Heino Eller : Musique pour piano (Intégrale – volume 3)

Piano International (May, 2014)
This fifth disc of Lassmann’s Heino Eller survey is arranged broadly (though not exclusively) in chronological sequence, from the early Caprice (1911), to the sublime 13 Pieces on Estonian Motifs (1940/41). The result is an overview of Eller’s development as a keyboard composer, from initial late Romanticism in the first five pieces to the leaner, modernist-nationalist idiom of the Estonian-inspired 13 Pieces. These, together with the second book of Preludes (on an even higher plane than the First Book, on Volume 1), are among the finest works he wrote for the keyboard, encompassing delicacy, subtlety and power. Lassmann plays superbly, as he has throughout this series, and Toccata’s sound is beautifully …