SELIM PALMGREN (1878⁠–⁠1951)

COMPLETE PIANO WORKS • 6

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JOUNI SOMERO

‘Of the pieces presented in this latest volume, my favourites include the Festive Prelude, as well as the Prelude funèbre, which was played at the composer’s funeral in 1951. It is a truly powerful work where the tension is released only at the end of the piece – in its final chord.

Palmgren’s The Isle of Shadows, Op. 28 No. 2 was written already in 1908 – two years before Debussy’s first book of Preludes! This piece includes such fine Impressionistic pianism that one could imagine Debussy having used this piece as a model when writing his preludes.

The final piece on the album, Ein Mephistowalzer, shows Palmgren’s skills in writing ‘devilish’ piano virtuosity.’ – Jouni Somero