Selim Palmgren

En Route

Selim Palmgren (1878-1951) was a Finnish composer, pianist, and conductor, whose talents often led to him being compared to Chopin. He studied in Helsinki and Berlin, before touring successfully as a concertpianist across Scandinavia and the United States. He later held posts as a Professor of Composition on both sides of the Atlantic. He was one of the last members of the Romantic movement, but struggled to find his own individual style from behind the domination of Sibelius.

En Route (Op. 9) was written in 1901 as a concert study for solo Piano. It is a great example of Palmgren's miniature style, creating maximum effect from minimal effort, through still requiring great technical dexterity.