<<  -- 5 --  Bill Newman    TRUE MUSICAL MEANING

Finnish Piano Favourites and the composers represented may not evoke a response from listeners who are guided solely by what they have heard in the concert hall. Only Valse triste by Sibelius (track 19 from a total of 20 tracks) is immediately recognisable. But performers and record companies are now more concerned with widening people's interests and knowledge in the pictorially unusual, brimful with charm, nostalgia and highly melodious to boot. Oscar Merikanto -- terrifically popular in Finland, fills the bill with his A Summer Day in Kangasala, Romance, Summer Evening Waltz and Valse lente. You will hear, too, good class 'salon' music by Madetoja, Hannikainen, Palmgren (more, later!), Kuula, Kaski, Sibelius and Melartin. Collectors of the various Finnish labels will know them well in advance. Each conjures a fairy-story atmosphere close to their hearts. [Naxos 8.551047 E 73'39"]

Selim Palmgren's works for solo piano evoke a similar atmosphere, and somehow Finnish pianists understand perfectly how to phrase his music. From Preludes Op 17 come The Sea, Duo, The War, while from Spring Op 27, after The Prelude we hear Song of the Deserted, Dragonfly, May Night, Intermezzo, and from the next -- Opus 28 -- entitled Youth -- The Isle of Shadows. Other examples of Spring arrive in the later Op 47 set -- Dusk, Capriccietto in Finnish Style, while later works explore a wider tonal spectrum -- Op 54 has Raindrops, Valse mignonne, Moonlight, and Op 72 -- The Stars are Twinkling, Night Song and Dawn. Then keyboard clashes of harmony arrive during 1913 with Les adieux, Arlequin, Why? Ivy, and 1927 with a three movement Sonatina in F. Do pianists realize how versatile they need to be to cope with the many intricacies of Palmgren's output? This CD is a gem of its kind. [Naxos 8.553760 FIN. 73'52"]

Josef Suk's piano music may be a departure from the usual Lauriala repertoire planning, but these early works by a nostalgic composer -- not dissimilar in character-temperament to their interpreter -- here represent a spectrum of mood changes that depict youthful tensions and impulses of a private kind. Op 7, for instance in its dancing sequence of passions and regret. Song of Love, Humoreske, Recollections, Idylls, Dumka and Capriccietto, are bound together, perhaps by poignant reminders of paintings, early photographs and earlier childhood experiences. De Maman Op 28 depicts fond memories of his wife Otalie, Dvorák's daughter, and is dedicated to Suk's own son, while Moods Op 10 is a sort of supplement to the slightly earlier Op 7. The wonderfully prophetic writing is beautifully realised in these performances. [Naxos 8.553762 72'34"]

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