearly cry. Who knew such beautiful music could be produced with the smashing of all the upper keys of a piano!!

[@wewilleaty0u]

Ives knew! kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIi2lqycot2tpK8

[@davidmehnert6206]

It’s quite possible this technique influenced Lou Harrison’s only Concerto for Piano.

[@johnlindstrom9994]

Check out Tete Montoliu's version of Giant Steps!

[@thaDjMauz]

I did just cry to the first movement and in doing so realised it was the first time in years that I cried...

[@notnek202]

Momo it’s that bad. 😢😭🤯🤯🤯

Friend: what’s in your playlist? Me: it’s a little complicated.

[@GUILLOM]

you all are everywhere

[@samuelmincarelli5051]

@@gabindupuy6036 Well what must I add?

[@sneddypie]

the council of elders has arrived in the reply section

[@samuelmincarelli5051]

@@sneddypie Im 15.

[@sneddypie]

@@samuelmincarelli5051 old

[@Scriabin_fan]

I discovered this during the height of the pandemic and this was essentially my gateway piece to the avant-garde aesthetic and to the contemporary classical music scene. I remember during that time I was obsessed with Debussy (still obsessedwith Debussy), Sibelius, Stravinsky and Shostakovich and I was looking for more new and exciting music. The algorithm recommended this video and I've never looked back ever since. Since then I've discovered a hidden world of beautiful, complex, and thought provoking music.

[@placeholdier]

Could you give examples of the latter? :)

[@Nilmand]

I'd recommend Rzewski, particularly his 'The people united will never be defeated'

[@rogernichols1124]

Try Rautavaara's 7th Symphony "Angel of Light". It was my revelatory introduction to his amazing music.

[@commentingchannel9776]

omg you're literally me

[@thenumberthree-3-3]

I recognize you.

[@grampinator]

I have listened to music for 60 years and just discovered this. Love it

[@maifeng]

When something is deeply disturbing and soothing at the same time, you know it's a masterpiece.

[@oscargill423]

"Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." -Cesar A. Cruz

[@medviation]

Underrated comment.

[@simon-davidcapusneanu7398]

Another piece like that is Trivium by Arvo Pärt

[@bc4315]

This comment is B.S.

[@GUILLOM]

​@@bc4315 best seller

[@bsdguru]

This would be the perfect music for a documentary about the birth of the universe.

[@MathieuPrevot]

Interesting.

[@karrotkake]

or the end of the universe

[@manolopresas4799]

I'm a big fan of Rautavaara but this is beyond awesome and devilishly difficult... congratulations Laura Mikkola!

[@Erdertainment]

Laura deserves mad respect for that piano part, it looks like utter hell to play. While I didn't like this piece in the beginning, after listening to it a few times and understanding the underlying structure, I now really appreciate this concerto and the composer.

[@henrichimkovitch9609]

Il en est de même pour moi. Bravo Laura !!

[@Skatael]

To be honest, it is not the most difficult piano concerto in the world. While it looks (and sounds!) devilishly difficult to play, it's all beneath your fingers once you give it a try and feels very natural. Mr Rautavaara was a very smart man who obviously knew a lot about piano.

[@ulengrau6357]

It is not as hard as it looks. Not to mention, a mistake here and there would not actually be a "mistake" considering its texture. That's my issue with tone clusters on the piano... they relieve the pianist of actually having to play with their fingers. Hell! Even an equally complex concerto for string or prepared piano would be harder.

[@orihoola]

@@ulengrau6357 I would be thankful to be "relieved" of additional effort

[@JJBerthume]

I've played it! It's certainly a worthy concerto with regards to difficulty, but really not that hard compared to others (like the Barber, Ravel, Tchaikovsky, etc.). Very idiomatically written.

[@WildStarvingWolf]

What an extraordinary piece of music. It's difficult to understand for the non-musician, but you cannot deny the beauty within this chaos. This is like being inside a dream. Truly amazing.

[@AndromedaCripps]

My new favorite piece of music. HOLY COW. Sweeping, sparkling, washes of color and expressive, breathtaking harmony pushing the limits of consonance… this is not a piano concerto, it’s a concerto for two orchestras where all of one of the orchestras’ parts is being played by a pianist 😂 The way he trades figures between the two voices, in the first movement passing sparkling flourishes in the flutes and violins to the piano when the orchestra takes over the melody… in the second movement where the orchestra plays the pedal bass, and later the piano acts as pedal bass under pianissimo orchestral chords… and then. Then. The simple audacious and bold move to place ALL of the harmony, melody, and rhythm in the piano while the orchestra is playing unison melody accompaniment halfway through mvmt 2… that’s INSANE, and the fact that he pulls it off is even MORE insane- the PIANO IS ACCOMPANYING THE ORCHESTRA!!!!!! And that third movement, it’s like the piece has suddenly broken free from the harsh and color-drenched harmony of the first two movements, and is filled with all this unbridled energy, like it’s almost trying to run away from the harmonic language to something more traditionally consonant, and then, WOOSH!!! The sweeping, planing clusters crash into the texture like they had always been there all along and you just didn’t realize. The pure mad genius of this piece’s construction left me actually awestruck at that moment, when he brought it all together and I realized it was so stupid of me not to have seen it earlier- the traditionally consonant passage was not running away from the chromaticism and clusters; they were separate facets of one wholistic musical language. The actual chord progression lexicon he uses in mvmt 3 is no different from the rest of the piece, it has just been dissected from the full texture. When he puts it back together it’s like all those clustered notes fill in and cushion around that more traditional harmonic structure to create that vast, sweeping, honestly epic and moving sonic vista of the first movement. I guess in a way, the second mvmt dissects the harsher edges and dissonances of the texture, the third dissects the rounded and consonant chordal lexicon, and together they create that first movement which pulled me in so. I have training in classical theory and composition, sure, but I’m not really an avid listener of classical music (except baroque for sone reason). Just as I’m a jazz musician and hardly listen to most mainstream jazz (except for 30’s-40’s big band, which, in a way, is the baroque music of jazz. Think about it👀). I appreciate the music of both genres and I live in it, but I don’t usually listen to it for fun. This is the second time I started a 20 minute classical piece I had never heard of before, expecting to click away after 3 to 5 minutes, and instead became so enraptured that I hardly noticed the time passing before the video was done. The first time was Rautavaara’s Cantus Arcticus. I think I have a new composer to deep dive into. 😂☺️ Cmaj7, I have commented this before, but thank you. I know taste is subjective, but you have such *exquisite* taste, and I have found so may fantastic composers, inspirations, and entertaining music from your channel. You have enriched YEARS of my life as a musician AND person, and I appreciate that deeply. ❤️❤️❤️ Edit: some newer thoughts after returning to this piece a dozen times or so over the past few months: First off, a correction. The second movement doesn’t purely deconstruct the “harsher” elements of the harmonic language; it is also filled with lyricism in the first half. If anything, it possibly separates out the lyricism and more traditional harmony from the harshness of the clusters, isolating them in two separate sections, before the final movement reunites them. Corrections aside, I have to say that I have finally nailed down more specifically why this piece is so enchanting to me. Other commenters have expressed how it proves that high romanticism and modernity are not opposites, and I think that truly captures a sentiment so central to my identity. I am a person who loves and appreciates vintage fashion and music, who loves storytelling and fantasy, who treats every day’s outfit as a character to step into, every day’s errands as an experience to live out. In short, I’m a romantic at heart. Often in the vintage community there is an expression, “Vintage Fashion, not Vintage Values”. People in my community love to express ourselves with fashions, items, and other material artifacts of bygone eras even if we disagree with the attitudes and policies of those eras. We are also a testament to that statement that romanticism and modernism are not opposites. Personally, I think making every day and every moment into an experience, a page from a story, enriches your life to the fullest potential, and it’s completely possible to live in this way while still being practical. It’s kind of like other sentiments I’ve seen expressed of “you should always use your best things”; i. e. every day can be a special day if you choose to make it one. So in a way, the lush lyricism and enchanting chordal undercarriage of this dauntingly dissonant, rhythmically dense, and harshly contrasting music captures this ideal, of being romantic and modern simultaneously. Of course, you might say, that is all fine and well to analyze in that way, but that depth of thought can’t possibly be registering through your subconscious and causing you to like this piece on your first listen-through. However I’d disagree. The basic character of the music very elementally portrays this concept in a way that is immediately emotionally accessible. It has an alien and lush quality to it, but also, in a strange way, a sort of sophisticated playfullness and whimsy. That might sound strange at first, but really, it does!! The third movement is the most obvious example of this whimsy, but there are moments throughout in which a rhythmic phrase or a twist of harmony reveal this playful nature of the music, in a way which very directly correlates to the playful romanticism of vintage fashion, or “living every day like it’s a special day”. I honestly think that aspect of whimsy is so forward in my subconscious identity and so forward in this music’s quality that they resonated the first time I heard it, even if I couldn’t describe what resonated within me. Just some personal thoughts to share with the internet, since none of my friends would understand ANY of this if I started babbling to them about it, and I REALLY LOVE THIS PIECE!!!

[@viljanov]

Great to read your genuine enthusiasm and glad to see Rautavaara has another fan!

[@karimaijala7039]

Rest In Piece, Einojuhani :'(

[@harlekiinii]

But what a great gift he's given all of us...

[@ChristianJiang]

Wow, that’s a witty pun!

[@karimaijala7039]

@@ChristianJiang but not on purpose since my english is bad, haha.

[@stacia6678]

@@harlekiinii the gift of dreams…

[@Pablo-gl9dj]

​@@harlekiiniithe gift of not composing any more junk.😊

[@edoardo8365]

I can't describe how incredible is this musical "story"... It takes you in another planet... Is stunning how Rautavaara takes all the different characteristics of music in 20 minutes of music, celebrating all the moments of this story. I'm in love with his musical concept. Thank you for this masterpiece Mr. Rautavaara. You've transported me in another world. P. S. : Sorry for my bad English...

[@user-nb6zu3rk4f]

Your English seems to be pretty good, idk

[@irreplxcxble3871]

I have a ''bittersweet'' memory of watching/listening to this video. I was up one morning waiting for my mom to finish getting ready, and take me to band camp. As I was listening to the music, I opened another tab to browse the web. To my own shock, it showed in the bing news highlights that a famous composer had died. I felt a light sense of sadness, one that tapered off rather quickly. I had just read that the deceased composer was Einojuhani Rautavaara. I felt that my listening to his concerto was a final farewell of sorts. I kept Mr. Rautavaara in my thoughts throughout the duration of the hell that was band camp. And by the time I arrived home from that first day at band camp, I played it once again in his honor. may you rest peacefully Einojuhani Rautavaara

[@tehwinnerz5006]

Sad Paragraphs the hell that was band camp. Lol!

[@grantv4958]

This song makes me feel an emotion that doesn’t exist

[@__414.88b_]

Not a fuckin song

[@benjaminmarks8765]

@@__414.88b_ it's people like you that make the music community here so toxic and offputting for newbies in the genre. He(or she) likes the music, that's all that matters.

[@3gc42bx]

@@paeffill9428 the problem is that's not fixing a mistake. should have said "not a song, it's a piece" instead of "not a fuckin song"

[@daniellu8282]

It actually is a song. The cluster chords actually phonate an ancient dialect of Finnish.

[@carlosdagustini]

@@__414.88b_ you're stupid. go make your own composition before to talk shit about it.

[@looney1023]

After all of the dissonance, the DM7 chord at the end of the first movement is probably the most triumphant, satisfying conclusion to any piece I've ever heard.

[@ImperialHarbinger]

While I agree it is particularly lively, have you heard the end of Stravinsky's The Firebird?

[@michavandam]

Try Messiaens "Dieu parmi nous" from "La nativité du Seigneur". For example, this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iprLmmmoeL6MrKMm20s

[@scriabinismydog2439]

Also the end of Tristan und Isolde, The Poem of Ectasy and Berg's Violin Concerto

[@takureido3122]

The ending to Sorabji's Jami Symphony's 3rd movement is very satisfying as well

[@mrspoonofbuttonmoon]

Add to the list Protopopov's 1st and 2nd piano sonatas. Endings not so much triumphant as cataclysmic.

[@ChanoTM]

This is how i would explain my life at this moment.

[@verhoeff.v.s.6659]

Luciano Naranjo LOL!! Anything changed already ?

[@dancalmusic]

LOL

[@quicksanddiver]

You mean AWESOME?

[@TheMindCrushGroup]

A clusterfuck?

[@fido3449]

Hope it perks up soon ! Love your comment .

[@beegyoshiofficial8518]

Rachmaninoff: "I wrote a challenging piano concerto" Rautavaara: "Hold my elbow".

[@somonerandom706]

This is easy compared to a Rachmaninoff concerto. I have played this concerto and its very idiomatic and is very pattern based even when it comes to the shape of the chords.

[@megalomaniacko1]

Rach composition is superb. Rautavaara is behind him. He’s also behind Ravel. Though, Rautavaara is a indisputed big composer. A necessary one. His music is immense. A genius . But Rach is Rach.

[@dfkfgjfg]

@@somonerandom706 Difficulty is subjective. Both Rach 2 and 3 are infinitely easier to me than this Concerto. Although I agree in general I imagine the average pianist would find perhaps Rach 3 more difficult

[@Ar1osssa]

@@megalomaniacko1 Each composer has own style. I can't say that some composers are better than others.

[@megalomaniacko1]

@@Ar1osssa As from other arts, you can tell the difference in the quality of materials, the topic, form, aesthetics, resources, way of expression, and other elements that are certainly usable to catalog the level of mastery a piece of art could have among others. It is not a bad thing to do, is just critique. However I do acknowledge that our biased sentiments could favor a piece among others just because we like, we taste that in particular. A preference. That's also OK, as long as both approaches are not an attack on the humble work and execution a creator does. You can tell that a novel from Honoré de Balzac is better or higher or more profound or well better constructed than a novel from, let's say, a minor writer (to avoid using names). The talents geniuses factors and blessing for creation also molds this up sometimes. Again, it's OK from an aesthetical approach. Rautavaara is a big guy, but Rachmaninov is bigger, based on the complexity, form, quality of composition, form of exploration, expressibility, and other factors, in its art. All these things yet resemble into particular styles, yes, and that also demarks a beautiful difference between creators. PS: apologies for my goofy English, this is not my native language. =)

[@szilardszilagyicomposer]

The Second Mvmt. Is so beautiful! I literally cried when i heard it first. But the whole piece is just magnificent! Thanks for the upload!

[@oscargill423]

Laura is officially the Rautavaara pianist. Tremendous job!

[@RedZed1974]

The perfect union of late Romantic/20th Century.

[@ronaldbwoodall2628]

What a unique musical mind Rautavaara has! This concerto exudes originality and inspiration. It is dissonant, but it actually lured me into believing I was listening to a 19th century virtuoso vehicle - I thought of Liszt's E-Flat Concerto.

[@stacia6678]

What’s wrong with a piece being dissonant?

[@ronaldbwoodall2628]

@@stacia6678 Nothing at all; I enjoy much dissonant music, from Ives to Elliott Carter. I was merely pointing out that both compositions are indeed virtuosic, and that the work does remind me of the of the Liszt Concerto (although after five years I don't remember why, other than that both are original and inspired - or maybe they share some similar musical content; if I listen to them again, I'll report back to you on that point). And I suppose that Bach or Haydn would have thought Liszt's concerto to be dissonant.

[@isaacskey39]

Rautavaara: *spills ink over paper* Rautavaara: Ah, it'll be fine.

[@kinomabrothers7041]

And it WAS fine, amazing coincidence! Like it was destiny ;PP

[@isaacskey39]

100 likes in one week?! That's so crazy, tysm!

[@ernstvangelderen9537]

More Ink, More Ink!!

[@RIVALKILLER]

Ernst van Gelderen Hell yeah!!

[@FireliqhtzItsBecauseITry]

@@isaacskey39 Check now : )

[@limaromeo8745]

I fell in love with this piece after the first time I listened to it a day ago. I’ve listened to it at least ten times in the last 24 hours and it’s still just as beautiful as when I first listened to it.

[@dspannplayspiano]

This piano concerto has easily found its way at the top of my favorite piano concertos list. It's uniqueness is unrivaled by any other of the piano concerti. Rautavarra knew exactly how the piano should be portrayed in a concerto. This piece is rich with flavor and has an almost spiritual effect on the listener...purely infinite.

[@henrichimkovitch9609]

Ce concerto devrait faire partie des grands classiques ! Bravo à la pianiste Laura Mikkola, merveilleuse ambassadrice de cet immense compositeur !

[@SeigneurReefShark]

Et quand on voit tous les imbéciles qui insultent ce concerto et son compositeur, sans aucune constructivité... Bien triste quand même. Une des pièces les plus magnifiques jamais composée!

[@Juliushenrykim]

It's a music that always makes my heart burning. Mother Nature's howls, warm hugs, heavenly harmonies.. It's absolutely perfect music. I've heard a lot of classical music, but I've never heard such a beautiful classic work. (except for Rautavaara's Piano Concerto No. 2)

[@PolybrowTheVods]

this piece scares me for some reason. It's so beautiful, yet so terrifying.

[@ruchirawat40]

LapisTrademark, me too. but its thatgood too. maybe its the sheet music.

[@stacia6678]

Rautavaara was a master of the piano.

[@sadblooms5805]

I get scared of last movement 😖😰

[@oscargill423]

Well mashing a piano will do that

[@elegist1970]

"Mysterium tremendum et fascinans"

[@benjaminmarks8765]

Whatever the heck I just listened to, I'm literally never going to be the same this is orgasmic and I don't understand it but I have not been this mentally and emotionally stimulated and yet confused in a long, long, time. Jazz harmony ain't got nothing on those wacky chord extensions. The orchestral timbres are simply divine. I don't know what it means, but I feel every emotion at once right now.

[@Fectivan]

this piece makes no sense to my ears but it gives off a smell

[@johnsoltis9696]

Its cause this guy had bad gas... (classical gas)

[@jojoanimated7314]

John Soltis *chokes*

[@benwilson1710]

haaaaa. play it with ornette's skies of america at same time. shit will reeeeek

[@miguelrausch6715]

I think it's exactly what the composer meant! Not quite, but almost!

[@lordspongebobofhousesquare1616]

@@baudobill547 you're like that old dude who goes to every pop song video and says that they're shit because they don't conform to your tastes lol

[@oskarjärvinen]

I love this piece so much! These harmonies and phrases are so wunderful!

[@johnsoltis9696]

o

[@TempodiPiano]

I had not be so surprised and passionnated by a contemporary work for ages. I didn't know this composer ; I wonder why. There are Debussy, Messiaen and Bartok in this…. and all those agrégats… This is splendid, like the etudes.

[@dacoconutnut9503]

OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOD! THAT 1ST MOVEMENT IS SO INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!

[@forlandm]

I'd love to listen to this at a live peformance!

[@Highinsight7]

+forlandom Me too....

[@aramkhachaturian8043]

This is a modern masterpiece.

[@stacia6678]

Well said Mr. Khachaturian.

[@lucasbernardoff8633]

C'est magnifique. C'est génial, j'adore, c'est vraiment profond. J'aime les dissonances. On se croit dans un autre monde, c 'est ça que j'aime.

[@Bampaloudu64]

J'vais t'avouer que j'ai essayé d'apprécier mais... Je suis trop encré aux romantiques personnellement, et là en écoutant cette oeuvre... Je ne peux m'empêcher de rire. Non vraiment, mon cerveau déconne et ça provoque un rire.

[@orgue2999]

Bampaloudu64 manque flagrant de culture et d'oreille

[@davidrehak3539]

Einojuhani Rautavaara:1.Zongoraverseny 1.Con grandezza 00:00 2.Andante (ma rubato) 09:54 3.Molto vivace 17:59 Laura Mikkola-zongora Királyi Skót Nemzeti Zenekar Vezényel:Hannu Lintu

[@davidrehak3539]

Köszönöm az értékelést

[@davidrehak3539]

Köszönöm az értékelést

[@davidrehak3539]

Köszönöm az értékelést

[@SmeagolTheBeagle]

What a magical and truly unique composition.

[@PianoScoreVids]

I mean... honestly one of the most innovative beginnings of a piano concerto ever.

[@echorrhea]

Gamma1734 It’s an impressive one, but not necessarily “innovative”. The first movement wears its debt to Rachmaninoff and Ravel pretty heavily.

[@PianoScoreVids]

@@echorrhea your argument relies on "first movement". I meant and wrote beginning :) i just can not imagine that the start would not be a crazy attention grabber every time it gets performed. It just sounds so quirky and catchy and weird.

[@echorrhea]

Gamma1734 I’d still hesitate to designate the opening bars as “innovative” if only because, again, Rautavaara clearly demonstrates his debt to Late Romanticism. Tone clusters aside, it’s pretty standard Romantic piano writing. Rautavaara was never “innovative” in the sense that he devised radically new forms of musical expression. His work, after briefly flitting with modernism in his early years, was firmly rooted in the past. He was undoubtedly a very skilled and fascinating composer, but he never charted new musical paths, as it were.

[@PianoScoreVids]

@@echorrhea the merging of major and minor chords, did somebody do that before him? If not, this I would call innovative. (Original, inventive, new)

[@echorrhea]

Gamma1734 If we’re just referring to the opening bars then 1.) tone clusters were nothing new and arguably old hat in 1969 when Rautavaara’s Piano Concerto was composed and 2.) clashing major/minor chords were also an old device by that point. I’m assuming you may not be that familiar with modern music? Either that or we simply have very divergent opinions as to what constitutes “innovative” musical expression. Stravinsky was innovative. Webern was innovative. Ives was innovative. Xenakis was innovative. Rautavaara was a very fine composer, but not an innovator by any means, at least in my estimation. That doesn’t make his music “bad” or less good. But he was a conservative composer, not an avant-gardist.

[@1198g]

That third movement starting at 17:59 is absolutely brilliant (the piano motif reminds me of Ligeti's 10th etude (Der Zauberlehrling)). The buildup to 18:52 is immensely satisfying, and repeating that same buildup but exploding it into a different conclusion at 20:29 is the perfect way to end this fantastic concerto. Rautavaara was truly a great composer, may he rest in peace.

[@colinmurphy2214]

“Perform white key clusters with arms” WHAT

[@johnsoltis9696]

WRONG: FACE

[@Breakbeat90s]

yep its called elbow cluster :D

[@segmentsAndCurves]

@@Breakbeat90s :D

[@WEEBLLOM]

@@segmentsAndCurves :D

[@johnappleseed8369]

One of the best piano concertos, period. You can even tell from just the opening haha!

[@johnappleseed8369]

I stand by my words, still one of my favorite piano concertos!

[@dopaminecloud]

I would have to agree. Striking from the first second, this will stay with me.

[@beshepman7963]

What about now?@@johnappleseed8369

[@AzucenahVillarroel]

contemporary music I've enjoyed too much. Bright and terribly beautiful.

[@bennyksmusicalworld]

Ok, it's definitely D major.

[@Cmaj7]

+Ben Kim Where are you getting that from?

[@dead_doe_burns2313]

+Cmaj 7 Begins and ends on massive D pedals. 1st Mvt: D, goes to f, back to D. 2nd mvt: F. 3rd mvt: D. That sucker is in D major fo sho.

[@Cmaj7]

+dead_doe_burns There's not much suggestion of major though. Just D as a tonic.

[@rhettjaramillo5034]

+thetimpanikid It does not end on a DM7 chord. It ends on a Dadd 2 chord with a FM7 on top, dismantling the idea of D major by the split third in the bass clef and treble. Cmaj 7 is correct in saying that it is only an implication of the tonic D. Rautavaara is always dismantling the traditional major/minor tonality by using split thirds and this work is not an exception. Also, there is no DM7 in the end. There is no C# anywhere on the last page at all.

[@rhettjaramillo5034]

+thetimpanikid Have you taken a theory class? That is not a DM7 chord as you claim. There is no analytical argument you can make that would justify that chord as a DM7. EDIT: Sorry. Now I see the first movement does end on a DM7 chord, however that is not justification enough to claim the Concerto as a whole is in D Major.

[@Cmaj7]

00:01 Movement I - Con grandezza 09:54 Movement II - Andante 17:59 Movement III - Molto Vivace

[@aramkhachaturian8043]

thank you for posting these videos

[@nochthitus9397]

This is absolutely mesmerising; unsettling yet relaxing, otherworldly and yet so human Intriguing in its chaos Bewildering in its emotion I can't stop listening and I don't know why I'd want to

[@savioalves1234]

Is easier to play this concert than pronunciate the name of the composer.

[@beyris]

Eyy-no-you-huh-knee Rou-tu-var-uh Rou like in router Tu like in tuck Var like a long version of the var in varmint.

[@kindle9597]

/ˈei̯nojuhɑni ˈrɑu̯tɑʋɑːrɑ/

[@gdoublell1002]

@@beyris Where do the emphases go?

[@beyris]

@@gdoublell1002 Ei and var

[@noahgodard3338]

@@beyris That's not quite true, actually. Vaar is a long vowel (per the double a), but the main stress in Finnish words is always on the first syllable, so "Rau" here.

[@culveyhouse]

Rautavaara pulled some clear inspiration from previous 20th century composers, but the resulting soundscape is uniquely his.

[@nikolai5012]

I'm not at all of a fan of modern music, but this piece is breathtakingly gorgeous

[@JJTownley_Classical-Composer]

I think the right arm elbow comes in handy for a piece like this.

[@stacia6678]

Wittgenstein hides in the corner XD

[@segmentsAndCurves]

@@stacia6678 lol

[@LorenDeFilippo]

That 3rd movement is so reminiscent of the 3rd movement of Ravel's piano concerto in G major. This piece as whole, though, blows me away. So powerful and majestic, and it all works together even when the pianist is called upon to play with their finger, hand or full arm. Just a work of genius.

[@raizupsb6185]

This is the only piece of music to ever bring tears to my eyes

[@rogerhfisher]

I love the amazing sounds this composer yanks out of the orchestra! A wonderful, beautiful creation. Simply could not be more exciting.

[@albertcombrink3717]

THANK YOU for posting the Sheet music! I love this piece!

[@dommy234]

So glad I discovered this piece. What a wonderful composer-such deep emotion, honesty , and musicianship.

[@facebotter]

Quite possibly the most explosive orchestral entrance of all time

[@KV4671]

Aantrekkelijke interessante moderne muziek die toch heel toegankelijk is. Er zit van alles iets in. Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Messiaen en toch heeft het eigen geluid. Mooie compositie en dus een waardevolle upload. Bedankt !

[@jadeetienne1170]

theres no other composer like this guy im in love

[@wkehl2011]

Each composer is unique :-)

[@UrielCopy]

The blending of all notes and cords, form a structure of beauty that I've never seen or heard before!! Its like opening doors and rooms within yourself that you would never be able to imagine without this music... A true profound masterpiece!

[@thecluelesscomposer]

I don't like it, but I also like it ... I'm confused now

[@PeterLunowPL]

write your confusion down in music!

[@vesteel]

I can see you're... clueless

[@MegaCirse]

Cette musique est positivement divine.... Richesse du discours mélodique, harmonies à couper le souffle, orchestration sans cesse renouvelée dans l’utilisation des timbres de l'orchestre, bref une babylonienne architecture sonore érigée par un humble et immense compositeur-interprète !

[@kree89]

I think this is the first piece of music I’ve listened to that has genuinely terrified me. What an incredible composition

[@angelalfonsorojasquiroz5936]

Músico de la nueva generación con sentimiento,nostalgia,tristeza,alegría y agradecimiento al Creador, son mi sentir al escuchar sus composiciones, excelente regalo el subirlo,gracias.

[@vine2197]

sí

[@senpi-chiptunes]

This feels like something you would hear when meeting an angel. Terrifyingly beautiful

[@mysterium364]

I'm not sure if you knew this, but Rautavaara actually consciously thought of angels when he was writing a lot of his music and themed a lot of his music after angels. Kudos on listening to the music properly. It is not always easy to feel what the composer meant to convey.

[@1Steins]

A masterpiece of emotions. The contrasts are simply out of this world, I love this piece.

[@Mrmmm88]

I love the quotations of Scriabin's Prometheus Poem of Fire at 5:20-5:40 !! :)

[@bertrandjacques6744]

+Michael Taylor Now, THIS is culture ! Thanks for your comment : I had spotted the quote but could not pinpoint what it was. Thanks !

[@johnappleseed8369]

didn't notice this, BRILLIANT!!!

[@huzzzzzzahh]

I'm not sure I hear it but these are possibly my two favorite pieces so you just gave me a reason to listen to the promethee again

[@stacia6678]

Yes; i noticed that too Mike.

[@tatsuhelma]

That tone clusters are mind-blowing

[@paulprocopolis]

Colourful and most engaging. Thanks for showing the score which is always helpful when getting one's head round an unfamiliar work!

[@Highinsight7]

It's kind of awesome!!!!

[@milkwater1204]

I get chills every time I listen to the first movement.

[@alecrechtiene558]

The horns playing that Dmaj7 Inverted Chord at the end of the first movement is just epic!

[@stacia6678]

timestamp 9:37

[@Darrylizer1]

Another amazing sound sculpture from composer Einojuhani Rautavaara who I'd never heard of before discovering your channel. Thanks again Cmaj7.

[@AJtheGuitarist38]

This is the first time I've even heard of this composer. It's a shame I didn't hear his music earlier.

[@jessethompas-wadlington5823]

That's your fault in its entirety.

[@steveegallo3384]

Wow.....Casting Aspersions! Are you REALLY so unforgiving?

[@AJtheGuitarist38]

Stevee GALLO - Except he wasn't.

[@steveegallo3384]

"HE" wasn't forgiving? How so?

[@AJtheGuitarist38]

No, he was not casting aspersions. I know because he's kind of my roommate.

[@alecrechtiene558]

Wow! Just wow! I can imagine myself sitting by a large glacially carved lake during a colorful sunset. Beautiful!

[@MREmusique]

It's interesting to hear a large section of the 1st movement get quoted in his later Cantus Arcticus.

[@adriancutner2489]

Breathtaking! The tonalities are amazing!

[@Hailstormand]

He made the piano behaves and sounds almost like a harp.

[@amerain1729]

Hailstormand she?

[@itsflatandlevel256]

A harp that is on sterpid

[@donnytello1544]

@@amerain1729 rautavaara was a dude

[@stacia6678]

@@donnytello1544 The pianist is a female.

[@donnytello1544]

@@stacia6678 ahh I see

[@teleny2]

I can hardly read music, and I find this score amazing. It's as much fun to look at as to hear! It's like he took all the "fun" parts of Romantic Classical, and put them together.

[@ukdavepianoman]

Wonderful concerto. I love the melody played in clusters. Shades of Sibelius, Bartok and Ravel...but very distinctively Rautavaara.

[@lukebarlow6274]

Every so often I come back to listen to this piece of music and it never gets old

[@jsabuilds2404]

I was a bit skeptical at first(because of the ridiculous chords at the beginning), but as I listened further in I heard a lot of neat things: That bombastic chord at 0:52, the woodwind trills at 3:50, and the woodwinds doing scales at 4:12(honestly my favorite part). Of all the dissonant-prone contemporary works I've heard, this one takes the cake for the right balance of harmony and atonality. Edit: The ending of the first movement, too, is spectacular.

[@thedesolatemusic]

This is incredible. Utterly incredible

[@Nanananaheyhey1]

Such beautiful harmonies 😍

[@FeonaLeeJones]

beautiful lush harmonies...full of magical moments

[@chrisridenhour]

Wow what a find! Amazing

[@TheUnknownWords]

Now this is forever one of compositions which are in my heart.

[@paulgering7703]

The opening orchestra hit sounds like a revelation from God.

[@verhoeff.v.s.6659]

Love it!! Thanx for the upload..going to get the score! RIP Einojuhani and thank you for composing this.

[@berylgreen1973]

Along with Ligeti, the greatest master of 20th century music.

[@blobs5440]

That ending is so incredibly powerful!

[@RedZed1974]

Tone cluster mastery. Eat your heart out, Cowell :P BTW it's moments like 8:30 that make this so good. Those dissonant trills in the winds sound like voices. *chills*

[@harryk6807]

There are a lot of similarities with his Étude. This is not surprising because they are written in the same year (1969).

[@Pookie1-q2w]

Very beautiful, many colors and interesting harmony it works well together. It's very structured too. 👍

[@Nonononono213]

This music is keeping me up at night

[@anonb4632]

Wow! I can't really read music very well, but I am struck by how strange it looks on paper.

[@SeekerofTruths]

Perfect music for a spring day.

[@nicholas72611]

The clusters give me images of Edward Hopper and Giorgio De Chirico. There is something dreamlike but oddly threatening about about Rautavaara's music. Never really heard anyone else say it but I consider him a Surrealist.

[@geozipper]

That is a wonderful comparison: Surrealist. I think he is, Surrealist of Sound. I never thought of that before, but it's true. His music (especially the "angels" symphonic pieces) always strikes me as very imagistic, visual... just like the Surrealists as you say.

[@echorrhea]

nicholas72611 Edward Hopper’s art was the diametric opposite of surrealism.

[@geozipper]

@@echorrhea That may be true, but Nicholas wasn't saying they were the same. He simply said the music clusters make him recall imagery from artists Hopper & De Chirico. He goes on to say he considers Rautavaara a "surrealist" because of the dreamlike/threatening mood. (Even though Hopper was never considered a Surrealist, some of his imagery has that very same dreamlike/threatening quality, a 'spookiness' to it.) De Chirico is always mentioned as being in the Surrealist movement but strictly speaking, he wasn't. He was doing his own thing on his own without knowing of them until Andre Breton discovered his paintings & dubbed them "surrealist."

[@echorrhea]

Tony Sienzant I see. To me his art has always seemed sombre, melancholy, or nostalgic. With its clean lines and well-defined images, Hopper’s work doesn’t really evoke anything dream-like or remotely phantastical, at least to me. His work is so starkly realist. It’s also hard to miss the very pronounced Old American streaks of stoicism and Puritanism in his work. If one could liken his art to that of certain composers, I’d sooner say Ruggles, Carpenter, or maybe Persichetti.

[@nicholas72611]

@@echorrhea I know Hopper isn't a known as a surrealist but that's the vibe I get from him. There's something about his colour palette and the way he expresses light that is very unnatural feeling to me and sometimes frightening. Room in Brooklyn, Sunday, Cape Cod Morning, Office in a Small City, New York Office, Room by the Sea, Stairway (1949), Seven AM, South Carolina Morning, Intermission and Summertime I think all have the mood I was talking about. From what I can see Hopper paints with realism but paints things a little "too perfect." Most of the structures (even roads) lack any sort of natural blemishes. Everything is too perfect (like it would be in a dream) and the colours are usually washed out and greyed. He also loves to really exaggerate his shadows and use a lot of contrast, usually drawing very light things next to very dark things. A lot of the themes and people in his paintings are isolated and usually reflecting/thinking on something. All of this contributes to a surrealistic feeling for me. I see what you mean though, he doesn't draw stuff with wonky shapes like Yves Tanguy or Salvador Dali but I never cared for that style anyway since I've never had a dream resembling anything close to their art. I suppose the better term for Hopper would be Magic Realism.

[@AdrianMore]

Excellent playing. The composition is hefty, large and inspiring! Some excellent food for thought for us learning composers.

[@fidelcastro9112]

8:52 Who knew you could use your whole arm to play!? 9:31 is such an ingenious ending!

[@zockerbit1030]

A happy walk in the sunshine :) .........................I simply love to listen to Rautavaara at times - it is easy as that