Wiren's wilderness (Dag Wiren 1905-1986)

Started by vandermolen, April 26, 2009, 02:51:31 PM

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Symphonic Addict

I remembered another beautiful work: the Piano Trio No. 1. This is a must hear for fans of this composer. The slow movement is achingly moving. And Kyle is right about Wirén's ability to be succinct in his works, and this trio is a proof of it. I hadn't appreciated this composer before, but now things are changing for good!
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

kyjo

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on May 25, 2020, 02:00:38 PM
I remembered another beautiful work: the Piano Trio No. 1. This is a must hear for fans of this composer. The slow movement is achingly moving. And Kyle is right about Wirén's ability to be succinct in his works, and this trio is a proof of it. I hadn't appreciated this composer before, but now things are changing for good!

Thanks for bringing it to my attention; I haven't heard it yet. Not many mid-20th century composers wrote piano trios/quartets/quintets, so it's always great to find more examples!
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

vandermolen

#42
Just listening to my favourite Wiren score - the brooding Symphony No.4 of 1952. Wiren's wife told him that the monothematic opening reminded her of the approaching summer storm of 1952 - strongly recommended - it packs a lot into 18 minutes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._4_(Wir%C3%A9n)#CITEREFHurwitz2018
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Symphonic Addict

The most recent interesting piece I've heard by him is the Piano Concerto which is found on this CD. It's quite cool how Wirén expressed what he intended in relatively few time. His ideas are very concise.

Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

vandermolen

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on August 19, 2021, 10:56:14 AM
The most recent interesting piece I've heard by him is the Piano Concerto which is found on this CD. It's quite cool how Wirén expressed what he intended in relatively few time. His ideas are very concise.



Thanks Cesar - I have that CD somewhere and must fish it out. Wiren's chamber music has been a recent field of discovery for me.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

DaveF

Apparently, Wirén composed Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest entry sometime in the 1960s, which was performed by none other than the great operatic baritone Ingvar Wixell.  Haven't listened to it yet, although I gather it's available on YouTube.  I'm guessing it probably doesn't go "Waterloo..."
"All the world is birthday cake" - George Harrison

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: vandermolen on August 19, 2021, 11:51:21 AM
Thanks Cesar - I have that CD somewhere and must fish it out. Wiren's chamber music has been a recent field of discovery for me.

His Piano Trio No. 1 with its poignant slow movement is particularly attractive to me. If you find the CD, please tell me what you think about the concerto, no matter if you liked it or not.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

vandermolen

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on August 19, 2021, 01:54:05 PM
His Piano Trio No. 1 with its poignant slow movement is particularly attractive to me. If you find the CD, please tell me what you think about the concerto, no matter if you liked it or not.
Yes, I'll let you know Cesar - I've noted your comments about the Piano Trio No.1 which I will also look out for.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).