Pettersson's Pavilion

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

A new recording of 13 is out: http://www.bis.se/index.php?op=album&aID=BIS-2190

Interesting. The 13th was the piece that made me stop listening to Pettersson for years. It was like 67 minutes of being trapped on a construction site, with jackhammers going at full blast. I hated it so much then, that I am rather intrigued by it now.

[Wieland]

Interesting. The 13th was the piece that made me stop listening to Pettersson for years. It was like 67 minutes of being trapped on a construction site, with jackhammers going at full blast. I hated it so much then, that I am rather intrigued by it now.

I just listened to the piece - not the new one which I don't own - but the cpo recording with Alun Francis conducting. This is really a tough nut. It is definitely one of the most difficult pieces that you can listen too. It is so tense and there is so little relief. I like very much the second "lyric island" shortly before the end, but before you get there...oooh. I am not sure whether I need a second recording. I will wait until the reviews are out.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I just listened to the piece - not the new one which I don't own - but the cpo recording with Alun Francis conducting.

That's the one I had. I remember it was a single 67-minute track. Very listener-unfriendly.

In the liner notes it said that one inspiration behind the symphony was a rude neighbor of AP, playing pop and rock music loudly and irritating the nerves of the already very ill composer. I can believe that.

I will wait until the reviews are out.

That should be some interesting reading.

[The new erato]

That's the one I had. I remember it was a single 67-minute track. Very listener-unfriendly.

In the liner notes it said that one inspiration behind the symphony was a rude neighbor of AP, playing pop and rock music loudly and irritating the nerves of the already very ill composer. I can believe that.

A commission from my hometown orchestra.

[calyptorhynchus]

Re the common complaint (sometimes voiced here) that Petterson is too morbid and miserable. The other day I was reading a book about the Battle of Stalingrad, and after I came to the end of a chapter I put on Petterson's 13th. After a while I thought "If anything, Petterson is a bit on the optimistic side".

[The new erato]

I just listened to the piece - not the new one which I don't own - but the cpo recording with Alun Francis conducting. This is really a tough nut. It is definitely one of the most difficult pieces that you can listen too. It is so tense and there is so little relief. I like very much the second "lyric island" shortly before the end, but before you get there...oooh. I am not sure whether I need a second recording. I will wait until the reviews are out.

I find the Lindberg/BIS recordings brings out qualities in the symphonies not heard elsewhere. They have a very transparent "airiness" that brings out nearly chamber music-like qualities that lightens the textures and moods of the music. 

[snyprrr]

Re the common complaint (sometimes voiced here) that Petterson is too morbid and miserable. The other day I was reading a book about the Battle of Stalingrad, and after I came to the end of a chapter I put on Petterson's 13th. After a while I thought "If anything, Petterson is a bit on the optimistic side".

i like this observation

[The new erato]

Well; I'm reading Max Hastings on Ypres and Passchendale......

[snyprrr]

Well; I'm reading Max Hastings on Ypres and Passchendale......

what of this third recording of No.13 that I just saw on Amazon?? Released this year with what looks like a Swedish orchestra?

[The new erato]

The not as yet released BIS?

[Wieland]

In Germany it is already available, e.g. from www.jpc.de

[The new erato]

No sign of it in the UK; and as it will be available for around £9 vs 20 Euros, I think I'll wait....

[snyprrr]

The not as yet released BIS?

No, I was prompted to check Amazon yesterday, and there is a 4rd 13 already available, this year,... just take a scroll through the Amazon and you'll see,... A THIRD THIRTEEN!!!!! Not BIS.

[snyprrr]

Concerto (No.1) for Violin and String Quartet

CPO- Mandelring SQ
MDG- Leipzig SQ
LP- Fresk SQ

This may actually be one of my very favored AGP works, written whilst on a country bike ride, and sounding very much like it. The bike allusion seeps into the music, with whirring wheels and spokes, and broken tires. Truly, this very much different than a lot of AGP , being not as emotional- more "3rd person", even though it is autobiographical: one can hear his grumpiness as his bike breaks down, but it all seems to be in lighter spirits than the later scorching indictments.

I only have the CPO, but am considering the MDG. Does anyone know where we can hear the Fresk?

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Re-visiting the 8th

Time for a little nostalgia trip. My very first experience of Pettersson's music was a WFMT broadcast of the 8th Symphony back in 1983, with the Chicago Symphony under a conductor I was unfamiliar with, Varujan Kojian. It was an impressive experience. At the time I was only a little past the classical newbie phase, and was able to recognize the similarities to Mahler and Shostakovich in Pettersson's music.

As far as I know, this was the one and only time the CSO programmed a Pettersson symphony.

To my delight I managed to locate a download of this concert. You can listen to it here:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/1466ki17r1m6zp0/PtSy8.zip

So far I've only listened to the first part, but it strikes me as a very powerful and clearly structured performance. While Commissiona does an excellent job with this symphony in his recording, I think Kojian is even better, both in bringing out details and delineating the overall dramatic arc. Among other things, the similarity to the opening of Nielsen 5 really stands out here: the way the peaceful twilight world gradually becomes filled with a sense of agitation and crisis. The Nielsen connection is also underlined by the very strong use of the snare drum, which is more prominent here than in Commissiona's performance.

So, for your listening pleasure: one of the few - perhaps only? - live performances of Pettersson by a top-ranking American orchestra.

[Sergeant Rock]

To my delight I managed to locate a download of this concert. You can listen to it here:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/1466ki17r1m6zp0/PtSy8.zip

Thanks. I'l listen to it soon.

Sarge

[ptr]

http://www.mediafire.com/download/1466ki17r1m6zp0/PtSy8.zip

Thanks for this! Interesting to hear a "foreign" orchestra play Pettersson (Not that Chicago is that foreign to us Swedes, a hundred years ago there where enough Swedes living there to make it the third largest Swedish municipal)

.. Quite different sounding for me, perhaps not enough bite for my ears (much like the CPO Pettersson cycle)... I will have to listen again tomorrow!

/ptr

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Thanks for this! Interesting to hear a "foreign" orchestra play Pettersson (Not that Chicago is that foreign to us Swedes, a hundred years ago there where enough Swedes living there to make it the third largest Swedish municipal)

Well, there's still a part of Chicago called Andersonville, but nowadays it's mostly Middle Eastern...

BTW the first recording of this symphony was also done by an American orchestra (Baltimore).

[ptr]

BTW the first recording of this symphony was also done by an American orchestra (Baltimore).

I know, unfortunately I never wormed very much to Comissiona's Pettersson interpretations either. I always find him a bit to upbeat for Pettersson's symphonies... For me, Dorati comes close, but Segerstam always hits the mark! Pity, Segerstam did not get hired to complete his Pettersson cycle for Bis as he is the right conductor for this kind of music..

/ptr

[snyprrr]

I just don't think I care anymore.


My favorite piece right now is the Violin Concerto No.1 of 1949, a true Masterpiece in my view.



Otherwise, if I had to, I might turn in some Symphonies,...

It's like you just can't let him out of his closet, or something.....