Englund, E.: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Epinikia
7/1/2003, 7 Tracks, 53:28
Featuring
Eri Klas
Matti Raekallio
Tampere Filharmonia
Einar Englund
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Performer Biography
Eri Klas, the conductor, has led over 100 orchestras in 35 countries, including major ensembles like the Berlin Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Critical Reception
The Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra has received the Cannes Classical Award three times, including for an Englund recording conducted by Eri Klas in 2002.
Composition History
Einar Englund's overture Epinikia won first prize in the Finnish athletic games composition competition and received an honorable mention in the 1948 London Olympics composition competition.
Composer Biography
Einar Englund, the composer, served on the front during World War II, and his musical works from that period reflect the joy of survival and the harsh realities of war.
Composer's Artistic Vision
For his Second Piano Concerto, Einar Englund aimed to compose music that would not reduce the piano to being merely a percussion instrument.
Compositional Technique
Englund's First Piano Concerto incorporates a Lappish joik chant theme, a fourth-fifth motif from Erik Blomberg's film The White Reindeer, with its intervals appearing in reverse order.
Performer Biography
Matti Raekallio, one of Finland's foremost pianists, made his US debut in 1981 and performed all ten Piano Sonatas of Alexandr Scriabin in a single concert in Japan in 1999.
