Pärt Uusberg – Piano Piece in C Minor
Alo Mattiisen – Typewriter Concerto in D
Veljo Tormis – Reminiscentia: Autumn Landscapes
Eino Tamberg – Concerto Grosso

The composer himself recalled the origins of Concerto Grosso as follows:

“In fact, I had no intention of writing a concerto grosso at all; I simply wanted to write a concerto. Since the Estonian Radio Symphony Orchestra at the time had many outstanding wind players, I decided to employ a wind ensemble. But the title became rather cumbersome: ‘Concerto for five wind instruments, piano, percussion, and strings.’ Then it occurred to me that works of this kind used to be called concerti grossi.”

The work proved exceptionally successful. In 1957, it was awarded the Gold Medal at the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students. As a result, Concerto Grosso was performed throughout both Eastern and Western Europe, laying the foundation for Tamberg’s distinguished international career as a composer.

This evening’s program also features another work that has received a prestigious award for best musical composition. In 1984, the humorous and innovative Typewriter Concerto in D by Alo Mattiisen, a student of Eino Tamberg, received that distinction from the Expert Council of the Tartu Popular Music Days. The work marked the beginning of Alo Mattiisen’s meteoric rise on the Estonian musical scene.