Magma / Erkki-Sven Tüür

"The music of Estonian Erkki-Sven Tüür (1959) bears some resemblance to that of Finnish composer Rautavaara in the immediacy of its appeal and the eclecticism. Tüür's Magma grew out of a request by Evelyn Glennie for a percussion concerto, but the composer opted for a symphony featuring a percussion soloist to emphasize the integrality of soloist and orchestra. The rhythmically and timbrally inventive percussion solo gives the piece an attractively colorful variety of textures and moods, and its tumultuous, organically evolving development makes the title entirely apt. Inquiétude du fini, for chamber choir and orchestra, and Igavik, for male choir and orchestra, somehow evoke the aesthetic of Arvo Pärt without sounding at all like Pärt. The Path and the Traces, for strings, is a tribute to Pärt, and contains some direct allusions to his music, but again, is distinctive and original. Tüür's colorful, evocative, and emotionally communicative music should find an appreciative audience." (S. Eddins, Allmusic)