René Eespere (b. 1953) is an Estonian composer who writes like no one you've ever heard. Staunchly Romantic, Eespere belongs in the tradition of Arvo Pärt and Heino Eller without sounding derivitave of their style. He employs familiar tricks of the Romanticist's trade but updates them (or goes retro) when it suits the music. For example, his Concerto Ritornello for Chamber Orchestra (1982/1993) employs Baroque rhythmic structures, yet it canters along with an unusual spiritedness not found anywhere in the Baroque repertoire. The Concerto also has a gorgeous violin solo (cast in the ritornello mode) that adds to the work's sense of breathlessness. Extra mention also must be made here of the studio sound with its unusual richness and depth, particularly in the lower registers. I don't know how they did it, but it sounds unlike anything I've ever heard.

The same kind of energetic momentum that characterizes the Concerto Ritornello imbues the Concerto for Flute and Chamber Orchestra (1995/98). Again, Eespere organizes his music around constantly moving parts, carrying the listener along a well-defined journey--a technique he also employs in his Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra (1996/98), where the viola's dour temperament rules. The soloists in these last two works--Neeme Punder on the flute and Maano Manni on the viola--are excellent, especially flutist Punder who manages to sound neither flighty nor shrill. But part of what makes these compositions work is the tightness of the writing and the fact that they are for the limited forces of a chamber orchestra. If you're a Romantic at heart (even a closet Romantic will do), then I very much recommend this release.

--Paul Cook