Einojuhani Rautavaara

Einojuhani Rautavaara was born on October 9, 1928, in Helsinki, the son of an opera singer. On the recommendation of Jean Sibelius, he won the Koussevitzky scholarship in 1955 to study at Juilliard under Vincent Persichetti and Aaron Copland.

Rautavaara traversed serialism before arriving at a breathtaking neo-romantic, mystical style bathed in luminous orchestral colors. In 1972, he composed Cantus Arcticus (Concerto for Birds and Orchestra), weaving taped sounds of Arctic birds recorded near the Arctic Circle directly into symphonic textures. His monumental Symphony No. 7 Angel of Light (1994) received a Grammy nomination and became a worldwide bestseller, followed by operas such as Vincent and Rasputin.