Pori Sinfonietta

Selim Palmgren was congratulated after the premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 5 (1942) by a personage no less than Sibelius himself, and listening to Alba’s new release of Palmgren’s complete piano concertos it is easy to understand why.

On Alba’s new recording, Henri Sigfridsson makes the most of Palmgren’s brilliant solo parts in The River (Piano Concerto no. 2) and Metamorphoses (no. 3) without reducing them to shallow virtuoso vehicles.

Progress is all about trying out new things, as every forward-thinking artist intrinsically knows. Nevertheless, a case could be made that it is not enough if only the vanguard embraces the unknown. Perhaps all could take a page out of Pepa Päivinen, Janne Tuomi and other open-minded musicians’ book.