Toivo Tulev (b. 1958) is a composer with an original and suggestive style. His path to the world of music has not been smooth or straightforward, but perhaps that has given reason to look deeper into and behind things and phenomena. Of Tulev’s recent vocal work, the most noteworthy are his large-form vocal-instrumental pieces Lamentations (2011), Magnificat (2913), So Shall He Descend (for the Brno Philharmonic, 2018) and I Heard the Voices of Children (for the centenary of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, 2019).
He has written for different types and sizes of ensembles (the piano concert Nada for the piano and string quartet (2015) and a row of works for the orchestra: a Violin Concerto (2002), the Flute Concerto Deux (2004), the Cello Concerto Before (2006), the Percussion Concerto Flow (2009), Three Symphonies (2018) and many more. He described his approach to instrumentation in the following way: “I write so that the piece is not just an abstraction, but forms a certain soundscape. I try to see the score as an acoustic whole similar to an acoustic room – with its echoes and repetitions.’ Tulev’s music is often static and pulsating, inwardly contemplative and emotional, selfless and intense.
Tulev is thankful to his teachers Anti Marguste, Eino Tamberg and Sven-David Sandström, as well as to all of his numerous students who have also taught him a great deal.
Three albums have been released of Tulev’s music: Be Lost in the Call (Eesti Raadio, 2004), Songs (Harmonia Mundi, 2008) and Magnificat (Naxos 2018).