Pettersson's Pavilion

[The new erato]

Yes, André is right! 

Also, you have to hear VC No.2 IMO one of the greatest ever written.

Yes, you can listen to any recording (there's 3) as long as it contains Blomstedt/Handel. Persevere - the last 15 minutes are transcendental.

[André]

Yes, you can listen to any recording (there's 3) as long as it contains Blomstedt/Handel. Persevere - the last 15 minutes are transcendental.

+2 !

[vandermolen]

Yes, you can listen to any recording (there's 3) as long as it contains Blomstedt/Handel. Persevere - the last 15 minutes are transcendental.

+3

[Maestro267]

It looks lengthy. Must be one of the longest violin concertos out there. The recording I saw was 55 minutes. My recordings of Reger's concerto is 57, so it's definitely up there.

Also, something else I learnt was that the Violin Concerto No. 1 is only scored for violin and string quartet, so that makes No. 2 the only traditional concerto.

[André]

It's still on sale at JPC:


https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Allan-Pettersson-1911-1980-Violinkonzert-Nr-2/hnum/5163784

[vandermolen]

It's still on sale at JPC:


https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Allan-Pettersson-1911-1980-Violinkonzert-Nr-2/hnum/5163784

That looks v good value.

[Maestro267]

I ordered Symphony No. 6 a few days ago. I'm hoping it'll be here tomorrow. But I'm finally starting on my Pettersson journey.

Something of a convenience is that I've worked out in many cases (not all) I can kill multiple birds with one stone by alternating the older BIS recordings and the CPO ones. And yes, I know there is a newer cycle on BIS, but for some reason my computer (the most convenient "CD player" I have) won't play SACDs anymore, so I'm avoiding SACDs like the plague. Anyway, 7/11 and 8/10 are paired together on older BIS discs, meaning I can pick them up that way and go CPO the rest of the way. Although if I wanted the Viola Concerto, I'd have to double up on No. 5 in order to get No. 16 on CPO.

[Mirror Image]

I ordered Symphony No. 6 a few days ago. I'm hoping it'll be here tomorrow. But I'm finally starting on my Pettersson journey.

Something of a convenience is that I've worked out in many cases (not all) I can kill multiple birds with one stone by alternating the older BIS recordings and the CPO ones. And yes, I know there is a newer cycle on BIS, but for some reason my computer (the most convenient "CD player" I have) won't play SACDs anymore, so I'm avoiding SACDs like the plague. Anyway, 7/11 and 8/10 are paired together on older BIS discs, meaning I can pick them up that way and go CPO the rest of the way. Although if I wanted the Viola Concerto, I'd have to double up on No. 5 in order to get No. 16 on CPO.

That's strange because all of the BIS SACDs I own are Hybrid SACDs and have no problems playing in any CD player since they have a CD layer. It might be time to invest in a new CD player for your computer or buy an external one for it that will play them.

[vandermolen]

I ordered Symphony No. 6 a few days ago. I'm hoping it'll be here tomorrow. But I'm finally starting on my Pettersson journey.

Something of a convenience is that I've worked out in many cases (not all) I can kill multiple birds with one stone by alternating the older BIS recordings and the CPO ones. And yes, I know there is a newer cycle on BIS, but for some reason my computer (the most convenient "CD player" I have) won't play SACDs anymore, so I'm avoiding SACDs like the plague. Anyway, 7/11 and 8/10 are paired together on older BIS discs, meaning I can pick them up that way and go CPO the rest of the way. Although if I wanted the Viola Concerto, I'd have to double up on No. 5 in order to get No. 16 on CPO.

Symphony No.6 is my second favourite after No.7. As it says in the sleeve note to my fine old Okko Kamu LP recording on CBS ( never on CD  ) it features 'the long struggle towards the sunrise'. Hope you enjoy it too.

[Maestro267]

Well, the disc has come (Trojahn/CPO), but there are blank pages in the English section of the liner notes. Anyone else have this or is it just this copy?

The Chandos website, which has the CPO discs on it, occasionally does PDF files of the booklets, but it hasn't done one for this No. 6. My only option is to type each paragraph individually into google translate to get some semblance of the notes. It was already going to be a struggle to get to grips with a one-track, hour-long symphony by a difficult composer, but now it's going to be nigh-on impossible.

[vandermolen]

Well, the disc has come (Trojahn/CPO), but there are blank pages in the English section of the liner notes. Anyone else have this or is it just this copy?

The Chandos website, which has the CPO discs on it, occasionally does PDF files of the booklets, but it hasn't done one for this No. 6. My only option is to type each paragraph individually into google translate to get some semblance of the notes. It was already going to be a struggle to get to grips with a one-track, hour-long symphony by a difficult composer, but now it's going to be nigh-on impossible.

How very annoying. Why not contact CPO about it.

[Maestro267]

Would they care about a second-hand copy of a 27-year-old recording?

[André]

Your bottle at sea might fall into the hands of a Pettersson enthusiast who will take your query to heart. Chances are probably around 0.0001%, but hey, why not give it a try?  0:)

[Maestro267]

Listening to No. 6 for a second time. I think I've established that the coda is astonishingly long! Like, more than half the length of the entire symphony. Possibly starting when the brass comes in with a chorale-like section around 24 minutes in. If not then, then certainly shortly after that. From then on, there's this long unwinding theme with almost continuous "under-activity" from the percussion, never really obtrusive, just...there. And the repeating semitone that to me sounds like breathing.

[vandermolen]

Listening to No. 6 for a second time. I think I've established that the coda is astonishingly long! Like, more than half the length of the entire symphony. Possibly starting when the brass comes in with a chorale-like section around 24 minutes in. If not then, then certainly shortly after that. From then on, there's this long unwinding theme with almost continuous "under-activity" from the percussion, never really obtrusive, just...there. And the repeating semitone that to me sounds like breathing.

Ah yes, 'the long struggle towards the sunrise'.

[Maestro267]

That's a great way to describe it. Although I'm personally not sure if we reach sunrise at the end, as it's in the minor key. Unless of course it's sunrise ahead of another day of struggle, of course.

[vandermolen]

That's a great way to describe it. Although I'm personally not sure if we reach sunrise at the end, as it's in the minor key. Unless of course it's sunrise ahead of another day of struggle, of course.

I'd like you to think that I'd come up with the quote myself, however it appears in the sleeve notes to my LP of Okko Kamu's recording on CBS. I like the quote and think it's appropriate for that symphony. I find the ending of the symphony very moving, although devoid of sentimentality - representing a kind of dogged determination and perseverance through struggle.

[Maestro267]

Yeah, it is a fine symphony, with a moving ending. I'm just coming to terms with the idea that a coda can be c. 35 minutes long. I know of other movements where the coda/epilogue takes up a significant amount of the movement, but nothing on this scale. It's one of those where I have to just let the music wash over me. A yet further fascinating part of the kaleidoscope that is 20th century symphonic music.

[Maestro267]

Ordered my next Pettersson disc, the BIS recording of Symphony No. 5 and the Viola Concerto.

[Mirror Image]

Heads up, Petterssonites! The Hurwitzer has posted a new video:

https://www.youtube.com/v/XvuICzVQnAw

I still believe that Pettersson's best symphonies are the 6th, 7th and 8th. I can't really recommend any of the others. I do like the Violin Concerto No. 2 or, at least, the ending where it quotes one of his Barefoot Songs. That's really well-done, but I think a huge part of my own problem with Pettersson's music is what I have to go through just to get to that particular beautiful section. The whole rhythmic element that I love in symphonic music is almost absent in his music. It sounds like one giant mass going into a different giant mass with no kind of counterpoint or development. It's rather strenuous listening to most of Pettersson's music. He reminds me of Penderecki's post-experimental music --- foreboding, uncompromising and completely devoid of any color. I like darker music, don't get me wrong, but when there's no kind of lyricism to be found, I get bored and simply can't connect with the music. A work like William Schuman's 9th symphony is a case in point, it's dark, it's foreboding BUT there's a lyrical quality within the music that I can latch onto.