Obscure Music Monday: Palmgren's The Sea

Selim Gustav Adolf Palmgren (Feb. 16, 1878 - Dec. 13, 1951) was a Finnish composer, conductor, and pianist. He studied at the Helsinki Conservatory in Helsinki from 1895 to 1899, then continued his piano studies in Berlin. He conducted several orchestras and music societies in Finland, and had successful performances as a pianist in Finland and Scandanavia. In 1921 he moved to the United States to teach at the Eastman School of Music, and from 1936 - 1951, he was Professor of Harmony and Composition at the Sibelius Academy.

Palmgren mainly wrote for the piano, unsurprisingly, and The Sea is from his 24 Preludes. The sea he writes about in this piece isn't exactly calm; there are winds and waves, with neither hand getting much of a break. Throughout the work there is an almost constant arpeggio-like line going on in the left hand, except towards the end, where that line transfers to the right hand, and the left plays the melody before the piece ends dramatically. There are some beautiful and expansive whole tone figures dotted throughout the work, and as usual with his writing, Palgrem creates and develops a fantastic atmosphere.