Palmgren Vol 7

Selim Palmgren’s piano miniatures were extremely popular during his lifetime and were played by the great virtuosos of the day. The sixth volume in this acclaimed series presents a panorama of Palmgren’s works and includes two of his greatest and most important solo pieces – the suite Ungdom, Op. 28 laced with Impressionist and Finnish folk elements, and the Three Piano Pieces, Op. 54 which includes Raindrops and Moonlight, two of his best-known and most atmospheric works. Also included are Lisztian virtuoso studies, Hungarian evocations, and a beautiful, moving Prélude funèbre that was played at Palmgren’s own funeral. Jouni Somero, Palmgren’s greatest modern exponent, continues his historic survey of piano music by one of Finland’s most respected and admired composers.

Selim Palmgren along with his contemporaries Rachmaninov, Glazunov and Sibelius, was invited for a professorship at the Eastman School of Music and was considered the equal of these composers during his day. In Palmgren’s lifetime his music was published and performed widely gaining much popularity and acclaim. Today he is largely forgotten so it is with Jouni Somero’s project to record Palmgren’s complete piano works that we gain a fuller picture of this fascinating composer’s music. From virtuoso concert studies to the remarkable variety in the Ten Pieces, Op. 79, this eighth volume in the series consists almost entirely of world première recordings.

Selim Palmgren along with his contemporaries Rachmaninov, Glazunov and Sibelius, was invited for a professorship at the Eastman School of Music and was considered the equal of these composers during his day. In Palmgren's lifetime his music was published and performed widely gaining much popularity and acclaim.

Selim Palmgren, a native of Finland and a student of Busoni, was one of the most prominent and prolific Nordic composer-pianists since Edvard Grieg, with works that were widely performed by some of the most notable concert pianists of his day. From early pieces influenced by Chopin via the tour de force of his only surviving Piano Sonata, to the darker Autumn Prologue – this is the first volume of a complete edition that includes première recordings of unpublished works, showcasing every side of Palmgren’s varied character.

Selim Palmgren, a student of Busoni, was one of the most prominent Finnish composer-pianists of his time, and his pieces for pedagogical use such as Kevätauerta ("Spring Haze") are still popular today. This programme reveals Palmgren’s versatility to the full, with the Deux contrastes describing opposite poles of melancholy and joyous playfulness, and the dreamy Prelude-Nocturne - a jazz-tinted reminiscence of 1920s America. Displaying a wide variety of technical and stylistic challenges, Palmgren’s 24 Preludes also features one of the first examples of Impressionism in Nordic piano literature.

Australia seems to have produced more than its fair share of pianists in the early days of recording, with Percy Grainger, William Murdoch and Eileen Joyce all being mainstays of the 78rpm catalogue. To their ranks we should add Una Bourne, signed to the most prestigious label of all – HMV, and a stalwart of the acoustic period of recording. Bourne had early success as a prodigy and travelled to Europe to study, but it was being asked to tour with Nellie Melba which established her career. Later, as well as playing as a soloist she played and recorded much chamber music.