Palmgren, Selim

Preface

Palmgren, Selim – Aus Finnland op. 24, Vier symphonische Bilder

(b . Pori, Finland, 16 February 1878 –d. Helsinki, Finland, 13 December 1951)

Preface
Finnish composer Selim Palmgren wore many hats during his lifetime: composer, conductor, teacher, husband, and performer. Each of the roles he held outside of composition fed his compositional output. As a conductor and teacher, partsongs and piano pieces make up most of the composer’s oeuvre. However, Palmgren’s large-scale orchestral and operatic works, including Aus Finnland, op. 24, play an important role not only in the composer’s oeuvre but in the compositional style occurring in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and in Finland’s musical heritage.

Palmgren was born in Björneborg, the Swedish name of Pori, Finland, in 1876. He grew up bilingual in Finnish and Swedish and studied piano, harmony, and counterpoint at the Helsinki Music Institute (now known as the Sibelius Academy) from 1895-1899. After his initial studies in Helsinki, Palmgren left for Germany and Italy to study with Conrad Ansorge, Wilhelm Beyer, and Ferruccio Busoni. Similar to his contemporary Jean Sibelius, Palmgren’s experience outside of Finland allowed him to incorporate a cosmopolitan sound with Finnish folk melodies and themes. When he returned to Finland, he conducted the Helsinki University Chorus and the Turku Musical Society, writing many choral compositions for these groups. In 1912, Palmgren retired to focus on composing and going on extensive concert tours with his first wife, singer Maikki Järnefelt, traveling across Europe and the United States. His visit in the United States led to his appointment in 1923 as a professor of composition at the Eastman School of Music. Towards the end of his life, Palmgren moved back to Finland, teaching harmony and composition at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki from 1936 until his death in 1951. …

read more / weiterlesen … > HERE