Composers
Singing tradition in touch with its masculine side
10 October 2005
The Scotsman – Kenneth Walton – Veljo Tormis is 75 years old and one of Estonia's most celebrated living composers. He lives several floors up in a modest apartment block near the centre of Tallinn. From the outside, its stark, impersonal architecture reeks of Stalinist utilitarianism. Tormis took up residence 40 years ago when Estonia was under Soviet control. He had little choice. "These were hard times, and these were state-funded apartments assigned especially to musicians," he explains. Read more