Edvin Kallstenius(1881-1967)

[Dundonnell]

Another long-lived Swede (Rosenberg lived to be 92, Alfven 88 and Atterberg 86).

The ways of some record companies are very strange. They release cds which they have not advertised and don't release cds they have. Kallstenius's Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 are apparently on a CPO cd advertised in their 2010 catalogue(there is as yet no 2011 catalogue) but it has not appeared. This is intended as the first release in a series of all five of the Kallstenius symphonies conducted by Frank Beermann.

Kallstenius is quoted as rather an odd man out amongst Swedish composers in that he was scarcely influenced by Swedish folk music or the Swedish countryside. There are a couple of orchestral Rhapsodies which are an exception to this and one of these, the 'Dalarapsodi' which is on a Musica Sveciae cd coupled with Symphony No.2, is popular in Sweden and a delightfully attractive piece. Kallstenius studied in Leipzig in the early years of the 20th century but derived more influence from European composers like Mahler, Strauss and Schrecker. The symphony sounds a bit like Mahler infused with Debussy and Delius. Apparently Kallstenius's later music uses his own interpretation of serialism to an extent and this put him somewhat at odds with his contemporaries. He did however play a significant role in Swedish musical life as an active member of the Society of Swedish Composers and as the Music Librarian of Swedish Radio.

There is also a Tone Poem "A Summernight's Serenade' which I have heard and he may prove to be an interesting composer but until CPO get a move on with their cycle it is difficult to reach an evaluation based on such little acquaintance with the music.

Anybody heard much more?

[vandermolen]

I have at least one CD by him and will fish it out to play again.

[Lethevich]

I'm jelly - I have nothing by him. The mystery of the CPO disc does seem bewildering, as from your description of the composer's style he seems to fit their profile well, and it's a disc I'd have picked up (eventually).