On October 1 at 4 pm, laureate of Heino Eller Music Prize pianist Sten Lassmann presents his first CD “Heino Eller. Complete Piano Music. Volume one” in Estonian Theatre and Music Museum. At the presentation, Lassmann will perform selected works from the CD and introduces his project to public.
CD is released by London record company Toccata Classics whose catalogue includes already Estonian composers Ester Mägi’s and Veljo Tormis’s authorial CD-s. This is the first volume of the 7-part series which aim is to record all Heino Eller’s piano music – this would be one of the biggest recording projects in Estonia throughout times.
Sten Lassmann: In spite of the fact that Heino Eller was a violinist by himself, the biggest part of his works are written for piano. He wrote the piano music since the first attempts on composition to 1960ies – nealry 200 pieces gathered to his work list
in the course of that time. This rich and diversified musical treasury – starting with the reflections of romantic mode of expression of the 19th century through 20th century’s art movements expressionism and impressionism up to developments of Estonian folk music and Nordic natural lyricism – has not been performed as a whole and insufficiently available on recordings. My aim is to record all Heino Eller’s piano music and introduce it to the world music public.
The important impulse for recording complete piano works of Heino Eller was the support of Alexander Kelly Memorial Award that Lassmann received in 2007 in London. The whole project has been undertaken on a Wingate Scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, London.
The recording and production of this CD were supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the Estonian Theatre and Music Museum.