Englund, Einar: Concerto No. 1

In addition to seven symphonies Einar Englund (1916-1999) wrote six concertos, two of them for the piano. The first dating from 1955 is Englund's best-known concerto and one of the most frequently performed Finnish piano concertos. According to the composer the opening theme of the first movement is based on a Lapp joiku chant. The peaceful mood of the slow second movement leads to the energetic finale that makes effective use of the original joiku theme.