Erkki-Sven Tüür (born 16 October 1959) is an Estonian composer.

Life and career

Tüür was born in Kärdla on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa. He studied flute and percussion at the Tallinn Music School from 1976 to 1980 and composition with Jaan Rääts at the Tallinn Academy of Music and privately with Lepo Sumera from 1980 to 1984. From 1979 to 1984 he headed the rock group In Spe, which quickly became one of the most popular in Estonia. Tüür left In Spe to concentrate on composition, and with the advent of perestroika soon found an audience in the west. The Helsinki Philharmonic, the Hilliard Ensemble, the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra are among those who have commissioned works from him. His Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, entitled '"Illuminatio"', was premiered by violist Lars Anders Tomter and South Jutland Symphony Orchestra in October 2008. Since 1985, Tüür is member of the Estonian Composers' Union.

Style

Tüür's early work is polystylistic. Influencing styles were Rock, Post-Romantic, Minimalism, Gregorian Chant. His music is characterized by expressive, energetic, organic amalgamation of opposite styles: tonality vs. atonality; repetitive rhythm vs. complex rhythm; meditation vs. explosive power; intellectual vs. emotional. The first pure example is his opus Oxymoron. Tüür developed a vector based voice leading technique. The vectors are sequences of intervals, expressed as numbers. He compares this compositional method with a source code, a germ that grows, or a gene that mutates. Starting point of the composition process is an abstract drawing, that visualizes the music.

Tonal

Atonal

Awards

Tüür received numerous national awards. He was awarded the Cultural Prize of Estonia in 1991 and 1996 and the Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature, the Arts and Science in 1998.

Works

Tüür's works are published by Edition Peters and Fennica Gehrman.

Stage

Symphonies

Orchestral

Concertante

Architectonics

Chamber music

Organ

Piano

Vocal

Choral

Film scores

Discography