Rautavaara / Mikkola Etudes Op 42 / Icons Op 6 / Preludes Op 7 CD

This Naxos disc presents Laura Mikkola's performances of the solo piano works of Einojuhani Rautavaara. While not a complete survey, it does cover Rautavaara's most substantial solo piano pieces. The "Icons" (1955) were inspired by Orthodox iconography. Though not of the faith himself, Rautavaara was exposed to the Finnish Orthodox Church in childhood and it's comparative exoticness seems to have left a deep mark on him. These six pieces in a neoclassical style represent particular scenes of Orthodox iconography: "The Death of the Mother of God", "Two Village Saints", "The Black Madonna of Blakernaya", "The Baptism of Christ", "The Holy Women at the Sepulchre" and "Archangel Michael Fighting the Antichrist". There's a great diversity here, and it's not all solemn and meditative: the second and fourth pieces are as jolly as the player piano in a western. The remaining works were written over a decade later, at a time when Rautavaara was interested in the "grand style" of piano playing in the era of Liszt. The Piano Concerto No. 1 (hear Mikkola perform it on another Naxos disc) was marked by wide runs and palm clusters, and that same spirit is found in the Piano Etudes (1969) and Piano Sonata No. 1 (1969) and No. 2 (1970). The six Etudes follow the model of Debussy in focusing each on a different interval: "Thirds", "Sevenths", "Tritones", "Fourths", "Seconds" and "Fifths". The piano sonatas are both in two movements. The First is titled "Christus und die Fischer" and employs a bare minimum of material. The Second, which bears the title "The Fire Sermon", is it's polar opposite, with the first movement consisting of shifting clusters played very fast.

1. Etudes, Op.42: Thirds 2. Etudes, Op.42: Sevenths 3. Etudes, Op.42: Tritones 4. Etudes, Op.42: Fourths 5. Etudes, Op.42: Seconds 6. Etudes, Op.42: Fifths 7. Icons, Op.6: The Death of the Mother of God 8. Icons, Op.6: Two Village Saints 9. Icons, Op.6: The Black Madonna of Blakernaya 10. Icons, Op.6: The Baptism of Christ 11. Icons, Op.6: The Holy Women at the Sepulchre 12. Icons, Op.6: Archangel Michael Defeats the Antichrist 13. PRLDS, Op.7: 1. Elastically Hammering 14. PRLDS, Op.7: 2. Slowly Enough 15. PRLDS, Op.7: 3. Nervously But in Rhythm 16. PRLDS, Op.7: 4. Chor and Var 17. PRLDS, Op.7: 5. Fugato 18. PRLDS, Op.7: 6. Shivering 19. PRLDS, Op.7: 7. Alla Finale 20. Partita, Op.34: 1. (Untitled) 21. Partita, Op.34: 2. (Untitled) 22. Partita, Op.34: 3. (Untitled) 23. Pno Son No.1, Op.50 'Christus Und Die Fischer': I. (Untitled) 24. Pno Son No.1, Op.50 'Christus Und Die Fischer': II. Attacca 25. Pno Son No.1, Op.50 'Christus Und Die Fischer': III. (Untitled) 26. Pno Son No.2, Op.64 'The Fire Sermon': Molto Allegretto 27. Pno Son No.2, Op.64 'The Fire Sermon': Andante Assai 28. Pno Son No.2, Op.64 'The Fire Sermon': Allegro Brutale