Heino Eller: Complete Piano Music, Volume One
The Estonian Heino Eller (1887-1970) is probably best known as the teacher of Arvo Pärt — but he was a prolific and original composer in his own right. His substantial output for piano — this series will contain seven CDs — was written over a period of six decades and thus reflects a range of styles. Taking the lyricism of Chopin and Grieg as its starting point, it combines the influence of Estonian folksong, Scriabin's troubled harmonies, the epic northern colouring of Sibelius and, at times, Prokofiev's motoric energy into an attractively individual manner.
Sten Lassmann, piano
Listen To This Recording:
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Preludes, Book 1 (1914t17)
- No. 1, Moderato
- No. 2, Moderato assai
- No. 3, Molto adagio, con espressione
- No. 4, Andante sostenuto
- No. 5, Patetico
- No. 6, Sostenuto
- No. 7, Con fuoco
- No. 1, Dance of the Billy-Goat
- No. 2, Round Dance
- No. 3, Folk-Tune
- No. 4, Horn-Tune
- No. 5, In the Folk Tone
- No. 6, Dancing Tune
- Toccata in B minor (1921)
- Dance in B minor (1930s)
- In the Character of a Dance (1941)
- Dance-Caprice (1933)
- The Bells (1929)
- I. Allegro
- II. Andante pensieroso
- III. Presto
Six Pieces (‘Estonian Suite’) (1946)
Piano Sonata No. 2 (1939t40)
Fanfare Magazine :
‘[…] if my quick research is correct, this is the first time that Eller’s works are being reviewed in this publication […] Eller wrote a lot of music, including seven discs’ worth of compositions for piano solo. This recording, which collects eight works that were composed over the course of three decades, is the first instalment in the first comprehensive survey of Eller’s piano essays […]Eller’s abstract and technically demanding music does not play itself, and Lassmann does a very nice job bringing these scores to life. This is no doubt a labor of love, and he should be applauded for it. The quality of the recorded sound is very good, as are the aforementioned thoughtful and informative liner notes, which were written by Lassmann himself. All in all, an interesting release.’
—Radu A. Lelutiu, Fanfare Magazine May 2012
Sirp :
‘Kuid Elleri klaveriteoste tihe polüfooniline kude Sten Lassmanni eripäraselt intellektuaalses esituses kinnitab selle rahvuslik-modernistliku muusika täielikku suveräänsust, Elleri- ja eestipärasust. Selles on pigem assotsiatsioone põhjamaise juugendliku rahvusromantilise arhitektuuri ja maalikunstiga. Eeskätt on huvitav Elleri eripärane tehnitsism: on palju virtuooslikku faktuuri modernistlikule muusikale omase meloodika ja harmooniaga. Sten Lassmanni tähelepanelikult faktuuri tõlgendav kunstikeel on Elleri klaverimuusikaga tihedalt kokku kasvanud: detailide pideva minimaalse muutumise varjundid interpretatsioonis on talle tähtsad ja kohati intonatsioonilt täiuslikud. […]
Sten Lassmann on pisut enam kui 40 aastat pärast Heino Elleri surma elustanud tema klaverimuusika sedavõrd esileküündivas mahus ja tõlgenduses, et see lubab liialdust kartmata märgata huvitavat Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdyga seotud paralleeli J. S. Bachi (1685–1750) loomingu elustamisel saksa kultuuris ligi 80 aastat pärast Bachi surma, nimelt „Matteuse passiooni” BWV 244 esitusega Berliinis 1829. […] See on ideaalne sissejuhatus Elleri muusikasse, milles ei ole olnud midagi doktrinaarset.’
English translation:
‘However, the dense polyphonic weave of Eller’s piano works in Sten Lassmann’s distinctively intellectual performance confirms the complete sovereignty of this national-modernist music, its Ellerian and Estonian identity. It rather has associations with Nordic Art Nouveau national-romantic architecture and painting. Eller’s distinctive technicality is especially interesting: there is a lot of virtuoso texture with the melody and harmony typical of modernist music. Sten Lassmann’s artistic language, which carefully interprets texture, has grown closely with Eller’s piano music: the shades of the constant minimal change of details in the interpretation are important to him and at times perfect in intonation. […]
A little more than 40 years after Heino Eller’s death, Sten Lassmann has revived his piano music in such a groundbreaking volume and interpretation that it allows us, without fear of exaggeration, to notice an interesting parallel with Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in the revival of the work of J. S. Bach (1685–1750) in German culture nearly 80 years after Bach’s death, namely with the performance of the St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 in Berlin in 1829. […] This is an ideal introduction to Eller’s music, which has nothing doctrinaire about it.’
—Maris Valk-Falk, Sirp