MODERNIST OF ESTONIAN MUSIC

Jaan Rääts - Modernist of Estonian music

Jaan Rääts is one of the leading figures in the change in style of Estonian music in 1950s, as a new generation of young innovative composers arrived to Estonian music scene.

As a key figure in contemporary Estonian music, Rääts has left an indelible mark on the Estonian and global music scene. His compositions, characterized by their clarity, rhythmic drive, and innovative harmonic language, firmly place him within the realm of modernism.

Modernism in music sought to break away from traditional tonal structures and explore new possibilities in form, harmony, and expression. Jaan Rääts embraced these ideals, incorporating avant-garde techniques and progressive ideas into his compositions.

Jaan Rääts' Symphony no. 3 and Symphony no. 4 are considered to be some of the first examples of modernism in Estonian music. His Concerto for chamber orchestra no.1 op.16, (1961), is a work that took Estonian music to the world an up today is a bussinesscard of Estonian music.

The enthusiasm for innovations of various kinds in Jaan Rääts' music caused great controversy and reproaches at the time (accusations of excessive intellectualism, laconicism, motorism, breaking with traditional form, lack of emotion).

"Of our generation, Jaan Rääts got the loudest shout from the highest chair at the national congress for his urban symphonies (...) The great defender of new music was Ofelia Tuisk, probably one of Estonia's best-mouthed and coolest-minded music writers." (Tauk, 2010: 444)

Over time, the disputes subsided, due to the growing popularity of Jaan Rääts' work and a changed attitude towards contemporary music in general. It was precisely this kind of young Estonian music, with its new nationalism and originality of spirit, that found its way more quickly into the international arena (Priit Kuusk 1970). After an interval of more than twenty years, the newly created compositions resounded in the international music scene. In this, the relatively recent newcomer Jaan Rääts had a great deal to do. (Priit Kuusk 1970) (1)

One of the foremost modernists of Estonian music, Jaan Rääts was a prominent advocate of new music already during his time at the Tallinn Conservatoire. Jaan Rääts fought a real battle for the deserved recognition of Shostakovich, whose music people tried to ignore as formalistic. (Kuusk 1970) Jaan Rääts's struggle to defend young composers is also recalled by his long-time colleague Rodion Šedrin in his autobiographical book (2014).

Jaan Rääts Concerto for Chamber Orchestra -
concerto that took Estonian music to the world
Source: Youtube

From the History of Soviet Music: The Plenum of the Union of Soviet Composers of the USSR in 1966, Devoted to Dodecaphony

Article by Ekaterina S. Vlasova

From the History of Soviet Music: The Plenum of the Union of Soviet Composers of the USSR in 1966, Devoted to Dodecaphony | Научный вестник Московской консерватории (mosconsv.ru)

In the early 1960s the Soviet musical life underwent substantial changes as compared with the period of the previous decade. During the Soviet period the norm of social existence was formed by an informational isolation of the population from events and trends that were unwelcome in the opinion of the leaders of the country. Many socially significant events were denied publicity, including the discussion of problems of contemporary music (problem of dodecaphony), which unfolded at the Fifth Plenum of the Directory of the Soviet Composers’ Union. The struggle which took place in the first days of spring of 1966 was not only for a new musical language.
The composers of the “artistic” trend, Kara Karayev, Rodion Shchedrin, Jaan Raats and Boris Kluzner among them, as well as Nelli Shakhnazarova and Mikhail Byalik, struggled against crass ignorance draped in “correct” political wording. They were standing up for their right of freedom of artistic utterance.
It was much easier to follow dogmas, to write according to rules created whenever or by whosoever, to search for an incongruous ideal of “symphonies and operas based on song material”, to reject the category of the tragic as being appropriate for Soviet art.
Nevertheless, the significance of the “Dodecaphonic Plenum” consisted, first of all, in that the established practice of suppressing the knowledge of an unfavorable event or phenomenon would be shattered by the large-scale social significance of what occurred.

Jaan Rääts Symphony No.3
Conductor: Jüri Alperten
Pärnu City Orchestra (2012)

"Jaan Rääts' Third Symphony was the first to be sharply criticised. Almost the same assessment was made of the Fourth 'Cosmic' Symphony. It seems, however, that Jaan Rääts had taken the criticism of the previous symphony into account: instead of the mechanical approach of the previous symphony, the fourth symphony is already vividly organic, and at times melodic.
(Karl Leichter, 1962)

Jaan Rääts Symphony No.4
Conductor: Roman Matsov
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra

Rodion Shchedrin: Autobiographical Memories - Rodion Shchedrin - Google Books

Rodion Shchedrin: And why doesn't anyone think it appropriate to recall Karajov's courageous speech at the 1966 plenary session of the Composers' Union, the year his Third Symphony and my Second were first performed. The Soviet commentators rushed us together like handcuffs, abruptly leading us to the sins of formalism and turning to the twelve-tone rows. /.../ Next, Kabalevsky tried to demolish my claim that the use of twelve-tone was purely a musical technique and had nothing to do with ideology: 'As far as I can see, you and Karaev are on the road together.' As far as I can see, Karaeva and you are on the same road", he declared. One-way streets are the quickest and safest way to move, I shot back from the hall.
Estonian composer Jaan Rääts leapt to our defence, proclaiming it in reference to the dodecaphony bourgeois ideology was like calling the double bass the reactionary child of capitalism.