This volume in Grand Piano’s series spans fifty years of Selim Palmgren compositions. They show the development of the composer over time. The album opens with Three Piano Pieces, Op. 4, written in 1893. Palmgren was 15. These are charming, unprepossessing pieces with traces of Brahms and Schumann. Palmgren wrote his Lyrical Intermezzo, Op. 8 […]
Grand Piano
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Jouni Somero presents Selim Palmgren miniatures
This volume of Selim Palmgren’s piano music shows the Finnish composer’s skill as a miniaturist. The works span almost three decades, and none of them longer than four minutes in length (many under a minute). Palmgren studied piano with Ferruccio Busoni and had phenomenal technique. That knowledge of the instrument is apparent in these works. […]
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Selim Palmgren piano cycle begins
I’m not sure how many volumes a traversal of Selim Palmgren piano music would run. But it should be a lot. Palmgren was a virtuoso pianist and composer. Naturally, a great deal of his catalog is piano music. And he was quite prolific. Palmgren was one of Finland’s greatest composers, pre-Sibelius. Many of the works […]
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Pioneers: Piano Works by Female Composers
Hiroko Ishimoto presents an illuminating program of piano music spanning almost 300 years. And all of it by women. It’s a terrific recording, with exceptional performances. I heartily recommend it. Before digging into the details, let’s do a little thought experiment. What if this were a recording of similar music — by male composers? Well, […]