Terrific New Tamberg Recording from Jarvi on BIS

I first encountered the music of Eino Tamberg, the Estonian composer born in 1930, when Philip Smith played his Trumpet Concerto with the NY Philharmonic.  I sought out a recording, and found it on an obscure import label, and have not heard much about Tamberg's music until now, with the new release on BIS of a full disc of the composer's music, beautifully performed by Neeme Jarvi and the Residentie Orket den Haag (Hague Philharmonic).

The disc opens with a suite drawn from the composer's ballet, "Joanna Tentata," which is based on a novel bu Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz extending the "Devils of Loudon" story upon which Penderecki had based his opera into a subsequent period of time involving some of the same characters.  The music draws heavily from Eastern European folk influences, moderately spiced with adventurous but tonal harmonies and gorgeous orchestration that reminds me of Respighi at times.  This is a work of the composer's middle age, Op. 37a, dating from 1972. 

The remainder of the disc is devoted to two early works from the composer's 20s - Symphonic Dances, Op. 6 (1957), and Concerto Grosso, Op. 5 (1956).  Both are heavily folk influenced, and I also hear quite a bit of influence from Shostakovich - not surprising for an Eastern bloc composer of the 1950s.

All of this music is quite appealing on first hearing, and I think the rich orchestration and piquant harmonies will keep me interested on repeated listening.  The recording has been transferred to my iPod and will certain get a workout...