Vardo Rumessen
Estonian pianist, musicologist and politician Vardo Rumessen was born in Tallinn on 8 August 1942. He studied with Bruno Lukk and Eugen Kelder. In 1973 he restored the piano concerto by Rudolf Tobias - the first Estonian piano concerto - and performed it with Neeme Järvi and the Estonian Symphony Orchestra. He was best known for his work with the music of Eduard Tubin, recording a three-CD set of the complete piano music for BIS in 1988, and giving the first American performance of Tubin's Piano Concertino in 1993. As a musicologist he had a vast knowledge of Estonian music. His political activity centred on restoring Estonian independence. Rumessen died on 25 August 2015, aged seventy-three.
|