Einojuhani Rautavaara, the 'patriarch of contemporary Finnish composers', is internationally one of the best known and most frequently performed Finnish composers.

Commissioned by the famous Juilliard School for its centenary celebrations in 2005, his Manhattan Trilogy is a reminiscence of his student years in America. The three movements are powerful musical recollections on moods from this time. Following its world première at Carnegie Hall, the New York Times marveled at the work's "achingly beautiful solo lines darting through the thick textures".

It has been said that the heroic Third Symphony, written after his student years in 1961, almost sounds like Bruckner. Rautavaara's own notes in the CD booklet declare that "the four movements breathe in a solemn, Brucknerian swelling - akin to the rhythm of the land and the sea." Here, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Leif Segerstam builds on their pedigree in performing their compatriot's music and deliver a fresh performance recorded in super audio quality.

Rautavaara studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki under Aarre Merikanto from 1948 to 1952 before Jean Sibelius recommended him for a scholarship to study in New York. There he was taught by Vincent Persichetti and he also took lessons from Roger Sessions and Aaron Copland at Tanglewood. He first came to international attention when he won the Thor Johnson Contest for his composition A Requiem in Our Time in 1954. Much of his work is accessible and has proved to be quite popular. He experimented with serial techniques in his early career but left them behind in the 1960s and even his serial works are not obviously serial. His later works often have a mystical element (especially the works with titles refering to angels). Rautavaara had a serious seizure at the beginning of 2004 but has since recovered. Almost all of his works have been recorded by Ondine.