World Premiere of Symphonic Poem
Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra 2026 Season Finale Concert
Program:
Jean Sibelius, Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47
Richard Strauss, Alpine Symphony, Op. 64
Ardo Ran Varres, Symphonic Poem Tartu: Echoes of Millennium (world premiere)
Soloist: Hans Christian Aavik (violin)
Conductor: Risto Joost
Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra
Annotation for Echoes of Tartu Millennium
The first known mention of Tartu dates to the year 1030, which means that in 2030 the city will mark its thousandth anniversary. Over this long period, many turbulent events have unfolded here: the rise and decline of influences from east and west, north and south; significant conflicts and periods of rebuilding. The crossroads of water and land routes made this place attractive to many. The earliest date associated with the founding of the episcopal city of Tartu is considered to be 1224.
In 2005, archaeological excavations in the courtyard at Ülikooli 15 uncovered a wooden recorder preserved in its entirety. This is an exceptionally rare find: it is, as far as is currently known, the best-preserved medieval recorder (likely dating from 1350–1399). Although the direct sound of this instrument is not heard in the piece, there are allusions to runo-song motifs and medieval melodies.
Margus Laidre’s book Dorpat 1558–1708: A City Between Force and Hostility is an astonishing journey into the past, into a period of major conflicts. Periods of peace and rebuilding were later disrupted by devastating fires and shifting front lines. Another excellent source is the new book by the Tartu City Museum, Knowing Tartu: Urban Space Through the Centuries.
Estonia was, in a sense, conceived in Tartu. Madli Puhvel’s impressive monograph Lydia Koidula offers a rich picture of that era. Ülejõe, for example, is a fascinating part of town — the birthplace of our theatre, song festivals, film and cinema culture; the location of the first Estonian-language primary school; and home to many important societies. In the context of Estonian cultural history, Ülejõe may well be the most significant district of all. Our first professional composer Rudolf Tobias lived there briefly, and Heino Eller — founder of the Estonian art-music composition school — was born and grew up there.
Toward the end of the work, we hear a reference to the Piano Quintet by one of Estonia’s finest composers, Eduard Oja (1905–1950). Oja was a student of Heino Eller and a native of Tartu, and by quoting his piece I wished to allude to the cultural flourishing of Tartu in the 1920s and 1930s — a period from which we continue to draw inspiration. Tartu is a good place to live; here the muses of intellectual life, culture, and education breathe freely. At the same time, we remain a border city between civilizations and cultures…
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