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PALMGREN, SELIM (1878–1951)

Complete Piano Works • 2


  • Jouni Somero, piano

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.

This recording was made on a modern instrument: Steinway, Model D

Tracklist

1
Konsertetyd (Concert Étude) in C Major (1906) * (00:02:06)
 
2 Contrastes (Contrasts) (1899) (00:04:00 )
2
No. 1. Les adieux (The Farewell) (00:03:34)
3
No. 2. Arlequin (Harlequin) (00:01:10)
4
Valssi länsisuomalaiseen tapaan (Waltz in a Western Finnish Style) () * (00:00:53)
5
Kevätauerta (Spring Haze) (1940) * (00:00:39)
 
3 Klavierstücke (3 Piano Pieces), Op. 32 (1912) (00:10:00 )
6
No. 1. Im Walzertakt (In Waltz Rhythm) * (00:03:09)
7
No. 2. Auf dem Wasser (On the Water) * (00:03:08)
8
No. 3. Im Polkatakt (In Polka Rhythm) * (00:03:15)
 
3 Preludes, Op. 84 (1928) (00:07:00 )
9
No. 1. Preludietto (00:01:04)
10
No. 2. Prelude-Nocturne (00:04:40)
11
No. 3. Prelude-Caprice (00:01:02)
 
24 Preludes, Op. 17 (1907) (00:03:00 )
12
No. 1. Andante (00:01:35)
13
No. 2. I folkton (In Folk Style) (00:00:55)
14
No. 3. Allegretto con grazia (00:01:31)
15
No. 4. Tempo di valse (poco moderato) (00:02:31)
16
No. 5. Presto (00:00:58)
17
No. 6. Sarabande: Andante cantabile (00:02:23)
18
No. 7. Un poco mosso (00:01:01)
19
No. 8. Allegro feroce. Furioso (00:01:41)
20
No. 9. Vaggvisa (Cradle Song): Tranquillo (00:02:48)
21
No. 10. I folkton (In Folk Style): Andante semplice (00:01:23)
22
No. 11. Drömbild (Dream Picture): Vibrato (non troppo presto) (00:01:36)
23
No. 12. Havet (The Sea): Allegro feroce (00:01:38)
24
No. 13. Veloce (00:01:43)
25
No. 14. Pesante (00:01:34)
26
No. 15. Ringdans (Round Dance): Con grazia (Allegro) (00:01:27)
27
No. 16. Andante con moto (00:02:25)
28
No. 17. Allegro agitato (00:00:57)
29
No. 18. Duo: Rubato (00:02:06)
30
No. 19. Fågelsång (Bird Song): Allegro giocoso (00:01:07)
31
No. 20. In memoriam: Lugubre (00:01:53)
32
No. 21. Un poco mosso (00:01:33)
33
No. 22. I folkton (In Folk Style) (00:00:58)
34
No. 23. Venezia: Malinconico (00:02:56)
35
No. 24. Kriget (The War): Allegro marziale (00:01:58)
* World Première Recording
Total Time: 01:05:17

The Artist(s)

Jouni Somero Jouni Somero is one of the most active performers among present Finnish musicians. He has given over 3,100 concerts in many countries worldwide. He studied piano in Switzerland and at the Music Academy in Cologne under Professor Herbert Drechsel, and, under the legendary Hungarian pianist Georges Cziffra, he deepened his knowledge of the interpretation of Liszt’s music. Michael Ponti, the American virtuoso, has also acted as Somero’s musical advisor. Jouni Somero’s recording career began in 1989 (with Liszt’s 12 Transcendental Études), after which he has made over 100 recordings for different labels, including Naxos. His wide repertoire includes all the solo piano works of Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Bortkiewicz, as well as seldomly heard music by, among others, Alkan, Godowsky, Rubinstein, Reinhold, Godard, Cui and Gottschalk. He has also made several piano arrangements of orchestral, operatic and pop music, and his YouTube channel has gained millions of views.

The Composer(s)

Selim Palmgren During the first decades of the past century Selim Palmgren, a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni and Conrad Ansorge, was undoubtedly one of the most performed Nordic composers of piano music. His piano works, including hundreds of pieces and five piano concertos, were being widely performed, and even recorded, by some of the greatest pianists of the era, including Ignaz Friedman, Myra Hess, Wilhelm Backhaus, Benno Moiseiwitch and conducted by star conductors the likes of Arthur Nikisch, Leopold Stokowski and Václav Talich, to name a few. Palmgren’s music was being widely published and distributed by well-known music publishers both in the US and in Europe.

Reviews

Helsingin Sanomat

“The pianism of Jouni Somero has more sophisticated tones than before, and his grip is excellent for salon-like expression.” – Helsingin Sanomat

“Palmgren will be a discovery for many music lovers” – Crescendo