Laura Mikkola, Hannu Lintu - Einojuhani Rautavaara: Cantus Arcticus, Piano Concerto No. 1, Symphony No. 3 (1999)

First released in 1999, this well-played, superbly-recorded album makes a near-perfect single-disc introduction to the music of Einojuhanni Rautavaara (1928-2016), not only the most significant Finnish composer after Sibelius, but very probably among the finest of all later-twentieth century masters. Rautavaara is undoubtedly the greatest composer most people have never heard of, and that's a shame, though, one might hope, records such as this will go some way towards remedying so glaring an injustice.

Stylistically, through the course of his long career, Rautavaara was all over the map, from the arid, pointillist soundscapes of modish 50s-era serialism, to the highly accessible, lushly consonant tone-paintings of 21st-century neo-romanticism, and, seemingly, everywhere in between. The 'Cantus Arcticus' (Concerto for Birds and Orchestra), Op. 61 falls squarely in this latter category. So much more than a mere experimental piece in which tape of diverse bird songs and calls are accompanied by an orchestra, this is a powerful, haunting work of art, in which Rautavaara achieves a kind of mystical polyphonic synergy between the sounds of nature and the instruments of the orchestra, with moments so poignant and achingly beautiful as to bring the listener close to tears. Hanu Lintu and the Scottish National Orchestra turn in a lovely reading with just the right balance of understated power, awe and exultation.

The earlier Symphony #3, Op. 20 with its echoes of Bruckner and Sibelius is another highly accessible work, yet probing, mature, and sufficiently serious to be more than a mere 'showpiece', while the Piano Concerto #1 Op. 45 is intentionally just that, breezy, frenetic, highly entertaining, albeit a bit more aggressively dissonant with its piled-up parallel seconds and ninths (part of Rautavaara's 'signature sound'). The concerto is here played with more than adequate aplomb by soloist Laura Mikkola to Lintu's aptly energetic accompaniment.

With this well-thought-out and wonderfully entertaining program, Naxos gives listeners the musical equivalent of the perfect apéritif. Those who find their appetites sufficiently whetted may want to check out the series of 4-disc boxed sets compiled by the Finnish Ondine label in 2009: 'The 8 Symphonies' (Ondine ODE 1145-2Q), and the twelve (of the composer's fourteen) concertos, including 'Cantus Arcticus' (Ondine ODE 1156-2Q), as well as a generous sampling of choral works (Ondine ODE 1186-2Q (2012)).

In the meantime, this disc is wholeheartedly recommended.