ESTONIAN SYMPHONIC MUSIC. THE FIRST CENTURY 1896-1996.
abandon the idea of becoming a pianist. In 1937, he was enrolled in the composition
class of Prof. Artur Kapp but the outbreak of World War II and his family’s deportation
to Siberia after the war hindered his studies. Ilves did not get his composer’s diploma
until 1949. After graduation he had little time for composing, as he was at once offered
the post of lecturer in History of Music and Special Harmony at the Conservatoire.
His First Symphony was completed as late as in 19591, at the time of the period
of a new Sturm und Drang, during which the young generation of Estonian composers
were making innovations, casting aside everything that seemed old-fashioned. In the
light of their experimentations and searches, this weighty, fully individual work
remained in the shadow. While attention of the young was on what it means to express
oneself, Ilves emphasised the importance of what to express.
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