Kurt Atterberg (1887-1974)

[71 dB]

To 71 dB, sorry for belittling you. Glad you're listening to Atterberg whether you like him or not --- doesn't matter. At least, you listened and that's all that counts.

It's okay. These comments of mine are not to be taken too seriously as I am in the infancy of understanding Atterberg's musical language. None of the first 3 Symphonies have been "bad" imho and the 2nd made me feel Atterberg is pretty good symphonist.  Could be I wasn't in the right "mood" while listening to the 3rd and that's why it didn't impress me... ...maybe it's greatness is something I don't yet understand about Atterberg's art? Maybe I need to listen to it 3-5 times to get it?

Please wait til' I have listened to all 9 Symphonies and then you and me will have a better picture of what I think about the composer. Usually I want to hear different kind of works (orchestral, chamber, solo instrument,...) before conclusions.

[71 dB]

4TTERBERG:
The fourth Symphony starts with Sibelian vibes and transforms into something more British sounding. The longest movement "Andante" is nice, very movie-music like. It could work as an separate work by itself, an Elegy perhaps? The third movement is so short I barely registered it, but it is an effective contrast to the "cinematic" mood of movement 2. The finale movement didn't have a strong character.

Not a particularly mindblowing Symphony, but I didn't dislike it either. At this point I'm ready to make this prediction: Atterberg won't become one of my TOP composers, but a few selected Symphonies by him could make it into my collection maybe? I hope I like the 5th, as it is coupled with the 2nd on the CPO disc... 

[71 dB]

Have streamed the Cello and Piano Concertos on Spotify. Really loved the Cello Concerto! Mesmerazing and velvety work! The Piano Concerto wasn't as much to my liking. Intrestingly, some parts of the concertos give me Heitor Villa-Lobos vibes and the first movement of the Piano Concerto sounds like a combination of Villa-Lobos and Chopin.  How these crazy vibes gets triggered by Atterberg's music is almost the most interesting part of it imho. As you perhaps saw in the purchases thread, I ordered the Cello Concerto disc as my first Atterberg.

[relm1]

Did we lose a couple of days of content from this thread?  I posted a question asking if anyone heard any of Atterberg's full operas because I thought he would be a great opera composer given his lyricism and dramatic sensibility?  That post is gone.

[Mirror Image]

Did we lose a couple of days of content from this thread?  I posted a question asking if anyone heard any of Atterberg's full operas because I thought he would be a great opera composer given his lyricism and dramatic sensibility?  That post is gone.

Yes, we lost A LOT of posts during the crash, relm1. It's pretty much the same scenario that happened the last time the site crashed.

[Ratliff]

Have streamed the Cello and Piano Concertos on Spotify. Really loved the Cello Concerto! Mesmerazing and velvety work! The Piano Concerto wasn't as much to my liking. Intrestingly, some parts of the concertos give me Heitor Villa-Lobos vibes and the first movement of the Piano Concerto sounds like a combination of Villa-Lobos and Chopin.  How these crazy vibes gets triggered by Atterberg's music is almost the most interesting part of it imho. As you perhaps saw in the purchases thread, I ordered the Cello Concerto disc as my first Atterberg.

Hmmm, have not heard the Cello Concerto, and don't have the cpo disc, although I do have a recording on BIS featuring Truls Mork. (Boy, that name sounds strange to an english speaker.)

[71 dB]

Hmmm, have not heard the Cello Concerto, and don't have the cpo disc, although I do have a recording on BIS featuring Truls Mork. (Boy, that name sounds strange to an english speaker.)

His whole name sounds perhaps even stranger to you: Truls Olaf Otterbech Mørk. In Norway his name is very normal/typical I believe.

[kyjo]

Have streamed the Cello and Piano Concertos on Spotify. Really loved the Cello Concerto! Mesmerazing and velvety work! The Piano Concerto wasn't as much to my liking. Intrestingly, some parts of the concertos give me Heitor Villa-Lobos vibes and the first movement of the Piano Concerto sounds like a combination of Villa-Lobos and Chopin.  How these crazy vibes gets triggered by Atterberg's music is almost the most interesting part of it imho. As you perhaps saw in the purchases thread, I ordered the Cello Concerto disc as my first Atterberg.

Glad you enjoyed the Cello Concerto! It's a marvelous work and one of my favorite concerti for the instrument. Out of curiosity, what recording did you order - Truls Mørk on BIS or Nikolai Schneider on CPO? I've only heard Mørk's recording, which is so excellent that I can't imagine it being bettered!

[kyjo]

His whole name sounds perhaps even stranger to you: Truls Olaf Otterbech Mørk. In Norway his name is very normal/typical I believe.

What a great name!

[Ratliff]

His whole name sounds perhaps even stranger to you: Truls Olaf Otterbech Mørk. In Norway his name is very normal/typical I believe.

The two middle names sound conventional to my ear, Olaf being stereotypically Scandinavian and Otterbech sounding germanic. But Truls Mork sounds to me like the name of a Star Trek character from a fictional planet.

[kyjo]

Did we lose a couple of days of content from this thread?  I posted a question asking if anyone heard any of Atterberg's full operas because I thought he would be a great opera composer given his lyricism and dramatic sensibility?  That post is gone.

I found a recent live performance of his Aladdin on YT, and it's in very good sound quality:

Overture: https://youtu.be/VUGQETNVE2c
Act 1: https://youtu.be/Ps5jOlPGwOI
Act 2: https://youtu.be/FQu7eH8R_P4
Act 3: https://youtu.be/ooPAFqrGgj4

Haven't gotten a chance to sit down and listen to it yet. But yes, I have high hopes for his operatic writing considering the lyricism and drama of his instrumental works!

[71 dB]

Glad you enjoyed the Cello Concerto! It's a marvelous work and one of my favorite concerti for the instrument. Out of curiosity, what recording did you order - Truls Mørk on BIS or Nikolai Schneider on CPO? I've only heard Mørk's recording, which is so excellent that I can't imagine it being bettered!

As you can verity on the "Purchases" thread it was the CPO. Sounded awesome on Spotify.

[71 dB]

For all the talk about Symphonies, how was Atterberg as a chamber music composer? I am streaming the Marco Polo disc of his chamber music on Spotify and just finished the Violin Sonata, Op. 27. Unfortunately Atterberg doesn't seem to be a killer composer of chamber music: This Violin Sonata ranks among the worst I remember ever hearing.  It offers hardly anything to my ears. No beauty. No ugliness. No relaxation. No energy. Just boredom. Sorry, but if you tell me this is a great Violin Sonata I have a bridge to sell you...

Valse monotone in C Major... 

[kyjo]

For all the talk about Symphonies, how was Atterberg as a chamber music composer? I am streaming the Marco Polo disc of his chamber music on Spotify and just finished the Violin Sonata, Op. 27. Unfortunately Atterberg doesn't seem to be a killer composer of chamber music: This Violin Sonata ranks among the worst I remember ever hearing.  It offers hardly anything to my ears. No beauty. No ugliness. No relaxation. No energy. Just boredom. Sorry, but if you tell me this is a great Violin Sonata I have a bridge to sell you...

Valse monotone in C Major... 

The Violin Sonata also exists in a version for cello (and for horn!) which I've heard, and it's hardly one of his most inspired works, though the only available recording of the cello version isn't the greatest. As far as his other chamber works go, his 3rd string quartet is very good; it's available on a CPO album coupled with the slightly less convincing 2nd quartet as well as a quartet by Rangström. I know Cesar and Jeffrey think quite highly of the Piano Quintet (which is an arrangement of his 6th Symphony), but I still haven't gotten 'round to listening to it...

[71 dB]

The Violin Sonata also exists in a version for cello (and for horn!) which I've heard, and it's hardly one of his most inspired works, though the only available recording of the cello version isn't the greatest. As far as his other chamber works go, his 3rd string quartet is very good; it's available on a CPO album coupled with the slightly less convincing 2nd quartet as well as a quartet by Rangström. I know Cesar and Jeffrey think quite highly of the Piano Quintet (which is an arrangement of his 6th Symphony), but I still haven't gotten 'round to listening to it...

Well I streamed the Piano Quintet and the second movement "Adagio" works very nicely arranged this way. The First movement is nice too, but the third movement is what it is...joke as stated

[relm1]

I found a recent live performance of his Aladdin on YT, and it's in very good sound quality:

Overture: https://youtu.be/VUGQETNVE2c
Act 1: https://youtu.be/Ps5jOlPGwOI
Act 2: https://youtu.be/FQu7eH8R_P4
Act 3: https://youtu.be/ooPAFqrGgj4

Haven't gotten a chance to sit down and listen to it yet. But yes, I have high hopes for his operatic writing considering the lyricism and drama of his instrumental works!

Thank you so much for posting this.  Today I listened to this two plus hour work in its entirety and its so gorgeous!  I highly recommend others explore Atterberg's operatic works too.  As one would expect, the music is exotic and full of late romantic orientalism (think Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Golden Cockerel") plus Puccini lyricism.  The work isn't particularly deep but is extremely gorgeous and dramatic.  Anyone who loves Atterberg will find much to adore here.  The performance of kyjo's link is fantastic and CD worthy.  The instrumentation is luxurious and includes a large romantic orchestra including off stage brass, harp, piano, celesta plus chorus, and vocalists.  The music is exciting, dramatic, and theatrical.  I highly recommend others explore this!

[kyjo]

Thank you so much for posting this.  Today I listened to this two plus hour work in its entirety and its so gorgeous!  I highly recommend others explore Atterberg's operatic works too.  As one would expect, the music is exotic and full of late romantic orientalism (think Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Golden Cockerel") plus Puccini lyricism.  The work isn't particularly deep but is extremely gorgeous and dramatic.  Anyone who loves Atterberg will find much to adore here.  The performance of kyjo's link is fantastic and CD worthy.  The instrumentation is luxurious and includes a large romantic orchestra including off stage brass, harp, piano, celesta plus chorus, and vocalists.  The music is exciting, dramatic, and theatrical.  I highly recommend others explore this!

Awesome, thanks for reporting back! I'll definitely give it a listen soon. We can only hope for commercial recordings of his six operas in the not-too-distant future, not to mention his ballet Per Svinaherde and multiple choral-orchestral works including a Requiem...

[Symphonic Addict]

Listening to the delightful and witty Suite Barocco on Atterberg's birthday. Both performing and recording are like a warm gossamer. Very velvety in sound.

[kyjo]

Listening to the delightful and witty Suite Barocco on Atterberg's birthday. Both performing and recording are like a warm gossamer. Very velvety in sound.

A truly lovely work, sparkling in the fast movements and soulfully lyrical in the slow ones. That whole disc is a treasure (though perhaps the CPO recording of the Sinfonia for Strings is unbeatable).

[Symphonic Addict]

A truly lovely work, sparkling in the fast movements and soulfully lyrical in the slow ones. That whole disc is a treasure (though perhaps the CPO recording of the Sinfonia for Strings is unbeatable).

Yes, the Sinfonia for strings receives a more engaging performance than this one.