Einojuhani Rautavaara

String Quartet No. 1

New Urtext edition (2020) of Einojuhani Rautavaara's String Quartet No. 1 is based on the composer's manuscript, incorporating corrections and comments by composer's hand in various sources. Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928?2016) was one of Finland's internationally most successful composers. He made his major breakthrough with the Seventh Symphony, Angel of Light, in the 1990s, but his output includes numerous classic operas, concertos, chamber music works and choral works. Over his extensive career, he progressed from Neo-Classicism to strict dodecaphony to free-tonal Neo-Romanticism. His catalogue of influences over the decades includes Orthodox liturgical music and Finnish fiddlers. Rautavaara's first string quartet (1953) is from his Neo-Classical early period when he composed only little chamber music. Stravinsky and the Finnish folk music are present in the rhythmical first movement; later enters a characteristic scale alternating half and whole steps. After the Slavic romanticism of the slow movement Andante the fiddler is back in the cheerful Gigue.