Pettersson's Pavilion

[karlhenning]

Not sure I'm sharp enough for Special Ed . . . .

[sonic1]

Upon a few listens I have a hard time selecting one work above the rest. Pettersson is one of the most innovative composers I have been introduced to in a while. If I was not so busy I would make a much more singular attempt at peeling apart his works, but suffice it to say that for a guy as busy as I am, his work has been an incredible place for me to go to when I need to cleanse myself of my Mandarin class (which is about driving me mad). His works are modern and exciting, and still wrapped up (large or not) in a form that is digestible and not too alienating.

Yeah Sweden. Leave it to those wonderful Swedes.

j

[Hector]

His works are modern and exciting, and still wrapped up (large or not) in a form that is digestible and not too alienating.



j

It is lines like that that will, hopefully, induce others to sample his music!

[karlhenning]

Yeah Sweden. Leave it to those wonderful Swedes.

I do hear in Pettersson's work, a kind of response to Abba . . . .

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

I do hear in Pettersson's work, a kind of response to Abba . . . .

Honestly: I don't remember at what symphony/part of it, I was thinking "this reminds me a bit of pop music".

[greg]

Honestly: I don't remember at what symphony/part of it, I was thinking "this reminds me a bit of pop music".

i heard somewhere on a Pettersson thread that he had to compose while the neighbor's had their music up loud, maybe that kinda influenced him?...

[karlhenning]

Or maybe Pettersson just ate Ubloobideega . . . .

I'm still making my way through the cycle (Pettersson, not Ubloobideega).

[BachQ]

i heard somewhere on a Pettersson thread that he had to compose while the neighbor's had their music up loud, maybe that kinda influenced him?...

In which case, I'd like to know what music his neighbors were cranking ........

[BachQ]

A few months back, Sarge had formulated some impressions of Pettersson 16:

Listening to Pettersson's 16th:



Mindful of that quote I was a little worried as I put the disc in the player. Pettersson does occasionally irritate when he lashes onto an idea and won't let it go. I think the guy needed a good editor. But in this case, no, I didn't find it irritating at all. It's a marvelous symphony and should be one of the least daunting for a Pettersson neophyte because of its gentler nature and shorter length.


I'm a saxophone player so this was definitely an enjoyable experience for me. I did fear at first that it would stick out like a sore thumb but when I mentally decided it wasn't a symphony at all but really a concerto, all doubts vanished. I thought the sax was well integrated in the mix too; just part of the orchestral fabric and that lessened the listening challenge.

The liner notes talk of the elegiac nature of the saxophone's sound and I think the alto expresses that even more than the "sexier" sounding tenor. The alto works perfectly in this symphony which is, like almost everything Pettersson wrote, an elegy. Good thing he didn't employ the soprano sax: Harry would have been climbing the walls, howling in pain

This is an intensely beautiful piece of music. The Cantabile expressivo second section is haunting. I love the way the third section ends, with simple chords on the brass, sounding like a Brucknerian benediction.

Sarge

[BachQ]

A few months back, Sarge had formulated some impressions of Pettersson 16:

To which Robert responded:

beautiful sarge. Its nice to finally hear some positive feedback about this symphony.  I have always enjoyed it and could not quite understand why they always blamed the sax... I got my feet wet with this type of symphony with Ornette Colemans symphony "Skies over America" a classic....

And, to which Harry felt compelled to add a disclaimer .......

Sarge let it be clear, I love this Symphony, and as you say the Sax is well integrated into the fabric of the composition.
I love the sound also, but felt at times the notes written for it irritating, but that could well be the object of Pettersson, just to do that.
I must say on my primary system the sax sounded more at one with the orchestra, so it could well be that that was the cause of my irritation. That said I rather hear the sax outside a symphony, as a solo instrument. And the Soprano sax would indeed have me up in the curtains.

[greg]

Or maybe Pettersson just ate Ubloobideega . . . .

I'm still making my way through the cycle (Pettersson, not Ubloobideega).

Ubloobideega's symphonic cycle takes much longer to get through, more like 2 years of 1 hour of each day and you'll be done. And he's always writing, too, in his cardboard box by the gas station.
some of the symphonies i recommend by Ubloobideega include the Poopoo Symphony, the Fake Moustache Symphony, and Symphony No. 3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679821480865132823066470938446095505822317253594081284811174502841027019385211055596446229489549303819644288109756659334461284756482337867831652712019091456485669234603486104543266482133936072602491412737245870066063155881748815209209628292540917153643678925903600113305305488204665213841469519415116094330572703657595919530921861173819326117931051185480744623799627495673518857527248912279381830119491.

[Sergeant Rock]

A few months back, Sarge had formulated some impressions of Pettersson 16:

Thanks for digging this up, D. I'd forgotten I'd written about the symphony.

Sarge

[orbital]

I've just had my first dose ever of Pettersson today with Smphony no:16, and I am totally sold on first listen. If 16th isn't even considered near the top of his symphonic output, that's even better 

[BachQ]

Thanks for digging this up, D. I'd forgotten I'd written about the symphony.

Sarge

That's the great thing about classical music websites: even though the post is 5 months old, it seems as fresh as ever when applied to a new context (in this case, transplanting it from the WAYLT thread). 

[Varg]

I've just had my first dose ever of Pettersson today with Smphony no:16, and I am totally sold on first listen. If 16th isn't even considered near the top of his symphonic output, that's even better 

Not even close to the top to me. Now get the symphonies 6-7-8!

[orbital]

Not even close to the top to me. Now get the symphonies 6-7-8!

Since my CD buying days are coming to a close, I am looking at available downloads.
How are 7 and 8 from Segerstram? At $0.80 each 

[BachQ]

Since my CD buying days are coming to a close, I am looking at available downloads.
How are 7 and 8 from Segerstram? At $0.80 each 

$0.80 for a complete symphony?   

[Varg]

Since my CD buying days are coming to a close, I am looking at available downloads.
How are 7 and 8 from Segerstram? At $0.80 each 

Only heard the 7th from Segerstram, and i prefer it to the cpo one.

At $0.80 each, you cant really go wrong...

[orbital]

$0.80 for a complete symphony?   

amazon.com downloads, not actual CD's 

[The new erato]

Not even close to the top to me. Now get the symphonies 6-7-8!

Just listened to 6 with Trojahn on cpo. Very good. The 6-7-8 trilogy are my favorites as well, though I admit to not knowing 5 and 2. Nr 9 makes a strong impression as well, though youn have to be reasonably determined, as it's long and takes its time before it punches its points home.