Gösta Nystroem (1890-1966), an unjustly forgotten Swede

[Scion7]

Well he's not exactly forgotten - many pieces have been recorded and are available.  :-)

He's lucky not to have been a victim of having his music suppressed, like Johanna Senfter, whose large volume of published and privately-published chamber music, among other things, languishes in the vaults instead of joining the front ranks of female composers.

His sea symphony will be his epitaph.  :-)

[The new erato]

Johanna Senfter! Johann is a male name.

[pjme]

 

Johanna Senfter ( 27 November 1879; 11 August 1961) was a German composer.
Johanna Senfter was born and died in Oppenheim. From 1895[1] she studied composition under Iwan Knorr,[1] violin under Adolf Rebner,[1] piano under Karl Friedberg[1] and organ at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main. This gave her a considerable amount of musical training when in 1908 she became a student of Max Reger in Leipzig. She composed 9 symphonies, 26 orchestral works and concertos for piano, violin, viola, and cello. Senfter was a masterful composer of fugue. All together she left behind 134 works.

[Scion7]

it's called a "type-o" or a keyboard-glitch boo-boo .... please

[Scion7]

Johanna Senfter . . . . All together she left behind 134 works.

On her composer-topic in this sub-forum you can see a post with some more details on this that I put up.

[Mirror Image]

This isn't the first time I've heard this from you MI! I just wish I had a load of cd's I hadn't listened to yet. As soon as they drop through the letterbox it's almost as if I can't wait to load them into the cd drawer. Either the quantity of cd's arriving is so large it takes you months to wade through them,or you are simply made of very stern stuff indeed and can keep your hands away from those pristine,shiny,shrink wrapped jewel cases ?!! Or maybe,you just like to take your time,absorbing and contemplating the contents of each cd in turn,before you move onto the next one?!!

How I missed this post is beyond me! Please come back, cilgwyn! To reply to your post, I do have a lot of CDs I haven't even heard that are just there waiting to be listened to and I still have many CDs still in their shrinkwrap. I suppose a lot of it has to do with that I seem to drift through these different listening phases. One month it maybe nothing but French/Hungarian music, the next month the Nordics/Brits, etc. When I am in these listening cycles, I buy CDs during them and by the time the CDs that I purchased a week/two weeks ago arrive, I've already entered into another phase and I'm focused on listening to a certain group of composers and just those composers only. The best part of all of this is when I do come back around to them, I have several new recordings to listen to and soak in.

[calyptorhynchus]

Just reading this thread now I am stating to go through Nystroem's works (I like the first symphony, which is a good sign). This sentence about the poet who provided the words in the Third Symphony amused me "Poetry critic at Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning (Gothenburg, Trade and Shipping Gazette) from 1949 to 1956." LOL, how many shipping and trade journals nowadays have a poetry critic?

[André]

Yeah, "Ishavet" surprised me as well! I was not quite expecting to like it so much. What did you like about it?

I have to dig up your thread (is it on the old board?).

I love Ishavet. It's on my favourite Nystroem disc:



I played Ishavet to a friend a few weeks ago and he said it was like a poor imitation of Rite of Spring. Oh well...

[calyptorhynchus]

I've gone through the symphonies and they are great! Nystroem is one of those composers who writes the same symphony over and over, but in his case the blueprint was a good one, so we have an excellent series. Can't understand why he isn't better known.

[kyjo]

I love the 3rd Symphony (Sinfonia del mare) and find it quite moving, especially the beautiful third movement with its ethereal soprano solo. Also, the hauntingly evocative Songs by the Sea for soprano and orchestra was a great recent discovery for me.

[Mirror Image]

I love the 3rd Symphony (Sinfonia del mare) and find it quite moving, especially the beautiful third movement with its ethereal soprano solo. Also, the hauntingly evocative Songs by the Sea for soprano and orchestra was a great recent discovery for me.

Yes, these have been the only works from Nystroem that I've connected with. The rest of his output that I've heard hasn't been too impressive to me.

[Mirror Image]

I've gone through the symphonies and they are great! Nystroem is one of those composers who writes the same symphony over and over, but in his case the blueprint was a good one, so we have an excellent series. Can't understand why he isn't better known.

It's amazing how you were able to elevate and demean all in the same sentence. Nystroem isn't better known because the powers that be have added him to their long list of composers who aren't fit for the concert hall and, thus, should be forgotten.

[calyptorhynchus]

It's amazing how you were able to elevate and demean all in the same sentence. Nystroem isn't better known because the powers that be have added him to their long list of composers who aren't fit for the concert hall and, thus, should be forgotten.

How am I demeaning Nystroem?

[Mirror Image]

How am I demeaning Nystroem?

Saying a composer is writing the same symphony over and over isn't exactly a flattering statement is it?

[calyptorhynchus]

"Saying a composer is writing the same symphony over and over isn't exactly a flattering statement is it?"

It is when I say he had a very good blueprint. In any case that's the first thing that anyone will hear when they listen to the six symphonies one after the other, how similar they are. I'm just pointing out the obvious.

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

Unjustly forgotten? Now I am not at liberty to forget people? 

[calyptorhynchus]

The two Concertos for Strings are very good too...

ps They are (chooses words carefully), not dissimilar from each other.

[Symphonic Addict]

Just heard The Tempest (Prelude) from this marvelous CD:



What I have to say is: MAGNIFICENT!!!

This prelude has to be one of the most dramatic, stormy, evocative, atmospheric and tempestuous (of course  ) pieces I've heard recently. I'm speechless at its mighty power. The use of a wordless female chorus was a stroke of genius, what a mesmerizing effect for the turbulent musical landscape. You can feel the wind blowing, the waves rocking, and the orchestra along with the chorus provide all this scenery to live the experience. After all the tumultuous agitation, it concludes in the most poetic way. I'm really impressed. A little masterpiece IMO. Nystroem was, undoudbtedly, one of the great swedes.

[vandermolen]

Just heard The Tempest (Prelude) from this marvelous CD:



What I have to say is: MAGNIFICENT!!!

This prelude has to be one of the most dramatic, stormy, evocative, atmospheric and tempestuous (of course  ) pieces I've heard recently. I'm speechless at its mighty power. The use of a wordless female chorus was a stroke of genius, what a mesmerizing effect for the turbulent musical landscape. You can feel the wind blowing, the waves rocking, and the orchestra along with the chorus provide all this scenery to live the experience. After all the tumultuous agitation, it concludes in the most poetic way. I'm really impressed. A little masterpiece IMO. Nystroem was, undoudbtedly, one of the great swedes.

I have that CD as I love 'Sinfonia del Mare' but clearly I need to listen to 'The Tempest'.

[Symphonic Addict]

I have that CD as I love 'Sinfonia del Mare' but clearly I need to listen to 'The Tempest'.

It's a brilliant score, Jeffrey. Almost 13 minutes of sheer thrill.