Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016)

Einojuhani Rautavaara, the prolific Finnish composer who was one of the first to abandon serialism for more lyrical “neo-romantic” music, has died at 87.

Rautavaara, who wrote eight symphonies, nine operas, a dozen concertos and many smaller-scaled instrumental and vocal works, is best-known for “Cantus Arcticus” (1972), in which he incorporated recorded bird songs for a “concerto for birds and orchestra,” and his Seventh Symphony (“Angel of Light”) (1994), which cemented his status as a leading figure among contemporary composers from the Baltic region as their music won worldwide recognition.

An obituary by Guy Rikards for The Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jul/28/einojuhani-rautavaara-obituary