Princess Haiku Discovers "Dances With Winds" by Einojuhani Rautavaara

I came across a lovely, dreamy composition, "Dances With Winds" for flute and orchestra, by Finnish composer, Einojuhani Rautavaara. Rautavaara was born in 1928 and mentored by Jean Sibelius who provided him with a grant to study at Julliard. After completing his degree he taught for several years at the Sibelius Academy until 1990 and worked on his compositions at night. In the late 1990s he was rewarded by several international awards and musical recognition.

In describing his work, Rautavaara says, "I agree with Carl Gustav Jung: "The artist is not a person endowed with free will who seeks his own ends, but one who allows art to realize its purposes through him." The dark and mysterious work "Dances With Winds" was composed in 1974. The CD "Angels of Light" presents "Dances With Winds" with flautist Petri Alanko and I would love to see it performed with a modern ballet.

"The Finnish flautist Petri Alanko studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and subsequently at the Freiburg Music Academy in Germany. He won first prize at the 1989 Kobe International Flute Festival in Japan and at the Munich ARD Competition a year later. Invitations followed for performances in Germany, the United States of America and Japan, in addition to his active career as a performer in Finland. He served as principal flautist of the Zurich Opera Orchestra in the 1987-1988 season, before taking up a similar position with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He also works with the Finnish Chamber Orchestra and teaches at the Sibelius Academy. ."

Listening to Dances With Winds feels like a lucid dream.