Deryk Barker writes:

>I had the good fortune last Wednesday to attend a concert here in Victoria
>given by Weltblech (Word Brass) an extraordinary group of young players
>mostly based in Berlin.
>
>They performed, inter alia, Rautavaara's Playgrounds for Angels which
>was a fascinating piece, full of novel effects, even if it did slihgtly
>outlast (IMHO) the composer's inspiration.

My guest today on the final broadcast of this summer's Aspen Music Festival
(concluding Sunday) was conductor Osmo Vanska, music-director-elect of the
Minnesota Symphony.  As he's a Finn, playing Rautavaara's Isle of Bliss
(as well as the Sibelius 3rd) next Friday, we spoke of Finnish music.
He suggested that if one is fond of music from Rautavaara's late period,
such as Isle of Bliss and Autumn Gardens, he would highly recommend the
8th Symphony.  I had a copy with me and played it, finding it wonderful.
It's available on Naxos, very well done.

Jane Erb