Jouni Somero - Hans Seeling: Piano Works

Klassinen omakustanne 2017. Paperit kopioita, levy ei. Melko tuntemattoman pianovirtuoosin etydit kasassa.

ans Seeling ) (b Prague 14.2.1828 d Prague 26.5.1862 was pianist and com-

poser. Illhealth obliged him to go to Italy in 1852, and in 1856 he toured in the

East, returning to Italy in 1857. After setting in Paris (1859), he made his home in

Germany. The lung condition from which he was suffering worsened and he

returned to his native town, where he died. Seeling’s youth means that his compo-

sitions, all of which are for piano, are relatively few in number, but merited com-

parison with Chopin and Henselt in his time, specially Concert Studies op.10.

Jouni Somero (b. 1963) is one of the most active Finnish musicians on the scene

today. So far he has given over 2,900 concerts all over the world, includingAustra-

lia, Japan, Ukraine, Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Estonia, Kosovo, Russia,

Brazil, Canada and Finland. He began studying the organ when he was eight years

old but switched to the piano at the age of 12, studying the latter in Switzerland

and at the Music Academy in Cologne under Professor Herbert Drechsel. Under

the legendary Hungarian pianist Georges Cziffra he gained a deeper insight into

the music of Liszt. Michael Ponti, the American virtuoso, has also acted as Some-

ro's musical advisor. From 1981 to 1989 Somero lived in Germany, working as an

assistant at the Music Academy of Düsseldorf and in other capacities. Since 1990

he has pursued his career solely as a concert pianist. He was awarded a diploma at

the International Music Competition in Rio de Janeiro.

Jouni Somero's recording career began in 1989 (with Liszt's 12 Transcendental

Etudes), since when he has made about 100 discs for different labels (Naxos,

BMG, MILS, Jubal, FC-Records etc). These include Bach's Das Wohltemperierte

Klavier and Die Kunst der Fuge, Liszt's Harmonies Poètiques et Religieuses,

Liszt's transcriptions of Beethoven's Symphonies 1 and 5, Rebikov's Piano

Works, Henselt's Concert Etudes, Op. 2, Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, Mussorgs-

ky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Rachmaninov's Piano Works ( Vol.1-4 ), AnAntho-

logy of Finnish Piano Music (Vol. 1-5 ) and the world premiere recording ofseveral piano works by Felix Blumenfeld, Benjamin Godard and Hugo Reinhold.

He also recorded the complete piano music of Sergei Bortkiewicz (Vol.1-9)

Pjotor Tshaikovsky ( Vol.1-6) and Erkki Salmenhaara.

Somero's wide repertoire includes all the solo piano works of Rachmaninov,

Tchaikovsky, Bortkiewicz, Salmenhaara and Kuula as well as seldom heard

music by such composers as Alkan, Godard, Arensky, Godowsky, Henselt, Thal-

berg, Glinka, Blumenfeld, Rebikov, Reinhold, Seeling, Rubinstein and Gott-

schalk. He has also made many piano arrangements of orchestral, operatic and

pop music.

Recorded at Kuusaa Hall in Kuusankoski Finland on 2 Recording engineer: JoukoAhera.

Producer: Jouni Somero.

Grand Piano: Steinway&Sons D

Cover design: Kirmo Lehtonen

Photos:Anna-Claudia Somero

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P2017 FC-Records Päivölänkartano 12 73770 Säyneinen Finland Tel.+358 400 428 778

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