Gallery: ERSO Hirvepark concert celebrated birthday of Veljo Tormis
The Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (ERSO) gave a fiery concert to mark the 90th birth anniversary of Estonian composer Veljo Tormis at Tallinn's Hirvepark on Saturday.
Veljo Tormis' music speaks to everyone, whether we are talking about the original score of the movie "Kevade" or his Overture No. 2 from 1959, "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported.
"He has a very specific harmonic language that is instantly recognizable. Then there is his runic song form that is minimalist in its recurrence and that places people in a kind of trance. It charms you at first and then engulfs you in its embrace," conductor Kristjan Järvi described.
Järvi characterized Tormis as an emotional composer and his music as intuitive.
Järvi added that Tormis was dedicated to Estonians' roots – runic songs, in other words, our archaic culture.
"That has somehow survived to this day through all manner of wars, takeovers and occupations. We are still here. And the question is why? Because our culture is the only thing really binding us," he said.
Kristjan Järvi said that without Veljo Tormis, modern Estonia would not feel this yearning for folk music.
The concert that took place at the foot of Toompea Hill in Hirvepark on Saturday featured works by Tormis, Eino Tamberg, Heino Eller, Eduard Tubin and Tõnu Kõrvits. The program covered the history of Estonia and went beyond classical music.
Those who missed the concert can still listen to it on Klassikaraadio or the ERSO TV website.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski