An Estonian Cyrano. It is by now a well-known fact that today’s Scandinavian composers create works that are much more moderate and pleasing to the ear than those of their colleagues from the center of the European Continent – which is why composers such as Poul Ruders, Rautavaara, and Sallinen have become stars in the world of classical music. The easygoing, relaxed manner with which composers from the Baltic States deal with tradition and tonality has also enabled them to attain a degree of popularity that is in inverse proportion to the size of their home countries. Eino Tamberg, born in 1930, perhaps has not yet gained such renown particularly in Germany, but it is our hope that this will change following our release of his opera Cyrano de Bergerac, a work premiered in 1976. This is opera music at its fullest and richest: witty, brilliant, romantic, and also entertaining. Tamberg does entirely without dissonant atonality; his style is narrative in character, occasionally marvelously lyrical (that’s right, he isn’t at all afraid of pretty melodies!), and always passionate. Today only a composer from the so-called periphery can permit himself to write music like this. But it’s a pleasure – and that’s what music should be! The soloists, chorus, and orchestra of the Estonian National Opera under the conductor Paul Mägi guarantee the greatest authenticity in the original language.