GREAT MAESTROS Vol VI
ESTONIAN NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
KALLE RANDALU, NEEME JÄRVI

Dedicated to the 80th birthday of Maestro Neeme Järvi.

CD 1

Johannes Brahms Piano Concerto No 1 in D minor, Op 15
1 Maestoso 20:49
2 Adagio 11:00
3 Rondo: Allegro non troppo 13:38
Benjamin Britten Soirées musicales. Suite of Five Movements from Rossini, Op 9
4 March 1:21
5 Canzonetta 2:21
6 Tirolese 2:08
7 Bolero 1:50
8 Tarantella 2:58
Benjamin Britten Matinées musicale. Second Suite of Five Movements from Rossini, Op 24
9 March 2:12
10 Nocturne 3:11
11 Waltz 1:50
12 Pantomime 2:53
13 Moto perpetuo 3:49

CD 2

Johannes Brahms Piano Concerto  No 2 in B-flat major, Op 83
1 Allegro non troppo 17:58
2 Allegro appassionato 7:42
3 Andante 11:14
4 Allegretto grazioso 10:46
5 Gustav Mahler / Benjamin Britten What the Wild Flowers Tell Me, 2nd Movement from Symphony No 3 9:45
5 Carl Maria von Weber Jubel-Ouvertüre, Op 59 7:22

 

CD 2 #1, Brahms. Piano Concerto No 2, Mov I (fragm), 4 min 14 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps

CD 2 #6, Weber. Jubel-Ouvertüre (fragm), 2 min 40 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps

LogoGreatMaestrosRecorded live on March 13th, 2015, March 25th, September 16th and November 4th, 2016 in Estonia Concert Hall, Tallinn
Engineered and mastered by Tanel Klesment
Liner notes by Kaisa Luik
Booklet edited by Maarja Kasema and Tiina Jokinen
Front cover artworks by Heinz Valk
Design by Mart Kivisild
Produced by Peeter Vähi

ERP 9817-1 and ERP 9817-2
© 2017 ERSO, ERP (Tallinn)


NeemeJarvi300The grand man of Estonian music, Maestro Neeme Järvi − a conductor “from God” − is probably the best known Estonian musician in the world beside Arvo Pärt. It is almost impossible to fully sum up the long and prolific career of one of the most sought after conductors of our time.
Neeme Järvi has conducted 157 orchestras, held the position of chief conductor (currently chief conductor emeritus) of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Royal National Opera (currently its honorary conductor), music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (currently music director emeritus), music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (currently honorary conductor), chief conductor of the Hague Residentie-orchestra (currently chief conductor emeritus) etc. The considerable increase in the artistic level of these orchestras has greatly been his service. As has the respect from these orchestras and their ongoing wish to continue their co-operation.
His discography is likewise impressive. Among others he has recorded all symphonies by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, R. Strauss, Mahler, Dvořák, Glazunov, Grieg, Sibelius, Nielsen and Brahms.
Having served as chief conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra from 1963 to 1979, he took a difficult decision in 1980 and emigrated from the artistically oppressive USSR to the West where he made it his mission to introduce Estonian music to the world. He has conducted works by Rudolf Tobias, Artur Kapp, Arvo Pärt, Eino Tamberg, Veljo Tormis, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Peeter Vähi and other Estonian composers − but first and foremost by Eduard Tubin with whom he closely collaborated artistically.
By today Neeme Järvi has re-established his contact with re-independent Estonia. In 2001, Neeme, the head of Järvi “Dynasty” together with his two sons, conductors Paavo and Kristjan, initiated the international conducting master classes in Pärnu which by today have grown into the Järvi Academy. Since 2010 Neeme Järvi has again been chief conductor and artistic director of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.

KalleRandaluByHeinzValk400Kalle Randalu is an internationally sought-after pianist from Estonia. He has studied under Prof Bruno Lukk in the Tallinn Conservatoire and in the Moscow Conservatoire under Prof Lev Vlassenko. He is a laureate of several international piano contests, among others prizes from the International Robert Schumann Contest in Zwickau (1981), the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1982) and First Prize from the ARD International Music Competition in Munich (1985).
Kalle Randalu settled in Germany, 1988. 1994−1997 he was a professor at the Freiburg University of Music and since 1997 has held a professorship at the Karlsruhe University of Music.
Kalle Randalu has given concerts in most European countries, the USA, Australia, Russia and Japan. Among the venues where he has performed are the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Hercules Hall in Munich, the Berliner Konzerthaus, the Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatoire, the Grand Hall and Small Hall of St Petersburg Philharmonia, the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, the Great Festival Hall in Salzburg and the Rosengarten Mannheim.
Kalle Randalu has performed with numerous orchestras, among others with the Orchestra of the Bayerische Rundfunk, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Hamburger Philharmoniker, the St Petersburg and Moscow Philharmonics, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Württemberg, Berlin and Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestras as well as most of the Estonian orchestras.
Randalu has worked with prominent conductors such as Neeme Järvi, Mariss Jansons, Maxim Shostakovich, Juha Kangas, Leif Segerstam, Osmo Vänskä, Paavo Järvi and Eri Klas.
Kalle Randalu’s repertoire contains over 50 piano concertos and a large number of solo and chamber works. In collaboration with the Finnish conductor Juha Kangas he has played all the Mozart piano concertos. Randalu has on many occasions played all the Beethoven concertos.
For over 20 years he has been connected with Villa Musica, one of Germany’s biggest concert institutions, which brings together leading German musicians.
Kalle Randalu has released numerous CDs. A sensational success were the seven volumes of the complete Hindemith sonatas with Ensemble Villa Musica, which have repeatedly received prizes, including the Classical Award in France and the Klassik-Echo Prize in Germany. Latest recordings feature Marginalia by Jaan Rääts (2014, ERP), various piano works by Brahms on a double-CD and three volumes of chamber music by Schumann.

The history of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (known in Estonian as Eesti Riiklik Sümfooniaorkester or ERSO) dates back to 1926 and is connected to the birth of the national broadcasting. Today, it is the longest continually operating professional orchestra of its kind in the country. There are more than 100 musicians playing in the orchestra.
Chief conductor and artistic director Neeme Järvi has led ERSO since 2010, while Paavo Järvi has been its artistic advisor since 2002, and Olari Elts its principal guest conductor since 2007. The orchestra’s previous principal conductors have been Olav Roots (1939−1944), Paul Karp (1944−1950), Roman Matsov (1950−1963), Neeme Järvi (1963−1979), Peeter Lilje (1980−1990), Leo Krämer (1991−1993), Arvo Volmer (1993−2001) and Nikolai Alexeev (2001−2010).
ERSO has toured in Europe, the United States and the former Soviet Union. The orchestra has taken part in many Estonian and international music festivals, including the Europamusicale in Munich, the Musiksommer in Gstaad, the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm and Il Settembre dell’Accademia in Verona.

ERSO 920

The orchestra’s repertoire ranges from Baroque music to contemporary works. ERSO has performed symphonic pieces by most Estonian composers, often premiering them.
The quality of ERSO’s recordings has been praised in renowned classical music magazines and been rewarded with a number of prizes, the biggest of which was a Grammy in 2004 for Sibelius cantatas.


Distribution by ERSO (phone +372 6 147787, fax +372 6 313133, erso@erso.ee) and Easy-Living Music (reispuk@neti.ee); worldwide distribution by Note 1 Music, Naxos America, amazon.com
Available for downloads: Spotify

See also other recordings of the Great Maestros series: Great Maestros Vol I-V, Great Maestros. OSR. Neeme Järvi, Great Maestros: Mozart

See other releases by ERP with Estonian National Symphony Orchesta, Kalle Randalu and / or Neeme Järvi: 100 Years of Estonian Symphony, In the Mystical Land of Kaydara, Toivo Nahkur. Neeme Järvi & ENSO, Marginalia

See also other orchestral records produced by ERP: Paavo Järvi, Ad patrem meum, Resurrection of Mozart, Joy and Sorrow Unmasked, Pure Handel, A Chant of Bamboo, Artist Chagall, Bassoon Concertos, Musica Triste, Nordic Legends, Somnium boreale, The Hand of God, Tubin, Wagner. Strauss. Seeger