ERKKI-SVEN TÜÜR

Erkki-Sven Tüür, born in 1959 on Hiiumaa, Estonia, studied flute at the Tallinn Music School in 1976-80 under Kalju Vest, taking also his first lessons in composition under prof. Jaan Rääts at the Tallinn Conservatory. After graduating he continued his studies privately with Lepo Sumera. From 1979 to 1983 E.-S. Tüür was the leader of the chamber-rock group IN SPE. Works that period are characterized by pursuits to combine intonations from renaissancemusic with progressive rock. Minimal and texture music influences can be seen in his later works. Between 1989-92 he taught new compositional techniques at the Tallinn Conservatoire. In 1991 he helped to found an international contemporary music festival with the characteristic name Nyyd (Now).

Compositions written by E.-S. Tüür during the past seven years carry the idea to build a piece of music based on dramaturgic tensions, which arise by opposing or fusing tonal (quasi-minimal) and atonal (12-tone) material, monody and massive sound blocks, "free" rhythms and ostinato principle.

Often he uses electronic instruments together with amplified acoustic instruments (Architectonics III; IV; V; The Tropic of Capricorn).

E.-S. Tüür has composed music for 20 films and 15 theatre performances, mainly electronic music.

His works have been performed in the former Soviet Union, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, England, France, Germany, Austria, Australia, Canada, Japan and U.S.A. and such festivals as Musica, Strasbourg; Berliner Festwoche; Europa Musicale, Munich; Helsinki Festival; Bang on a Can, New York; Europäische Kulturtage, Karlsruhe; Border Crossings, Toronto; Sidney Spring and others.

E.-S. Tüür has an exclusive publishing contract with Edition-Peters, the majority of his works can be found and ordered throughout their "works"-subpage.

The Estonian Annual Prize for Music has been appointed to E.-S. Tüür four times: for the oratorio Ante Finem Saeculi, 1986; for his Second Symphony, 1987; for the mass Lumen et Cantus, 1989 and for the Zetraum for symphony orchestra, 1992.

In Rostrum, 1995, his Requiem was among recomended works with the largest number of votes.

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