Selim Palmgren - Complete Piano Works, Vol. 5 (Jouni Somero)

Information

Composer: Selim Palmgren

• (01) Exotisk marsch, Op. 46 (Version for Piano)
• (02) Postludium for Piano
• (03) Light & Shade, Op. 51
• (09) 3 Piano Pieces, Op. 57
• (12) Impromptu & Scherzo, Op. 10
• (14) 6 Pieces, Op. 67a
• (20) Piano Sonatine No. 1 in F Major, Op. 93a
• (23) Vår, Op. 47

Jouni Somero, piano

Date: 2022

Label: Grand Piano

https://grandpianorecords.com/Album/AlbumDetails/GP908

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Review

Volume five of Grand Piano’s Palmgren focuses on the exotic. As with the other volumes, there are several world premiere recordings. That’s not surprising. Only a fraction of Palmgren’s roughly 400 works has ever been recorded.

What continues to surprise me is the quality and variety of Palmgren’s compositions. He was an excellent pianist. That knowledge allowed him to fully express himself in his piano compositions.

The opening selection, Exotic March, Op. 46, helps set expectations. It’s a jaunty little piece, with an occasional pentatonic figure or two for color. Its vague orientalism is that of the Arabian Nights, or perhaps “The Mikado.”

Most of the works get their exoticism from obscured tonalities. Spring, Op. 47 from 1915, for example, has a dreamy Impressionistic quality to it. The Three Morceaux, Op. 57, written a year later, also seems inspired by Debussy.

The 1934 Sonatine in F major, Op. 95 sounds neoclassical. The themes are tuneful — and catchy. I found it delightful.

Jouni Somero’s performances maintain the level he set with volume one. His playing is clean, accurate, and assured. He also has a deep understanding of  Palmgren’s music. His phrasing helps the listener follow Palmgren’s motives as they overlap and transform.

Another solid addition to this series.

-- Ralph Graves, WTJU

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Selim Palmgren (16 February 1878 – 13 December 1951) was a Finnish composer, pianist and conductor. He was born in Pori, Finland, and studied at the Conservatory in Helsinki from 1895 to 1899, then continued his piano studies in Berlin with Conrad Ansorge, Wilhelm Berger and Ferruccio Busoni. Palmgren conducted choral and orchestral societies and made successful concert tours as a pianist and visiting conductor in the principal cities of Finland and Scandinavia. In 1921, he went to the United States, where he taught composition at the Eastman School of Music. He died in Helsinki, aged 73.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selim_Palmgren

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Jouni Somero (born 1963) is a Finnish pianist. Somero studied piano in Switzerland and at the Music Academy in Cologne with Herbert Drechsel. He also received counseling from György Cziffra and Michael Ponti. Somero is one of the most diligent performers among present Finnish musicians. So far he has given over 3200 concerts all over the world, including Australia, Japan, Ukraine, Germany, Sweden, Estonia, Russia, Brazil, Canada and Finland. His wide repertoire includes music of Sergei Rachmaninov as well as Bortkiewicz, Alkan and Godowsky. Somero has made about 100 recordings for different labels.
https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Somero-Jouni.htm
https://www.jounisomero.com/

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