Pettersson's Pavilion

[Robert]

Thanks so much for posting this, Johan! Of course I don't speak Swedish, but this was kind of uncomfortable to watch. I quit watching after about 10 minutes. I didn't need to see anymore.

I have bookmarked this page.  I have listened for so long it is really great to see a live Pettersson than that same photo on every disc, and every article....Maybe I can find someone to translate the interview......Maybe one of our members can give me an idea about this interview..

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

The Radio Philharmonisch Orkest performed Pettersson's Seventh on 17 September at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. The stream is still there...:


http://concerthuis.radio4.nl/zaal/3/Orkestmuziek_zaal

[vandermolen]

Although I don't speak a word of Swedish I found the video interview with Pettersson to be very moving - I could only watch the first few minutes - the long silences, interspersed with Pettersson's pained utterances were difficult viewing. I would love to know what he was saying. Very many thanks for posting Johan.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

If I concentrate, I can follow a fait bit of it (because I 'know' Danish). I'll see if I can give a short recap [in the near future!]

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

An arrangement for string orchestra of a short piano piece, 'Lamento'. Beautiful!


http://youtu.be/8A0KuFdGzBc

[Mirror Image]

An arrangement for string orchestra of a short piano piece, 'Lamento'. Beautiful!


http://youtu.be/8A0KuFdGzBc

Yes, that is gorgeous indeed, Johan.

I was able to find the two Segerstam BIS recordings I was lacking and also picked up the new Lindberg led recording, which also features an hour documentary on the preparation of Symphony No. 1:

[asin]B0000269CR[/asin]

[asin]B000025UUB[/asin]

[asin]B005KQVDBE[/asin]

[Robert]

Yes, that is gorgeous indeed, Johan.

I was able to find the two Segerstam BIS recordings I was lacking and also picked up the new Lindberg led recording, which also features an hour documentary on the preparation of Symphony No. 1:

[asin]B0000269CR[/asin]

[asin]B000025UUB[/asin]

[asin]B005KQVDBE[/asin]

I never knew there was a symphony 1.  I have the others but how do you like 1. 

[Mirror Image]

The first symphony of Pettersson is something he worked on for many, many years only to continue putting aside again and again. He left the work only in sketches, but, an interesting point I read from the conductor Christian Lindberg, is he must have felt a strong connection with the music for him to name the symphony after the first his second.

[snyprrr]

Forgive me for throwing up my hands at the sight of the new Lindberg release.

When?, oh when??...

[Mirror Image]

Forgive me for throwing up my hands at the sight of the new Lindberg release.

When?, oh when??...

What are you talking about?

[snyprrr]

What are you talking about?

When will BIS stop pussyfooting around the issue and get to the likes of 9, 13, & 14? Ahhhh

[Mirror Image]

When will BIS stop pussyfooting around the issue and get to the likes of 9, 13, & 14? Ahhhh

Oh, I see. Let's hope Lindberg finishes the rest of the cycle. I'm re-listening to the 9th right now. This is some seriously depressing stuff! The 9th is a tough nut to crack.

[snyprrr]

Oh, I see. Let's hope Lindberg finishes the rest of the cycle. I'm re-listening to the 9th right now. This is some seriously depressing stuff! The 9th is a tough nut to crack.

At least the 6th then! Oh, but when??

[Mirror Image]

At least the 6th then! Oh, but when??

Yeah, the 6th is in desperate need of a new recording. The Trojahn/Deutsches Symphony Orchestra Berlin is serviceable, but it really needs a recording of greater clarity.

[Lethevich]

I would like to hear Chandos do a one-off disc of maybe 6, 7, 14 or 15 - the latter three could nicely couple with either 10 or 11. Although I have far too many fantasy recordings involving that label, Havergal Brian's 2nd being near the top.

[Mirror Image]

I would like to hear Chandos do a one-off disc of maybe 6, 7, 14 or 15 - the latter three could nicely couple with either 10 or 11.

The general problem I have with Pettersson's later music is it's just relentless and seems to just go on and on with no kind of relief. Symphonies No. 6-8, and also Violin Concerto No. 2, have these moments of serenity and lyrical beauty that make the musical journey worth taking. If you can sit through say Symphony No. 9, then you're a much stronger person than I am. I haven't listened to the 11th, 14th, and 15th in quite some time, what are these symphonies like?

By the way, I own the whole set of symphonies on CPO and I've made my through the whole box already. I just can't remember much about the later symphonies other than what I said about them above.

[Lethevich]

I haven't listened to the 11th, 14th, and 15th in quite some time, what are these symphonies like?

I made a little survey of them somewhere or other. The 11th is his most sphinx-like symphony, doing its own thing without any real emotional reference. It's not his usual darkness and light journey, it floats along inscrutably neither optimistically nor pessimistically, but in a peculiar middle-ground which is unsettling in its own right. When the orchestra becomes antsy, it evens out afterwards and as a result is that there is less of a sense of journey in the music and more of a feeling of an episode in a larger picture. It has a similar ambiguous and other-worldly sense to it as, perhaps, Robert Simpson's 11th. The 15th is quite similar to the 11th and it doesn't rely on assault for its argument as -say- the 9th and 10th do. If the associations with a grey sky that I have with the 11th could be contrasted here, I find the 15th darker, intellectually, but not musically. It seems to be less ambivalent than the 11th, and in its Apollonian nature isn't as abrasive as some of his earlier works, but because it's very advanced into the composer's development, despite that lack of violence it's perhaps more alienating than the others simply due to the lack of a simple resolution to the argument.

I find the 14th to be his best symphony although I will concede that I can understand why most prefer his 6th and 7th (to name his two most "favourited" works as I perceive it). I find his later style to be more engaging because it doesn't need 'nice' parts: it must stand on its own two feet and the 14th I feel does this best while retaining the biggest scope for drama and the feeling of a journey travelled. It's similar in style to the 13th, but a lot more concise and slightly more thematically interesting. I find it easier to listen to without becoming sick of big tunes (over-familiarity with the three note motif in the 7th stops me listening very often) or depressed by the tone than the earlier works because by now the composer's style has become instead of based around emotion, more concentrated on orchestral technique and abstracted symphonic argument. The "collisions" that occur in the symphony are more exhilarating than gut-wrenching, and it keeps the music fresh for me personally. It also exposes the composer's more distinctive techniques due to them not needing to sound cathartic - for example the brass taking flight at 27:55 is starkly minimal with its supporting strings and growling underpinning from percussion and orchestra. Instead of thinking "wow that's sad", I feel "what a cool effect/scoring". The reason why I say I find this one the best is that as much as I enjoy the total abstraction of nos.10, 11 and 15, I find the 14th to be a decent compromise between the style of the 6th, and his later works. It has a few allusions to those works, a similar arc and while the days of Pettersson playing the Romantic are gone, there is much in common on a structural level.

This could probably be edited down to sound better but apologies for the laziness, I'm burnt out. Made a few clarity ones, though.

[karlhenning]

Re-charge, Sara! : )

[Mirror Image]

I made a little survey of them somewhere or other. The 11th is his most sphinx-like symphony, doing its own thing without any real emotional reference. It's not his usual darkness and light journey, it floats along inscrutably neither optimistically nor pessimistically, but in a peculiar middle-ground which is unsettling in its own right. When the orchestra becomes antsy, it evens out afterwards and as a result is that there is less of a sense of journey in the music and more of a feeling of an episode in a larger picture. It has a similar ambiguous and other-worldly sense to it as, perhaps, Robert Simpson's 11th. The 15th is quite similar to the 11th and it doesn't rely on assault for its argument as -say- the 9th and 10th do. If the associations with a grey sky that I have with the 11th could be contrasted here, I find the 15th darker, intellectually, but not musically. It seems to be less ambivalent than the 11th, and in its Apollonian nature isn't as abrasive as some of his earlier works, but because it's very advanced into the composer's development, despite that lack of violence it's perhaps more alienating than the others simply due to the lack of a simple resolution to the argument.

I find the 14th to be his best symphony although I will concede that I can understand why most prefer his 6th and 7th (to name his two most "favourited" works as I perceive it). I find his later style to be more engaging because it doesn't need 'nice' parts: it must stand on its own two feet and the 14th I feel does this best while retaining the biggest scope for drama and the feeling of a journey travelled. It's similar in style to the 13th, but a lot more concise and slightly more thematically interesting. I find it easier to listen to without becoming sick of big tunes (over-familiarity with the three note motif in the 7th stops me listening very often) or depressed by the tone than the earlier works because by now the composer's style has become instead of based around emotion, more concentrated on orchestral technique and abstracted symphonic argument. The "collisions" that occur in the symphony are more exhilarating than gut-wrenching, and it keeps the music fresh for me personally. It also exposes the composer's more distinctive techniques due to them not needing to sound cathartic - for example the brass taking flight at 27:55 is starkly minimal with its supporting strings and growling underpinning from percussion and orchestra. Instead of thinking "wow that's sad", I feel "what a cool effect/scoring". The reason why I say I find this one the best is that as much as I enjoy the total abstraction of nos.10, 11 and 15, I find the 14th to be a decent compromise between the style of the 6th, and his later works. It has a few allusions to those works, a similar arc and while the days of Pettersson playing the Romantic are gone, there is much in common on a structural level.

This could probably be edited down to sound better but apologies for the laziness, I'm burnt out.

Thank you taking the time to explain to me how you feel about these later symphonies. I did, however, find your earlier post where you went through the symphonies and offered a summary of them. Reading your above post was interesting.

Now, may I offer an alternative view?

My initial reaction to Pettersson was actually very favorable. The first symphonies I heard were the 7th and 11th with Segerstam/Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra. I think I'll always have a special place in my heart for the 7th, because I like the style of Pettersson's writing. That darkness and light contrast is an interesting one in his middle symphonies. One reason why I can't get completely onboard with Pettersson is because I find, too often, especially in remembrance of the later symphonies, that the music, as I said, just seems to go on forever, which, for me, seems pointless. The structure of the music may be fascinating for you or someone else, but structure alone doesn't make a piece work for me. It has to have more. I'm not opposed to tense, turbulent music, but it has to have a purpose. The thing with Pettersson is I think his musical argument became disengaging, especially in the 9th where it just seems to be endless note-spinning. There were some cool sounding sections in this symphony, but I just couldn't sit through it. It's not that I'm against his music, it's just that I find so much of lacking any clear direction and the orchestral effects only go so far. He's certainly a composer that I'm intrigued by, but only because I wonder why he chose to compose music in this manner. The general aesthetic of his music I find displeasing. There isn't much color, which I like in music. It stays almost in one frame of mind for the whole work, but it is that trilogy of the 6th, 7th, and 8th is where I agree that this composer had a special communicative gift and a sound that nobody else had. He worked in his own idiom for sure, but it seems that I'm much more interested in contrasts in music.

[Mirror Image]

Re-charge, Sara! : )

Karl, you visit this thread quite a bit when there's some new posts. Do you actually like Pettersson's music? What music have you heard of his?