Jaan Rääts

Jaan Rääts (born October 15, 1932 in Tartu ) is an Estonian composer .

Life

Rääts received piano lessons from 1945 to 1952 at the music school in his hometown. He then attended the Conservatory in Tallinn , where he studied composition with Heino Eller and Mart Saar until 1957 . From 1955 Rääts worked as a sound engineer for the Estonian radio . In 1966 he ended this activity and switched to Estonian television , where he worked as music director until 1974. Rääts became a composition teacher in 1978, and six years later professor at the Tallinn Conservatory (now the Estonian Academy of Music ). He had already taught there for a while from 1968 to 1970. His students include Raimo Kangro and Erkki-Sven Tüür . In 2003 he retired. From 1974 to 1993 he headed the Estonian Composers Association. Rääts was awarded the State Prize of the Estonian SSR in 1972 and is one of the most prominent Estonian composers.

style

Initially influenced by socialist realism , Rääts quickly found his own tone of voice. A neoclassical attitude is characteristic of his style . His mostly rather concise compositions are strongly characterized by rhythmic impulses. They essentially move within a freely managed tonality . Rääts, however, is a follower of the principle of polystylistics . This means that in principle he welcomes every imaginable composition technique. However, his works show that he only uses avant-garde techniques occasionally. Since around the 1980s he has been very interested in minimalism in the sense of Philip Glass and has used this compositional principle almost consistently. The main focus of Rääts' extensive oeuvre is instrumental music, especially the concert.

Works

• Orchestral works
  • Symphony No. 1 op.3 (1957)
  • Symphony No. 2 op.8 (1959, rev. 1987 as op.79)
  • Symphony No. 3 op.10 (1959)
  • Symphony No. 4 Op. 13 "Cosmic" (1959)
  • Symphony No. 5 op.28 (1966)
  • Symphony No. 6 op.31 (1967)
  • Symphony No. 7 op.47 (1973)
  • Symphony No. 8 op.74 (1985)
  • Concerto for Chamber Orchestra No. 1, Op. 16 (1961)
  • Concerto for Chamber Orchestra No. 2, Op. 78 (1987)
  • Five sketches for a Requiem op.100 (1996/97)
• Solo concerts
  • Piano Concerto No. 1 op.34 (1968)
  • Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 70 (1983)
  • Piano Concerto No. 3 op.83 (1990)
  • Concertino for piano and chamber orchestra op.9 (1958)
  • Concerto for piano and chamber orchestra op.41 (1971)
  • Concerto for 2 pianos and orchestra op.77 (1986)
  • Violin Concerto No. 1 op.21 (1963)
  • Violin Concerto No. 2 op.63 (1979)
  • Violin Concerto [No. 3] op. 96 (1995)
  • Violoncello Concerto No. 1 op.27 (1966)
  • Violoncello Concerto No. 2 op.43 (1971)
  • Violoncello Concerto [No. 3] op. 99 (1997)
  • Concerto for guitar, string orchestra and prepared piano op.88 (1992)
  • Concerto for flute, guitar and orchestra op.117 (2000)
  • "Concerto for Five" for three trumpets, guitar, drums and string orchestra with piano op. 120 (2002)
  • "Viertel = 160" Concerto for Trumpet, Piano and String Orchestra op. 92
• Vocal music
  • "Spring Oratorio" after Mayakovsky for children's choir, alto and orchestra op. 15 (1961)
  • " Karl Marx " for narrator, choir and orchestra op. 18 (1962–64)
  • "School Cantata" for children's choir and orchestra op. 32 (1968)
• Chamber music
  • Nonet op.29 (1967)
  • Sextet for piano and wind instruments op.46 (1972)
  • Sextet for 2 pianos and string quartet op.84 (1990)
  • String Sextet Op. 98 (1997)
  • 3 piano quintets (1957–70)
  • 6 string quartets (1955–83)
  • 7 piano trios (1957-2003)
  • Variations on a Theme by Hanns Eisler for recorder, violin, violoncello, piano and harpsichord op.62 (1978)
• Piano music
  • 10 piano sonatas (1959-2000)
  • 24 Estonian Preludes for Piano, Op. 60 (1977)
  • 24 marginalia for piano op.65 (1982)
  • Sonata for 2 pianos op.82 (1990)
  • Prelüüd for pianos op.128 (2014)

Web links

• Official website
• Works by and about Jaan Rääts in the catalog of the German National Library
• Catalog raisonné
• short portrait with audio samples