Hilding Rosenberg

Started by Dundonnell, August 07, 2007, 03:36:25 PM

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Dundonnell

  

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Quote from: vandermolen on August 06, 2007, 04:30:16 AM
Totally agree with you; a mystifying omission. Symphony 2-6 are all great works, especially the redemptive endings of 2 and 3.


However, while it might be better to start a new thread on Hilding Rosenberg, I might just say that Robert von Bahr, the owner of BIS, does seem to have very definite tastes and has totally ignored Rosenberg's music over the years. But then Rosenberg is not alone in this neglect. It was left to that most enterprising German company CPO to record the Swedish symphonic cycles of Kurt Atterberg(BIS did record his 6th), Wilhelm Peterson-Berger, Ture Rangstrom and Dag Wiren. Obviously, von Bahr has no time for Rosenberg et al. Indeed, arguably, BIS has actually done better for some of the other great 20th century Scandinavian symphonists with the complete cycles of the Dane Vagn Holmboe, the Norwegian Harald Saeverud, and the Finns Joonas Kokkonen, Aulis Sallinen(incomplete) and Kalevi Aho(ongoing).

I agree about the merits of those Rosenberg symphonies I have heard-Nos.2-6-but each of these is an old recording(No.5 is actually from the 1940s). I believe that Rosenberg may have withdrawn his 1st. I would love to hear Nos. 7 and 8. Rosenberg was a serious composer rated highly by that great authority on Nordic music, Robert Layton. He was very much the grand old man of Swedish music and his continuing neglect by record companies is most odd. I seem to remember a reference somewhere to a plan for Neeme Jarvi to record the symphonies with the Gothenburg orchestra but obviously this came to nothing. Over to you, CPO!

(I am deeply sorry to have added this to the thread on Richard Arnell! It seems to have led to other postings which then had that thread temporarily locked. I am now doing what I should have done previously-making a new thread!)

vandermolen

I too am a fan of Rosenberg, especially symphonies 2 and 3. I even have three recordings on CD of Symphony 3! (Rosenberg, Blomstedt and Andrew Davis). The Andrew Davis on Finlandia was an unexpected bonus! I have Symphony 8 on LP. The choral No 4, despite some longuers, has some wonderfully inspired moments (it is also on CD).

I hope that BIS or CPO or Naxos record a cycle, which we badly need. The redemptive endings of the Second and Third symphonies are, to me, some of the greatest moments in 20th century symphonies.
"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).

pjme

I have only a few works by Rosenberg . Symphony nr 4 The revelation of St. John (on Caprice) - I often listen to the choral - a capella -  fragments only - very very beautiful! NR 6 "Semplice", the two pianoconcertos, and a big box with historical recordings .
Strong & serious music . Hope to discover his chambermusic. Any recommendations.? More choral music?

Peter

The new erato

This one:



Consists of Larssons "A god in Disguise" and Rosenbergs "The Sacred Night" - a small Christmas oratorio.

http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.553738

Daverz

#4
So far, I love his piano concertos and the Symphony No. 6.  Mr. Bahr of Bis hangs out in r.m.c.r, so maybe I'll ask him about Rosenberg.

pjme

GReat to see that Den heliga natten is now on CD - I have a good version on LP and a version on CD ,conducted by Rosenberg himself - but the soundquality is quite poor.

thanks, Peter

Dundonnell

There is an excellent(and I think new) English language website devoted to Rosenberg's music-http://web.telia.com/~u48022134/index.html Well worth a look!

I have learned from it that Rosenberg revised his Symphony No.1 several times rather than withdrawing it as I had thought. Indeed, he seems to have been a compulsive reviser of his own works. He also wrote a considerable number of concerti in addition to the two Piano Concerti and the Violin Concerto No.2 which I know.


Daverz

Here's the reply I had from Mr. von Bahr to my enquiry about a Rosenberg cycle:

Quote
It was actually rather far planned, but then, as we couldn't agree
with the behaviour of the proposed conductor, we had to cancel it.
I rather doubt that we will reinstate planning.  You're right, the
music is good.

Best - Robert

Dundonnell

Not good news from BIS! Well that leaves CPO. If they can sell Pettersson, Atterberg, Peterson-Berger etc then they should surely be able to sell Rosenberg?

Dundonnell

"...with the behaviour of the proposed conductor..."! Makes you wonder who it was and what the "behaviour" in question actually was, doesn't it!

not edward

Maybe it was Leif Segerstam and he wanted BIS to pay for him to get the nicotine stains out of his beard. ;)
"I don't at all mind actively disliking a piece of contemporary music, but in order to feel happy about it I must consciously understand why I dislike it. Otherwise it remains in my mind as unfinished business."
-- Aaron Copland, The Pleasures of Music

vandermolen

#11
Have been listening to all 78 minutes of Rosenberg's Symphony No 4 'The Revelation of St John' - a wonderful, darkly-moving choral work with many beautiful passages. I think that Robert Layton described Rosenberg, in works like this, as an 'old testament prophet' - I agree.
"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).

Dundonnell

In this case, at least, Layton does get it right, doesn't he ;D

snyprrr

Rosenberg Complete SQs 1-12 (+1):

Villa-Lobos, Bloch, Maconchy, Milhaud, Hindemith...Rosenberg...

This Caprice box was very welcomed the day it arrived. Dipping into a new composer through a giant box of SQs is akin to, well...I think you know,heehee.

No.1 ('22?) was received as noise by the status quo in conservative Sweden (how bout a thread on that,hmm?). It came across to me like one of Hindemith's first 2 SQs, though it has it's own voice. No.2 continues on from here, but

No.3 ,"Pastoral", present absolutely no problems, and as the shortest SQ of the bunch, it is quite idyllic. Just a nice mid 20s SQ, with Rosenberg's particular touches beginning to come to the fore.

Having lived in southern Sweden, I can attest that Rosenberg's nature music truly does breathe the Swedish air. There is a sense of hills and dales, and the wildlife (birds,...), on a warm summer's eve (with a breeze of course!). I can practically smell it!

There is an extra cd in the box with R's unpublished "1942" quartet that precedes R's breakthrough, or most "famous" SQ, No.4.. As with so many composers of this era, they all seemed to congeal a "perfect" style in the 40s (usually represented by one standout work) before "hardening" their vocabularies post-war into the 60s. SQ No.4 reminds me a little of Britten's SQ 2 in that it has a vaguely Eastern sounding melody opening up; and Hindemith's last 2 SQs aren't that far away, either. And perhaps the Villa-Lobos (6,7) and Bloch (2).  

SQs 4-6 represent this "golden" period, No.5 being dedicated to Sibelius. If all three were on one cd there would be no question as to which to get first. These SQs are melodically elusive, not really "hummers", but more the overall peaceful sense pulls you into a world that breathes some rare air in stretches that is really satisfying.

Then, in 1957, R wrote his SQs 7-12!. Yes, 6 SQs in one year, a modern feat I don't think anyone else has attempted. Well, so how does the quality hold up? No.7 carries on from its predecessors, but the "hardening" of the language begins to show in No.8. Just like the middle SQs of V-L and Milhaud, these 2 SQs are the ones I need to make more sense of.
No.9 is in 2 large mvmts, a first for R here. Here, R's full maturity is in effect. His thing is "contrasts", so there is a lot of fast/slow, loud/soft, but there is an overall smoothness.
No.10 is a big, 4 mvmt Beethovenian affair that I was convinced was a masterpiece the first time I heard it. I still think it's the dark horse winner here for the truly discrimminating. It really reminds me of the more outgoing of LvB's late quartets (Eb,Bb), very serious of purpose, yet totally musical, yet totally...rockin!
No.11, the notes tell me, "has the happiest opening of any Swedish SQ". I'll give that to Wiren's No.3, but 11 has vigor aplenty. I'll admit that a lot of 25-28min SQs can be wearing (same with V-L, though Milhaud varies his times a lot and I don't have that problem with him), and I need "space" to really listen to these pieces, always only one at a time (and contrast them with another composer). They do have an elusive quality, again, like many of his contemporaries at the time. Bloch's SQ No.5 comes to mind.
No.12 is a "retrospective", culling ideas from the previous SQs and summing up. It, like No.9, is in two long mvmts.
Rounding out the set is a 1970s suite-ish, Milhaud-like style.

Germ cells, metamorphoses technique, constant variation...??? I dunno, but R's style IS smooth and flowing. I still maintain that Bloch, V-L, Malipiero, Chavez, Milhaud, Rosenberg, and whoever else you can think of that falls into this category all seem to exhibit a certain "universalism" in the late 50s. neo-classical universalism???

Beethovenian nature music? or Beethovenian impressionism? to give a sense of the "serious purpose" coupled with "artist sitting in a field listening"? In all, this box is hefty, a little more meat than V-L, more seriousness than Milhaud (though M has more variety and humor here), and more organic than Bloch.

It will take me some time to fully explore this set further, and I expect it to be one of the cornerstones of my mid century listening for the rest of my listening days. Start with Hindemith, though ;D.

oy, mom has to use the phone...dail-up, you know...anyone hiring???

schweitzeralan

Quote from: vandermolen on May 02, 2009, 10:38:07 PM
Have been listening to all 78 minutes of Rosenber's Symphony No 4 'The Revelation of St John' - a wonderful, darkly-moving choral work with many beautiful passages. I think that Robert Layton described Rosenberg, in works like this, as an 'old testament prophet' - I agree.

Wonderful composer.  Wrote several symphonies, I believe.  Did he not compose a Louisville Concerto? I may have heard this work way back when I was a student in Kentucky and would often attend concerts with the Louisville Orcestra.  Many fine works were pioneered under the baton of Whitney in those long ago days. 

Dundonnell

Quote from: schweitzeralan on May 26, 2009, 09:48:07 AM
Wonderful composer.  Wrote several symphonies, I believe.  Did he not compose a Louisville Concerto? I may have heard this work way back when I was a student in Kentucky and would often attend concerts with the Louisville Orcestra.  Many fine works were pioneered under the baton of Whitney in those long ago days. 

Eight Symphonies in total actually. I have never heard No.1 or Nos. 7 and 8. Nos. 1 and 7 have not, to my knowledge, been recorded. No.8 'Sinfonia Serena' was available on an old Caprice LP but has never been transferred to cd.

Yes, Rosenberg did compose a Louisville Concerto; it is his third Concerto for Orchestra and it is or was available on a Swedish Society Discofil cd coupled with the Symphony No.2 'Sinfonia Grave' and the Overture to 'The Marionettes'. The concerto is scored for violin, viola, cello and orchestra and was written in 1954 but revised in 1968. There are not many of his works which Rosenberg left in their original state; he appears to have been a compulsive reviser ;D There will be a tape of the Whitney performance but the First Music Edition project to reissue all the old Louisville recordings on disc ran into the sand-tragically :(

http://web.telia.com/~u48022134/index.html

for an excellent Rosenberg website.

schweitzeralan

Quote from: Dundonnell on May 26, 2009, 12:57:09 PM
Eight Symphonies in total actually. I have never heard No.1 or Nos. 7 and 8. Nos. 1 and 7 have not, to my knowledge, been recorded. No.8 'Sinfonia Serena' was available on an old Caprice LP but has never been transferred to cd.

Yes, Rosenberg did compose a Louisville Concerto; it is his third Concerto for Orchestra and it is or was available on a Swedish Society Discofil cd coupled with the Symphony No.2 'Sinfonia Grave' and the Overture to 'The Marionettes'. The concerto is scored for violin, viola, cello and orchestra and was written in 1954 but revised in 1968. There are not many of his works which Rosenberg left in their original state; he appears to have been a compulsive reviser ;D There will be a tape of the Whitney performance but the First Music Edition project to reissue all the old Louisville recordings on disc ran into the sand-tragically :(

http://web.telia.com/~u48022134/index.html

for an excellent Rosenberg website.

Thanks for the info.  Actually I have the original recording locked in the attic somwehere along with other old LP's. I have other old Louisville recordigs I received long ago: a work by Wen-Chung; Ned Rorum (Design For Orchestra);  Bernard Reichel (Suite Symphonque); Peter Mennin's Sixth; Ernst Bacon's "The Enchantrd Isle;"  ( still listen to that one.); Wallingford Rieger (Variations For Piano And Orchestra).  I'll have to retrieve them.

Dundonnell

Quote from: schweitzeralan on May 26, 2009, 02:56:03 PM
Thanks for the info.  Actually I have the original recording locked in the attic somwehere along with other old LP's. I have other old Louisville recordigs I received long ago: a work by Wen-Chung; Ned Rorum (Design For Orchestra);  Bernard Reichel (Suite Symphonque); Peter Mennin's Sixth; Ernst Bacon's "The Enchantrd Isle;"  ( still listen to that one.); Wallingford Rieger (Variations For Piano And Orchestra).  I'll have to retrieve them.

Wow! Some of these would be worth a lot of money!

vandermolen

Yes, Rosenberg's 8th Symphony should be on CD. I have the old LP. It did not grab me as strongly as the others (I don't know nos 1 or 7) but it is years since I heard it.
"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).

The new erato

Yes. Yes! Yes!!! YES !!!!!!