Erkki-Sven Tüür is an Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

n composer.

Tüür was born in Kärdla

Kärdla

Kärdla is the largest town on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa and the capital of Hiiu County.-Geography:Kärdla is located on the north-eastern coast of Hiiumaa, by the Gulf of Tareste . Southeast of the town is the Kärdla meteorite crater, which is 455 million years old.Several small rivers flow...

 on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa

Hiiumaa

Hiiumaa is the second largest island belonging to Estonia. It is located in the Baltic Sea, north of the island of Saaremaa, a part of the West Estonian archipelago. Its largest town is Kärdla.-Name:...

. He studied flute and percussion at the Tallinn Music School from 1976 to 1980 and composition with Jaan Rääts

Jaan Rääts

Jaan Rääts is an Estonian composer who worked extensively in Estonian language film scores of the 1960s and 1970s....

 at the Tallinn Academy of Music and privately with Lepo Sumera

Lepo Sumera

Lepo Sumera was an Estonian composer and teacher. Considered one of Estonia's most renowned composers along with Heino Eller and Arvo Pärt, he was also his country's Minister of Culture from 1988 to 1992 during the days of the Singing Revolution.He was born in Tallinn and studied with Veljo...

 from 1980 to 1984. From 1979 to 1984 he headed the rock group In Spe, which quickly became one of the most popular in Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

.

Tüür left In Spe to concentrate on composition, and with the advent of perestroika

Perestroika

Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...

 soon found an audience in the west. The Helsinki Philharmonic, the Hilliard Ensemble

Hilliard Ensemble

The Hilliard Ensemble is a British male vocal quartet originally devoted to the performance of early music. Founded in 1974, the group is named after the Elizabethan miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard....

, the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra are among those who have commissioned works from him. He was awarded the Cultural Prize of Estonia in 1991 and 1996.

His Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, entitled "Illuminatio", was premiered by violist Lars Anders Tomter and South Jutland Symphony Orchestra in October 2008.

Selected works

Tüür's works are published by Edition Peters

Edition Peters

Edition Peters, also known as C.F.Peters Musikverlag, is a German music publishing house, founded in Leipzig in 1800.From the 1860s it was largely run by members the Hinrichsen family, who were Jewish. The company was confiscated by the Nazis and administered by the "Trustee of Jewish Property"....

, Henry Litolff's Verlag, Warner/Chappell Music Finland, Fennica Gehrman, Sovetsky Kompozitor, Antes Edition, Eres Edition and Edition Fazer.

Stage

• Wallenberg, Opera in 2 acts (2001); libretto by Lutz Hübner

Orchestral

• Symphony No. 1 (1984)
• Symphony No. 2 (1987)
• Insula Deserta for string orchestra (1989)
• Searching for Roots (Hommage a Sibelius) (1990)
• Zeitraum (1992)
• Architectonics VI for chamber orchestra (1992)
• Show for string orchestra (1993)

1. Action
2. Passion
3. Illusion
   • Crystallisatio for chamber orchestra (1995)
   • Lighthouse for string orchestra (1997)
   • Symphony No. 3 (1997)
   • Exodus (1999)
   • Aditus: In memoriam Lepo Sumera
     Lepo Sumera
     Lepo Sumera was an Estonian composer and teacher. Considered one of Estonia's most renowned composers along with Heino Eller and Arvo Pärt, he was also his country's Minister of Culture from 1988 to 1992 during the days of the Singing Revolution.He was born in Tallinn and studied with Veljo...
     
     (2001–2002)
   • Aqua for string orchestra (2003)
   • Symphony No. 5 for electric guitar, orchestra and big band (2004)
   • Rada ja jäljed (The Path and the Traces) for string orchestra (2005)
   • Symphony No. 6 "Strata" in one movement (2007)
   • Symphony No. 7 "Pietas" for mixed chorus and orchestra (2009)
   • Symphony No. 8 (2010)

Concertante

• Concerto for cello and orchestra (1996)
• Concerto for violin and orchestra (1999)
• Ardor, Concerto for marimbe and orchestra (2001)
• Magma, Symphony No. 4 in one movement for solo percussion and orchestra (2002)
• Concerto for bassoon and orchestra (2003)
• Noesis, Concerto for violin, clarinet and orchestra (2005)
• Concerto for piano and orchestra (2006)
• Whistles and Whispers from Uluru for recorder and string orchestra (2007)
• Prophecy for accordion and orchestra (2007)
• Illuminatio, Concerto for viola and orchestra (2008)

Chamber music

• Architectonics I for woodwind quintet (1984)
• Graafiline leht (Prints) for flute and harp (1985)
• String Quartet "In memoriam Urmas Kibuspuu" (1985)
• Architectonics II for clarinet, cello and piano (1986)
• Sisemonoloog (Inner Monologue) for flute solo (1986)
• Architectonics III "Postmetaminimal Dream" for flute, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, 2 pianos, synthesizer, percussion (2 players), violin and cello (1990)
• Architectonics IV "Per Cadenza ad Metasimplicity" for violin (or electric violin), bassoon, baritone saxophone and piano (or synthesizer) (1990)
• Dedication for cello and piano (1990)
• Architectonics V for electric guitar and amplified piano (1991)
• Dick ja Toff imedemaal (Dick and Toff in Wonderland) for flute and tuba (or bass clarinet) (1991)
• Kaljukitse märgi all (The Tropic of Capricorn) for flute, clarinet, vibraphone, violin, electric guitar (2nd electric guitar ad libitum) and MIDI electronics (1991)
• Miraaž (Mirage) for electronics (1991)
• Architectonics VII for flute, cello and harpsichord (or flute, bass clarinet and piano) (1992)
• Spiel for cello and guitar (1992)
• Drama for flute (or vibraphone), violin and guitar (1994)
• Spectrum II for organ, trumpet and percussion ad libitum (1994)
• Conversio for violin and piano (1994)
• Lamentatio for 4 saxophones (1995)
• Mängu võlu (The Glamour of the Game) for double bass, live electronics and MIDI percussion (1995)
• Symbiosis for violin and double bass (1996)
• Motus I for percussion (1998)
• Motus II for percussion (4 players) (1998)
• Oxymoron for chamber ensemble and live electronics (2001)
• Fata Morgana for violin, cello and piano (2002)
• Sisemonoloog II (Inner Monologue II) for flute and electronics
• Spectrum IV for cello and organ (2004)
• Confession for violin solo (2007)

Organ

• Spectrum I (1989)
• Spectrum III (1999)

Piano

• Kristiinale (To Kristiina) (1981, 1995)
• Sonatina for 2 pianos (1984)
• Piano Sonata (1985)
• Mõeldes Hiiumaast (Hiiumaa; Souvenir of Hiiumaa) (1992)
• Ülekanne (Transmission) for 6 pianos (1996)
• Short Meeting of Dark and Light (2003)
• Mida nägin mäetipule jõudes (What I Saw from the Top of the Mountain), Music for Children (2003)

Vocal

• Excitatio ad Contemplandum for alto, 2 tenors, baritone (or mixed chorus) and organ (1996)
• Questions... for 4 male voices and string orchestra (2007)

Choral

• Raerituaal (Town Council Custom) for mixed chorus, early music ensemble, electric guitar and chamber orchestra (1982–2004)
• Ante Finem Saeculi, Oratorio for soprano, tenor, bass, mixed chorus and orchestra (1985); Biblical text and words by Viivi Luik
• Lumen et Cantus, Mass for male chorus and orchestra (1989)
• Inquiétude du Fini for male chorus and chamber orchestra (1992); words by Tõnu Õnnepalu
  Tõnu Õnnepalu
  Tõnu Õnnepalu , also known by the pen names Emil Tode and Anton Nigov, is an Estonian poet and author.Õnnepalu was born in Tallinn and studied biology at the University of Tartu from 1980 to 1985. He began his writing career as a poet in 1985 and has published three collections of his works...
  
  
• Psalmody for mixed chorus and early music ensemble (1993, 2005); Biblical text
• Requiem "In memoriam Peeter Lilje" for soprano, tenor, mixed chorus and chamber orchestra (1994)
• Rändaja õhtulaul (The Wanderer's Evening Song) for mixed chorus a cappella (2001)
• Meditatio for mixed chorus and saxophone quartet (2003)
• Salve Regina for male chorus and orchestra (2005)
• Igavik (Eternity) for male chorus and chamber orchestra (2006); words by Doris Kareva
• Triglosson trishagion for mixed chorus a cappella (2008)
• Väike eestimaine laul (Little Estonian Song) for children's chorus (2009)

Film scores

• Elu ilma Gabriella Ferrita (Life without Gabriella Ferri) (2008)

Discography

• Symphony No. 4 'magma'; inquiétude du fini; igavik (eternity); the path and the traces. Dame Evelyn Glennie, percussion; Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir ; Estonian National Male Choir; Estonian National Symphony Orchestra; Paavo Järvi
• Architectonics VI; Passion; Illusion; Crystallisatio; Requiem. Kaja Urb, soprano; Tiit Kogermann, tenor; Tõnu Kaljuste
  Tõnu Kaljuste
  Tõnu Kaljuste is an Estonian conductor.Born in Tallinn, Kaljuste is the child of Heino Kaljuste , an Estonian choral conductor, and Lia Kaljuste, a radio journalist. Tõnu sang in his father's choirs as a child, and graduated from the Tallinn Music High School in 1971...
  
  /Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
  Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
  The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir is a professional choir based in Estonia. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was its conductor for twenty years. In 2001, Paul Hillier followed Kaljuste's tenure, becoming the EPCC's principal conductor and artistic director until September 2008,...
  
  , Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
• Symphony No. 3; Concerto (cello); Lighthouse. David Geringas
  David Geringas
  David Geringas is a world-renowned cellist and conductor who studied under Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1970 he won the Gold Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition...
  
  , cello; Dennis Russell Davies
  Dennis Russell Davies
  Dennis Russell Davies is an American conductor and pianist. He studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard School where he received his doctorate...
  
  /Radio Symphonieorchester Wien
• In the Memory of Clear Water. American Wind Symphony Orchestra
  American Wind Symphony Orchestra
  The American Wind Symphony Orchestra is an American musical ensemble comprising the wind instruments found in a symphony orchestra, which is dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music, and which is known for having commissioned over 400 new works...
  
  
• Insula deserta; Searching for Roots (Hommage à Sibelius); Zeitraum. Juha Kangas/Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra; Paavo Järvi
  Paavo Järvi
  Paavo Järvi is an Estonian-American conductor, and current Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris.Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia, to conductor Neeme Järvi and Liilia Järvi. His siblings, Kristjan Järvi and Maarika Järvi, are also musicians...
  
  /Royal Stockholm Philharmonic
• Lighthouse. Juha Kangas/Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra (Finlandia: 3964-29718)
• Spiel. Boris Björn Bagger, guitar; Martin Ostertag, cello
• Symphony No. 2. Paul Mägi/USSR Ministry of Culture State Symphony Orchestra
• Oratorium: Ante Finem Saeculi. Tõnu Kaljuste/Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Estonian Opera-Theatre Orchestra
• Sonata. Kalle Randalu, piano
• Architectonics I-VII; Spectrum II. NYYD Ensemble
• Architectonics I-VII. Absolute Ensemble
• Motus II. Cabaza Percussion Quartet
• Spectrum I. Andres Uibo, organ
• Spectrum II. Jüri Leiten, trumpet; Andres Uibo, organ; M. Metsamart, percussion
• String Quartet. Tallinn Quartet
• String Quartet. Duke Quartet

External links

• The Erkki-Sven Tüür Information Archive and Homepage, accessed 4 February 2010
• Biographical website, accessed 4 February 2010