Heino

The Estonian Heino Eller (1887–1970) is probably best known as the teacher of Arvo Pärt – but he was a prolific and original composer in his own right. His substantial output for piano – this series will contain seven CDs – was written over a period of six decades and thus reflects a range of styles. Taking the lyricism of Chopin and Grieg as its starting point, it combines the influence of Estonian folksong, Scriabin’s troubled harmonies, the epic northern colouring of Sibelius and, at times, Prokofiev’s motoric energy into an attractively individual manner.

As both composer and teacher Heino Eller (1887–1970) was one of the founders of the classical tradition in his native Estonia. Yet his copious output for piano – some 200 works –is largely unknown, an omission this series of seven CDs seeks to redress. Volume Two presents compositions from six decades: charming romantic miniatures, virtuoso showpieces, expressionist preludes and quirky folk-pieces. The main item is his Theme and Variations from 1939 – one of his best works for piano, but not published or recorded before now.

"Heino Eller was the consolidator, the man who - no less than Vaughan Williams in Britain - gave Estonian music a sense of direction." - International Record Review, Feb 2001 Heino Eller (1887-1970) is considered the father of modern Estonian music and teacher to virtually every notable composer in 20th century Estonian music, including Arvo Prt. With the current high interest in Estonian music, this is a good moment for ECM to highlight the historical contribution of Heino Eller alongside well-known composers Arvo Prt, Veljo Tormis and Erkki-Sven Tr, who have become firmly associated with the New Series label (13 recordings between them).

Lepo Sumera - Symphonies 1-3
Malmö Symphony Orchestra / Paavo Järvi
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 277 MB | Full Artwork: 79 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: BIS # BIS-CD-660 | Country/Year: Sweden 1994
Genre: Classical | Style: Contemporary, Modern

Lepo Sumera (8 May 1950 – 2 June 2000) was an Estonian composer and teacher. Considered one of Estonia's most renowned composers along with Heino Eller, Eduard Tubin and Arvo Pärt, he was also his country's Minister of Culture from 1988 to 1992 during the days of the Singing Revolution…

Heino Eller was much more than anything I can express in words. It was largely due to him that music in Estonia was able to achieve a cultural and professional dignity. – Arvo Pärt

The repertoire of Finnish music for violin and orchestra is full of hidden gems, with a substantial amount of works remaining unperformed and unpublished. The music on this recording represents a style of light classical music that was popular from the 1930s to the 1960s but remains largely forgotten today. All of the composers represented here created highly lyrical and charming works, including Uuno Klami who, after Sibelius, is considered one of the most important composers in the history of Finnish music.

From the middle of the nineteenth century there was a blossoming of nationalism within the creative arts – very notably in music – in Finland that reflected the political mood in the country. From an international perspective, the dominant stature of Sibelius can often overshadow the wide-ranging works of his peers – something that this album goes some way to redressing. Robert Kajanus was the leading figure in Finnish music before Sibelius became established. His Overtura sinfonica is a late work, from 1926, which epitomises his style. Armas Järnefelt was a friend and fellow student of Sibelius, and eventually became his brother-in-law.