Scandinavian and Finnish composers.

Started by Harry, April 13, 2007, 05:33:51 AM

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CRCulver

Quote from: Florestan on October 12, 2023, 10:25:06 AMDo they allow that?

They don't disallow it. Just find yourself a quiet nook in the library and no one will bother you. I did it on every annual visit to Helsinki for over a decade.

71 dB

Quote from: vandermolen on October 08, 2023, 09:08:51 AMTry (Selim Palmgren's) PC No.2 a very eloquent work.

Finally checked out this work on the Alba CD on Spotify. I liked it more than PC No. 3, but I can't say it converted me into a Palmgren fanatic.  :D
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kyjo

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on October 07, 2023, 07:47:36 PMToday I was revisiting a striking and colourful work that made me think of the already widely-known phrase: why isn't this piece more popular? I mean, the Piano Concerto No. 3 'Metamorphoses' (1916) by the Finnish composer Selim Palmgren (1878-1951). This is superb Nordic late-Romantic music featuring glistening orchestration and memorable material. It's condensed in one movement (lasting 18:25 min.) that sounded to me more like a Fantasy for piano and orchestra; the performance is high-spirited and so vivid and so is the recording, more so than the one on Alba if my memory serves. Very glad to give it a spin. The other concertos are in a similar enjoyable vein.



I've listened to all 5 of Palmgren's PCs (in the Alba recordings) and can only echo your positive impressions, Cesar. They're melodic, atmospheric, colorfully orchestrated (great use of percussion!), and wonderfully concise. Of course, most Nordic composers aside from Sibelius, Grieg, and Nielsen (even the latter is not that often-played) are unfairly ignored on concert programs, so deeply attractive works like Palmgren's PCs are unlikely to ever achieve the popularity they deserve...
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Symphonic Addict

#844
Quote from: kyjo on October 23, 2023, 12:47:30 PMI've listened to all 5 of Palmgren's PCs (in the Alba recordings) and can only echo your positive impressions, Cesar. They're melodic, atmospheric, colorfully orchestrated (great use of percussion!), and wonderfully concise. Of course, most Nordic composers aside from Sibelius, Grieg, and Nielsen (even the latter is not that often-played) are unfairly ignored on concert programs, so deeply attractive works like Palmgren's PCs are unlikely to ever achieve the popularity they deserve...

Agreed, these concertos pack a good deal of attractive ideas that catch the ear and delight. I'm surprised I've heard Nielsen's Symphonies 1, 4 and 5 and his Clarinet Concerto live given the enormous attention the "core composers" have.
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kyjo

Cross-posted from the Fernström thread:

John Fernström (1897-1961) is a rather fascinating figure whose music has been unduly neglected, even more so than many of his fellow Swedish composers. A small fraction of his large output has been commercially recorded - only 3 out of his 12 symphonies, for example. Just yesterday, I was listening to his final symphony, the 12th (1951), in this excellent BIS recording:



The lengthy first movement, simply titled Introduction, traverses an overall tense, dramatic musical landscape but not without some moments of reprieve. One might be reminded of the serious symphonic writing of Holmboe and Hilding Rosenberg in this movement. The comparatively brief scherzo middle movement, memorably titled Giga fantastica, is a playful, quicksilver affair with some particularly virtuosic flute writing. Unfortunately, the third movement finale is a bit of a letdown after the excellence of the first two movements. Its thematic material struck me as rather generic and labored. The symphony ends on a quizzically indifferent note. I'm looking forward to revisiting the two song cycles on this disc in due course!

If anything, I recall that his 6th Symphony (recorded on both BIS and Phono Suecia) is overall an even stronger work than the 12th. Now that Swedish composers such as Atterberg, Stenhammar, Alfven, Rangstrom, Peterson-Berger, Wiren, Larsson, and Pettersson have generally been so well-served by the record companies, let's hear some more Fernström, shall we? It's a shame that BIS seems to have lost interest in his music.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff