Erik Bergmanin pianomusiikki

Abstract

Erik Bergman: Piano Music
Erik Bergman (1911–2006) was one of the leading composers in post war Finnish Modernism. This article examines his small but multifaceted piano output. It is viewed in three contexts: (1) Bergman’s total output, (2) Finnish 20th century piano music and (3) the art of piano playing.
The findings show, that as a piano composer Bergman started in the spirit of National Romanticism, that he later experimented with several stylistic approaches, that his enthusiasm for dodecaphony was especially important for Finnish piano music, and that his late primitive and percussive piano style originated in 1969. The article indicates Berman’s influences and suggests that he often exploited different approaches freely, ending up with ambiguous and multidimensional piano works. Pianistic styles of his output are categorized as Romantic, Neoclassic-atonal and Percussive. Controlled improvisation and unconventional playing techniques are important traits of Bergman’s late percussive pianism.