Biography

His wife, Sini, is a music teacher and a singer.

One of the best known Finnish composers. He has studied composing at the Sibelius Academy (Helsinki, Finland) and Juilliard School of Music (New York, USA).

He composed symphonies, operas, concertos, chamber music, and choral works. His approach moved from Neo-Classicism to strict dodecaphony to free-tonal Neo-Romanticism. He also wrote scores and incidental music for film and television, and electronic music.

In 1955 the Koussewitzky Foundation awarded a scholarship in honor of composer Jean Sibelius' 90th birthday to enable a young Finnish composer of his choice to study in the United States. Sibelius selected Rautavaara, who spent two years studying with Vincent Persichetti at Juilliard, and attended the summer courses at Tanglewood given by composers Roger Sessions and Aaron Copland.

It is my belief that music is great if, at some moment, the listener catches "a glimpse of eternity through the window of time" ... This, to my mind, is the only true justification for art. All else is of secondary importance.