Composer: Heino Eller
Performer: Sten Lassmann
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Toccata
Catalogue: TOCC0209
Release: 2013
Size: 191 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Piano Sonata No. 1
01. I. Allegro assai
02. II. Larghetto
03. III. Scherzo: Presto
04. IV. Finale: Allegro moderato
05. Intiimne hetk (‘Intimate Moment’)
06. Pastorale
07. Nocturne
08. Vivace
09. Liblikas (‘Butterfly’)
6 Pieces
10. No. 1. Linakatkuja (Flax-plucker)
11. No. 2. Rahvatoonis (In Folk Tone)
12. No. 3. Hallilaul (Lullaby)
13. No. 4. Scherzo
14. No. 5. Romance
15. No. 6. Dance
16. Ballade in C sharp minor
As both composer and teacher Heino Eller (1887–1970) was one of the founders of the classical tradition in his native Estonia.
Yet his copious output for piano – some 200 works – is largely unknown, an omission this series of eight CDs seeks to redress.
This fourth volume presents Eller’s First Sonata, a Romantic work of gigantic proportions, composed for his final exam at the Petrograd Conservatory.
It also features a number of miniatures, including one of his most popular pieces, Butterfly, and ends with the sage but passionate Ballade in C sharp minor from 1955.
The previous volume in this series won a ‘Choice’ award in International Piano.
Sten Lassmann, an Estonian pianist based in London, studied these works with Eller’s most important piano student, giving him a direct link to the composer’s wishes.