Rautavaara: Cantus Arcticus (Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France / Mikko Franck)

Mikko Franck conducts the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France performing "Cantus Arcticus" by Einojuhani Rautavaara. Excerpt from the concert recorded live on 26 April 2019 at the Philharmonie Paris.
Awarded the Thor Johnson Contest prize in 1954 for his work A Requiem in Our Time, following his studies under Aarre Merikanto, Einojuhani Rautavaara immediately received the support of Jean Sibelius and the Koussevitzky Foundation the following year, allowing him to study with Vincent Persichetti at the Juilliard School of Music in New York (alongside Philip Glass and Steve Reich), and with Roger Sessions and Aaron Copland at Tanglewood. Following in the footsteps of Bartók and Stravinsky, these years of training resulted in Rautavaara's first neo-Classical works, but also brought with them doubts rooted in the rising tensions of the period regarding the modernity of language.
The serialist style taught by Vladimir Vogel at Ascona in Switzerland in 1957, and by Rudolf Petzold in Cologne, gave Rautavaara a strong and formal grounding which he developed until 1962 in his radical work Arabescata. Concurrently, his Symphony no.3 from 1961 drew inspiration from the music by Bruckner, and Rautavaara turned towards the neo-Romantic style that increasingly characterised a large part of his musical catalogue, without forgetting the use of a more modern musical vocabulary. Though several critics saw this great stylistic diversity as a mark of versatility, it shows a certain musical plurality typical of the time. Rautavaara's music also displayed an increasing mysticism that he developed notably through his choral works.
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[@TK42138]

Rautavaara's music - especially Cantus Arcticus has the rare ability to be simultaneously haunting, unnerving and yet strangely moving.

[@Scriabin_fan]

Rautavaara is now on my list of favorite composers.

[@staffanolofsson8201]

About this post-romantic music that I like very much is all I have to say: Mikko Franck is born in the same country as Eino Juhani Rautavaara, they both understand what spring is about up in the north (as I also do), and music and spring will for us forever be connected. All the birds agree.

[@pierreboland8910]

Mikko Franck est, pour moi en tant que spectateur, le chef d'orchestre le plus sympathique que je connaisse. Il surpasse les autres par la qualité du contact au moyen de son regard (ce dont Karajan était par ailleurs absolument dépourvu). Ses performances sont d'une très grande qualité. Bien sûr je ne le vis pas comme musicien de l'orchestre de Radio France, mais cela m'étonnerait que je me trompe.

[@dominiquemuskad768]

Quelques mois avant les confinements je découvre cette musique. Depuis cette époque j'y suis souvent revenu . Merci Eino Juhani d'avoir fait communier les instruments humains et la liberté des oiseaux du Grand Nord !

[@algo3766]

Oeuvre très originale, les oiseaux sont en ce moment au centre des préoccupations des protecteurs de la nature. Einojuhani Rautavaara met en avant leurs chants comme pour créer une bibliothèque sonore et l'orchestre en soutien nous rappelle que la musique est aussi dans la nature. C'est absolument magnifique. La direction toujours impécable et l'orchestre magnifique comme d'habitude. Bravo à notre cher service publique !

[@guilhermesobrinho1329]

God, this is so gorgeous! And Maestro Mikko is so gracious. Superb composition and Orchestra. #Grateful

[@deshayesfrancois1213]

Merveilleux et très surprenant ! Une grande paix se dégage...

[@signoraberenice]

sem palavras...um mergulho em varios mundos,mas com harmonia divina!

[@staffanolofsson8201]

In the second movement Rautavaara has acustically "slowed down" the sounds of the birds, otherwise I find curlew (storspov in swedish), the most spring-like bird that we all love, cranes, a lot of geese, and a lot of other sounds to. It is a bird symphony.

[@staffanolofsson8201]

And of course, I almost forgot, swans, singing swans (Cygnus cygnus). As you also can hear in the instrumentation.

[@leslieackerman4189]

Call it Symphony or Concerto (which, in the classical sense, it is neither!) it is gorgeous.

[@tarquinmidwinter2056]

I've only heard audio recordings of this piece before. Much better being able to see it too. Wonderful performance. Thank you for posting.

[@proxva]

une très belle découverte

[@Scriabin_fan]

Bien sure

[@JuliaPikalova]

🌿 It's simply amazing! Beautiful, powerful, tender!

[@megalomaniacko1]

Underappreciated arrogant genius talented mathematician of academic music. Love it or hate it. I love him a lot.

[@ZSYStriker]

Word salad... Puke!

[@orgue2999]

wtf

[@marquisadvisorygroup1460]

Refreshing insight stimulation reminds original that all creatures have their own music.

[@MrInterestingthings]

Wow seeing this is as exciting as can be. The first time and every time I see the score and his 6th Symphony !

[@PoseidonRM]

Beautiful work.

[@benjamincuevaseninde]

-- Un réel émerveillement --

[@RanBlakePiano]

A terrific journey !

[@leslieackerman4189]

After a spare start of floating ice blocks, glaciers and arctic birds, around minute 3' the orchestra grows majestically as if the northern lights had appeared. Gorgeous journey.

[@virpikoskiniati]

Only that the northern lights appear in the darkness of winter and disappear in the spring when the birds fly back north.

[@TheWFamilyMusic]

Great!

[@juhoheiskanen5769]

Like jos oot suomalainen

Excellent!

[@staffanolofsson8201]

Dont forget, all birds, that you once was on this parnassus of human sofistication, evaluation, intelligence, musical high standards. And if you forget, well, life goes on. Nothing to do about it.

[@clive7092]

Angry reactionary traditonalist who can't listen to Bartok speaking: I love this.

[@JesusSanAgustin]

Min 6:16 .,.La nuit .,. le couloir étroit humide et glissant.,. la crête / falaise .,. la rivière en contrebas.,. les loups et moi avons coïncidé dans le couloir étroit dans des directions opposées, la femelle très enceinte .,. le croissant de lune .,.,. il va falloir faire confiance et suivez chacun son chemin.,. min 6:52.,. tu passeras par ce côté et je passerai par l'autre.,. et tout se passera bien pour nous deux .,., calme et silence .,. Mesdames d'abord et vous choisissez.,. Et comment est-il sorti ? !? .,Parfait pour tout le monde.,. mais pas à répéter tous les jours ! .,. Pour un monde meilleur ♥ Solution partagée 17:07

[@mochdrew3364]

Anyone knows how he treated the original tape? I've read that the tape in second mov. is transposed two octaves lower for an eerie effect. Any manipulations to the other two mov.? Any source mentioning the manipulations?

[@staffanolofsson8201]

All I can say is that in the first and third movement the birds sounds natural, as they really sounds. About the second I dont know, how he did this. Someone else, perhaps?

[@EHCG0001]

@@staffanolofsson8201 @MoCh Drew as it was recorded on tape in the early 70s it could „physically“ be slowed down :)

[@nealbaker7991]

Who or what is playing the birdlike noises?

[@UtsyoChakraborty]

That is a pre-recorded tape

[@nealbaker7991]

@@UtsyoChakraborty I thought so, but isn't that cheating?

[@marcosomargonzalesquispe9917]

@@nealbaker7991 that's how mr. Rautavaara wanted it to be

[@LeonardoOuteiro]

They have a little bird orchestra with many species of birds to mimic a symphonic orchestra hidden in the back. These are special musician birds who can read a score that was written by Rautavaara. The government and Disney don't want us to know this.

[@nealbaker7991]

@@LeonardoOuteiro As they say in New York, Who knew?

[@maggiemartelli5306]

This wonderful music made me go straight out and spend 2,000 pounds on a new T.V. MM

[@jerrera45]

Do the birds work for scale?

[@AxmihaMeuSaco]

Is there a version without the birds? It kind of get in one's nerves after a while. For one who lives in the country at least.

[@xYonowaaru]

No it's all about the birds. It's the "Concerto for Birds and Orchestra".

[@Baribrotzer]

Most striking part: ........beautiful cello melody......... (SQUAWK!).......more beautiful cello melody......... (SQUAWK!).......yet more beautiful cello melody......... (SQUAWK!).......etc.

[@Aurelia2147]

Agree!!

[@mrspoonofbuttonmoon]

But it's a sublime combination, no? I mean, which 'cello concerto couldn't benefit from some geese?

[@staffanolofsson8201]

Order in the class!!! Franck is born in the same country as Rautavaara, they both understand what spring is about up in the north (as I also do), and music and spring will for us forever be connected. All the birds agree.

[@evelynejaneau7211]

mystique et si profondément le reflet du Nord sauvage

[@EJOh]

The Best live Performance!!

[@philippebertram7769]

La musique est la subconscience du cosmos : cette composition est idéale pour accompagner notre extinction de masse, comme celle de Penderecki est idéale pour rappeler l'extermination nazie. Chose étrange que l'espèce humaine, qui comprend presque tout, c'est-à-dire trop tard !

[@franckcoinchelin9862]

Un voyage merveilleux et un pur plaisir musical !..

[@VictorCruz-lr3it]

Hello good Morning my name is victor cruz, I would like to know how I can rent the score and parts of that work without further ado for the moment I appreciate your attention

[@douglasyiuchinglok307]

Why four horns? And only one trombone?

[@douglasyiuchinglok307]

But it supposed to have two horns and two trombones, and why three trumpets?

[@robertocarvalhodemagalhaes3648]

@@douglasyiuchinglok307 The original orchestration asks for two horns, two trumpets and one trombone. Sometimes, the orchestration depends on the orchestra available to the composer when the score is set. Adding instruments could depend also on the acoustics and size of the concert hall. Composers know that - and so do conductors. Anyway, where did you see four horns? Can you indicate the time? I saw exactly what is indicated on the score: two horns, two trumpets and one trombone...

[@robertocarvalhodemagalhaes3648]

@Thalia Rice Right. I think it depends on the size of the concert hall and the size of the orchestra itself. We should check the number of the other instruments, too. I think I could count three trumpets and only one trombone. It's not rare to double instruments in certain circumstances. In any case, this performance is magnificent and the number of instruments are only a detail - even if an important one. Doubling at times is necessary to obtain the right balance of sounds in certain spaces. Thank you for pointing out the moment when we can see the four horns.

[@Baribrotzer]

Some large orchestras have eight horns, twice as many as a typical score needs. Reason being, the horn is murderously difficult to play - so difficult, that it's the only orchestral instrument from which the occasional bum note is expected and tolerated. So they'll have two players for each written part to spell each other, and to rest their lip and their concentration. So the four horns may be doubling up the two horn parts in that fashion, and spelling each other for this piece.

[@freydablack9027]

This music is gorgeous, and the conductor and orchestre are exceptional. I am wondering, are the bird sounds recordings of actual birds or are they created by instruments. I would think the latter but the video never shows anyone playing what sounds like the birds.

[@lc1715]

It's a recording of real birds that's written into the score. The score version is elsewhere on KZbin if you'd like to see.

[@freydablack9027]

Thank you!

[@gavincannon8385]

8:50 The (2nd Movement's) coda is freaking next-level!

[@RanBlakePiano]

Is rudolf Petzold. Related to Christian ?