Ilmari Hannikainen

Piano Sonata c minor op. 1

Ilmari Hannikainen (1892-1955) was the most important Finnish pianist during the first decades of the 1900s. In his lifetime he also was one of the country's most famous composers. Hannikainen studied composition with Erkki Melartin, Franz Schreker and Maximilian Steinberg. His piano techers include Elli Rängman-Björlin and Alexander Siloti. Piano Sonata C minor Op. 1 was completed in 1912, and is one of the largest-scale romantic piano compositions in the Finnish piano repertoire. The work is a joyride of flowing national romanticsm filled with youthful energy. Some technical influence from Chopin and Liszt is evident, as is from master Sibelius, the major figure in Finnish music at the time. The Piano Sonata is published now for the first time - and directly as an Urtext edition. Pianist Dmus Risto-Matti Marin and music engraver Jani Kyllönen have studied all surviving manuscript sources, resulting in a worthy edition of this great work for piano.