Eller's Kodumaine viis ('Homeland Tune'), track 28, is the most popular work in all of Estonian classical music and became a covert national anthem during the Soviet occupation of Estonia.
Composition History
Some of the pieces on this album, specifically tracks 4-13, were discovered during research at the Estonian Museum of Music and Theatre and had never been tallied on any list of Eller's works before.
Performer Biography
Sten Lassmann, the pianist on this album, won first prize in the Sixth Estonian Piano Competition in 2002 and was awarded a Ph.D. from the Royal Academy of Music in London for his research on Heino Eller.
Album & Artwork
This album is the ninth and final volume in a series covering all 206 of Heino Eller's piano works, a project that took a dozen years to complete.
Compositional Technique
The Lento in C minor, track 14, is unique in Eller's oeuvre for its exotic mode, centered on an augmented fourth degree, which is characteristic of Ashkenazi Jewish folklore, the ethnic group of his wife Anna.
Recording & Production
Many pieces on this album, including tracks 4-13, are first recordings, and others are first digital recordings, making much of this music newly available.
Composer Biography
Heino Eller, an Estonian composer, never had a publisher for his piano works, unlike other Nordic composers who wrote salon miniatures for money.
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