Englund: Complete Music for Solo Piano Laura Mikkola

• Einar Englund (1916-1999):
• 1 Prelude & Fughetta "Hommage à Bach": Prelude 02:59
• 2 Prelude & Fughetta "Hommage à Bach": Fughetta 01:19
• 3 Piano Sonatina No. 2 "The Parisian": I. Allegro con brio 02:43
• 4 Piano Sonatina No. 2 "The Parisian": II. Andante 03:18
• 5 Piano Sonatina No. 2 "The Parisian": III. Vivace 02:16
• 6 Preludium 04:22
• 7 Pavane & Toccata: Pavane. Adagio 02:44
• 8 Pavane & Toccata: Toccata. Allegro marcato 04:50
• 9 Humoresque 00:57
• 10 Little Toccata 01:22
• 11 Sicilienne 01:14
• 12 What the Hens Tell 00:26
• 13 The Goblin 00:32
• 14 Scherzino 00:28
• 15 Prelude No. 1 "Notturno" 02:53
• 16 Piano Sonatina No. 1 in D Minor: I. Allegro con brio 01:44
• 17 Piano Sonatina No. 1 in D Minor: II. Sicilienne 02:06
• 18 Piano Sonatina No. 1 in D Minor: III. Scherzo-Finale 02:04
• 19 Sinuhe: I. Dance of Sinuhe 01:43
• 20 Sinuhe: II. Dance of Nefer 01:52
• 21 Sinuhe: III. Sinuhe and Nefer-Nefer 02:02
• 22 Sinuhe: IV. Dance of Kaptah and the Girls 01:50
• 23 Sinuhe: V. War Dance of Horemheb 02:10
• 24 Introduzione & Toccata: Introduzione 01:33
• 25 Introduzione & Toccata: Toccata 03:15
• 26 Piano Sonata No. 1: I. Introduzione ed allegro 05:49
• 27 Piano Sonata No. 1: II. Notturno 05:33
• 28 Piano Sonata No. 1: III. Scherzo-Finale 04:50
• 29 The Lauttasaari Rotary Club Festive March 01:21
• Total Runtime 01:10:15

Info for Englund: Complete Music for Solo Piano

Einar Englund (1916–1999) was not only one of Finlands major symphonists; he was also one of his countrys most important pianists. He was destined for a virtuoso career until he damaged a finger as a soldier in the Battle of Bengtskjär in the Finnish Continuation War in 1941 but when he later discovered the bullet holes in his beret, he realised he had had a lucky escape! Englund wrote surprisingly little for his own instrument, but the works he did produce glitter with a Prokofievan steely strength and textural clarity. They are also animated with the ironic humour that was typical of the composer himself. The pianist here is one of Finlands finest musicians, Laura Mikkola. The booklet essay is by Christian Holmqvist, Englunds biographer, and is followed bya personal reminiscence of Einar Englund by Martin Anderson, founder of Toccata Classics. Laura Mikkola studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana. She has been the recipient of many awards, among them second prize in the Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition in Brussels and the public prize (1995), first prize in the Maj Lind Competition in Helsinki (1992) and first prize in the Maurice Ravel Piano Competition in France (1988). She was awarded the Finland Prize for Young Artist in 1995. Now a major international artist, she has a repertoire which includes no fewer than 64 concertos. For Toccata Classics she recorded an album of David Matthews piano music.

Laura Mikkola, piano

Laura Mikkola
Die finnische Pianistin Laura Mikkola studierte an der Sibeliusakademie von Helsinki, am Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia und an der University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, USA. Sie hat bei Murray Perahia, Menahem Pressler, Gary Graffman, Dmitri Baschkirow, Tapani Valsta und Ferenc Rados gelernt.

Sie ist Preisträgerin mehrerer Wettbewerbe wie 2. Preis und Publikumspreis 1995 beim Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition in Brüssel; Young Artist Preis 1995 in Finnland; beim Internationalen Unisa Transnet Klavierwettbewerb in Pretoria, Republik Südafrika 1994; beim Maj Lind Klavierwettbewerb in Helsinki, 1992 und beim International Maurice Ravel Klavierwettbewerb in Frankreich, 1988. Ihre Auftritte führten sie durch ganz Europa, Japan, China, Afrika, Australien, Süd- und Nordamerika. Sie spielte mit den Los Angeles Philharmonics, mit dem Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra von Sankt Petersburg, den Münchner Symphonikern, Royal Philharmonic of Flandres, dem Orchestre National de Belgique und vielen anderen Orchestern in aller Welt.

Laura Mikkola brillierte unter dem Dirigat von Spitzendirigenten wie Esa-Pekka Salonen, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Philippe Entremont, Leif Segerstam, Valery Gergiev, Aleksandr Lazarev. In Laura Mikkolas Repertoire finden sich fast alle Klavierkonzerte, darunter diejenigen von Bartók, Prokofjev, Rachmaninow, Ravel, Saint-Saens und alle Klavierkonzerte von Rautavaara. Rautavaara schrieb auch eigens Werke für die finnische Pianistin.

2003 rief Laura Mikkola das Iitti Music Festival ins Leben und hat seitdem mit großem Erfolg die künstlerische Leitung inne.

Booklet for Englund: Complete Music for Solo Piano