Piano SKU: FG.55011-602-3
Kaksi pianokappaletta - Pensamientos 1974 & Toccata-fantasia. Composed by Ann-Elise Hannikainen. Fennica Gehrman #55011-602-3. Published by Fennica Gehrman (FG.55011-602-3). ISBN 9790550116023.
Ann-Elise Hannikainen (1946-2012) was born in Hanko, Southern Finland, but lived mainly abroad, her father working as diplomat. Her grandfather's father was P.J. Hannikainen, the head of a prominent Finnish musical family. Ann-Elise's attraction to music was first found at age of five, when her family, then living in Warsaw, bought a grand piano. Hannikainen started to study piano playing at the Sibelius Academy in 1967, but rheumatoid arthritis prevented her from pursuing a carrier as a concert pianist. In 1972 she moved to Madrid and started to study composition with Ernesto Halffter Ercriche, a student of Manuel de Falla. Hannikainen advanced quickly in her career, and her piano concerto was premiered in Helsinki Festival in 1976. Her composing style evolved into luminous melodies, free atonal harmonies and improvisatory forms. Hannikainen wrote the two piano pieces Pensamientos 1974 (1974) and Toccata-fantasia (1975) in El Escorial. The first one carries features typical for piano writing of the Late Romantic, whereas the playful and improvisatory Toccata-fantasia gives a neoclassical impression.
