Estonian Music

[Dundonnell]

Eller's Symphony No.3 and much more can be found there :


http://muusika24.ee/Klassika/soundAuthor/1695

Many thanks for this link I shall register and download the symphony and probably a good deal more of Eller's music.

I am finally getting round to registering for this site with the intention of downloading the Eller Symphony No.3 and some Artur Kapp symphonies at least.

However, I am not finding the site very easy to understand even in its English version. My first impression,  for example, from the Search facility was that there was no Kapp until I found his works in a "multi-movement" section.

Has anybody else used this site

[violinconcerto]

Yes, and I found it as weird as you. Luckily I only had to download two works, then I was done. But I had no problems with spam, incorrect invoices, etc, so the site seems to be serious.

[Dundonnell]

Well, it is some comfort at least to know that it's not just me

[Dundonnell]

Finally succeeded in being able to download the Heino Eller Symphony No.3 and the Artur Kapp Symphonies, Nos. 1 "Quasi una fantasia", 2 and 5 "Peace Symphony"(which I finally worked is is "Ruhusuumfoonia" in Estonian ) from the Muusika24.ee site.

Unfortunately, the site provides no details of performers One assumes that the orchestra is the Estonian State Radio Symphony Orchestra but names of conductors are there none, nor any indication of date of broadcast(they definitely are radio broadcasts rather than commercial LPs/cds).

There are no Estonian experts on here are there to match Latvian's expertise with respect to that country

[cjvinthechair]

Finally succeeded in being able to download the Heino Eller Symphony No.3 and the Artur Kapp Symphonies, Nos. 1 "Quasi una fantasia", 2 and 5 "Peace Symphony"(which I finally worked is is "Ruhusuumfoonia" in Estonian ) from the Muusika24.ee site.

Unfortunately, the site provides no details of performers One assumes that the orchestra is the Estonian State Radio Symphony Orchestra but names of conductors are there none, nor any indication of date of broadcast(they definitely are radio broadcasts rather than commercial LPs/cds).

There are no Estonian experts on here are there to match Latvian's expertise with respect to that country

Gee, how did you manage that ? I 'faffed' about for ages & achieved nothing.....actually that's not so unusual !

[Latvian]

Finally succeeded in being able to download the Heino Eller Symphony No.3 and the Artur Kapp Symphonies, Nos. 1 "Quasi una fantasia", 2 and 5 "Peace Symphony"(which I finally worked is is "Ruhusuumfoonia" in Estonian ) from the Muusika24.ee site.

Yes, I managed the A. Kapp 3rd Symphony a couple of days ago, with no difficulties or repercussions. Too bad there isn't much more of interest available there...

[JimL]

It doesn't help much that Estonian is a particularly difficult language, being unrelated to its surrounding Slavic dialects of Russian, Lithuanian and Latvian.  It's more closely related to Finnish and Magyar (Hungarian).  My friend Tom the Mad Hungarian assures me his native tongue is unnecessarily complicated.

[Alan Howe]

It doesn't help much that Estonian is a particularly difficult language, being unrelated to its surrounding Slavic dialects of Russian, Lithuanian and Latvian.

Russian, Lithuanian and Latvian are not Slavic dialects. Russian is a Slavic (or Slavonic) language, while Lithuanian and Latvian are Baltic languages.

[Dundonnell]

Finally succeeded in being able to download the Heino Eller Symphony No.3 and the Artur Kapp Symphonies, Nos. 1 "Quasi una fantasia", 2 and 5 "Peace Symphony"(which I finally worked is is "Ruhusuumfoonia" in Estonian ) from the Muusika24.ee site.

Unfortunately, the site provides no details of performers One assumes that the orchestra is the Estonian State Radio Symphony Orchestra but names of conductors are there none, nor any indication of date of broadcast(they definitely are radio broadcasts rather than commercial LPs/cds).

There are no Estonian experts on here are there to match Latvian's expertise with respect to that country

Gee, how did you manage that ? I 'faffed' about for ages & achieved nothing.....actually that's not so unusual !

Tips-
(a) Register with the site.
(2) Click on 'English'
(3) Search in the Classical Music section but enter the composer's full name in the Search box, rather than clicking on his initial letter as you are invited to do.
(4) All of the composer's works available on the site should now be shown but in Estonian. Do not try to switch back to English because you will be taken back to the start
(5) The rest is relatively intuitive I managed to download three Artur Kapp, three Eugen Kapp and one Eller symphony without too much trouble but, I admit, that was reasonably easy once I had worked out that "suumfonia" meant 'symphony'

[JimL]

It doesn't help much that Estonian is a particularly difficult language, being unrelated to its surrounding Slavic dialects of Russian, Lithuanian and Latvian.

Russian, Lithuanian and Latvian are not Slavic dialects. Russian is a Slavic (or Slavonic) language, while Lithuanian and Latvian are Baltic languages.

I'm aware that Russian and the other languages aren't dialects.  I was trying to come up with another word since I had already used tongue and language and I was in a hurry.  And what are the Baltic languages, if not Slavic?  I was informed by an Estonian some years ago that her language was unrelated to both Lithuanian and Latvian, but was more closely related to Finnish.

[Christopher]

It doesn't help much that Estonian is a particularly difficult language, being unrelated to its surrounding Slavic dialects of Russian, Lithuanian and Latvian.   

I would be verrry careful in referring to Lithuanian or Latvian either as dialects or as Slavic...!!

Lithuanian and Latvian have some common roots and are the only two living languages in the (East) Baltic linguistic group (there were others), though they can't understand each other.  Lithuanian vies with Welsh in claiming to be Europe's oldest living titular language.  Some words in Lithuanian are similar to Slavic words, though that is as much due to proximity and to common Indo-European heritage as anything else. It is also the closest language Europe has to Sanskrit.

Estonian is one of the Finno-Ugric languages (sometimes also called Uralic).  Closely related to Finnish, less closely to Hungarian (they don't understand each other).  Other languages of this group are found in Russia with the Mari (located mostly in the Mari-El Republic and the Udmurts (located mostly in Udmurtia) -   and in Latvia which has a tiny minority called the Livonians (or Livs, there are very few left).

Latvia and Estonia have significant Russian minorities (approx 25% and 30% respectively), and Riga (Latvia's capital) is a majority Russian city. Other minorities include Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Armenians, Tartars, Scandinavian peoples and Germans (and others), and as such, the population of Latvia which is Latvian is believed to be only just over 50%, while the equivalent figure for Estonia is 60%.  Lithuania's largest minority is the Poles, Russians account for less than 10%.  80% of Lithuania is Lithuanian, and it also has minorities from those mentioned above. All 3 also have a significant Jewish heritage, especially Lithuania.

[cjvinthechair]

Finally succeeded in being able to download the Heino Eller Symphony No.3 and the Artur Kapp Symphonies, Nos. 1 "Quasi una fantasia", 2 and 5 "Peace Symphony"(which I finally worked is is "Ruhusuumfoonia" in Estonian ) from the Muusika24.ee site.

Unfortunately, the site provides no details of performers One assumes that the orchestra is the Estonian State Radio Symphony Orchestra but names of conductors are there none, nor any indication of date of broadcast(they definitely are radio broadcasts rather than commercial LPs/cds).

There are no Estonian experts on here are there to match Latvian's expertise with respect to that country

Gee, how did you manage that ? I 'faffed' about for ages & achieved nothing.....actually that's not so unusual !

Tips-
(a) Register with the site.
(2) Click on 'English'
(3) Search in the Classical Music section but enter the composer's full name in the Search box, rather than clicking on his initial letter as you are invited to do.
(4) All of the composer's works available on the site should now be shown but in Estonian. Do not try to switch back to English because you will be taken back to the start
(5) The rest is relatively intuitive I managed to download three Artur Kapp, three Eugen Kapp and one Eller symphony without too much trouble but, I admit, that was reasonably easy once I had worked out that "suumfonia" meant 'symphony'

Well done ! Many thanks for that.           Clive.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for that explanation, Christopher. Very helpful. Being a linguist myself (I'm fluent in German), I am particularly interested in the history of Lithuanian: I must do some research.

Meanwhile, back with Estonian music...

[fr8nks]

Do you have to pay for downloads at the Estonian website or are they free?

[Dundonnell]

You have to pay, I am afraid

The three Eugen Kapp symphonies cost me 5.70 Euros-so it is a pretty nominal amount really