Scandinavian and Finnish composers.

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

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Biffo

Quote from: North Star on October 28, 2017, 03:48:23 AM
Tveitt and Langgaard have their own threads if you want to have a look. 8)

Thanks, I am new to the forum and so far only found this thread that is relevant to those composers.

kyjo

Quote from: vandermolen on September 25, 2017, 11:49:48 PM
Yesterday I came across a composer whose music I had never heard. Selim Palmgren (born 1878 Pori, Finland, died Helsinki 1951). He also taught at the famous Eastman School in the USA in the 1920s. I sampled the opening of his
Piano Concerto No.2 'The River' and thought it was excellent - haunting and beautiful. Any other views on Palmgren?
[asin]B01DELEJ4E[/asin]
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Selim-Palmgren

Here's the opening of PC No.2 'The River':

https://youtu.be/oOq6vTWYbDU

Just listened to this - a wonderfully atmospheric and inspiriting score. The spirit of Rachmaninoff hovers over some passages, which appeals to me greatly. I especially love the opening with its mysterious drum rolls. Thanks for the recommendation, Jeffrey! :)
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

vandermolen

Quote from: kyjo on November 03, 2017, 07:47:20 PM
Just listened to this - a wonderfully atmospheric and inspiriting score. The spirit of Rachmaninoff hovers over some passages, which appeals to me greatly. I especially love the opening with its mysterious drum rolls. Thanks for the recommendation, Jeffrey! :)
Am delighted that you discovered it too Kyle  :).
I like the whole CD including the chamber works at the end and Piano Concerto No.1. You are right about the Rachmaninov connection.
"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).

SymphonicAddict



Earlier I gave to these symphonies a revisit. My last memories told me that these works weren't appealing enough, and how wrong I was! I'm so glad to having changed my mind. The 1st Symphony is majestic and with certain struggle, mostly in the 1st movement. The 2nd movement is so inspired, it has an ethereal appeal to it. The 3rd movement is the culmination of greatness, a blaze of intense light. The ending is mightily uplifting and glorious.

The 2nd Symphony is a bit less good, but even so it doesn't disappoint at all. Inspired by the Greek mythology, it's much more succesful than other works with similar inspiration. And those ancient evocations are fairly felt. All in all, two of those fruitful rediscoveries.

There are two additional symphonies that haven't seen the light of day. Hopefully cpo or another advocate recording label will bring them to us in the near future.

vandermolen

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on August 01, 2019, 11:14:03 AM


Earlier I gave to these symphonies a revisit. My last memories told me that these works weren't appealing enough, and how wrong I was! I'm so glad to having changed my mind. The 1st Symphony is majestic and with certain struggle, mostly in the 1st movement. The 2nd movement is so inspired, it has an ethereal appeal to it. The 3rd movement is the culmination of greatness, a blaze of intense light. The ending is mightily uplifting and glorious.

The 2nd Symphony is a bit less good, but even so it doesn't disappoint at all. Inspired by the Greek mythology, it's much more succesful than other works with similar inspiration. And those ancient evocations are fairly felt. All in all, two of those fruitful rediscoveries.

There are two additional symphonies that haven't seen the light of day. Hopefully cpo or another advocate recording label will bring them to us in the near future.
I love that disc Cesar, especially the beautiful and moving central movement of 'Hellas' Symphony.
"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).

SymphonicAddict

Quote from: vandermolen on August 01, 2019, 12:34:05 PM
I love that disc Cesar, especially the beautiful and moving central movement of 'Hellas' Symphony.

Me too! I enjoyed it a lot, very worth hearing.

Symphonic Addict



Hakon Borresen's Symphony No. 1 in C minor, whilst not a masterpiece, possesses substance enough to rate it very high. A work of evident profoundity whose themes and development satisfy with no problem, at least for me. The last movement Adagio lamentabile is magnificent. A very welcome rediscovery.
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

Roy Bland


André

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on March 17, 2020, 02:42:30 PM


Hakon Borresen's Symphony No. 1 in C minor, whilst not a masterpiece, possesses substance enough to rate it very high. A work of evident profoundity whose themes and development satisfy with no problem, at least for me. The last movement Adagio lamentabile is magnificent. A very welcome rediscovery.

Interesting, thanks, Cesar.  :)

I have 2 Dacapo discs of his music, including symphonies 2 and 3. Very interesting, esp. his Sea Symphony. I'll keep an eye on this CPO release.

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: André on March 17, 2020, 05:22:37 PM
Interesting, thanks, Cesar.  :)

I have 2 Dacapo discs of his music, including symphonies 2 and 3. Very interesting, esp. his Sea Symphony. I'll keep an eye on this CPO release.

Symphony No. 2 was playing here but on the CPO recording. I had overlooked this energetic work, with strong themes and vivacity. Quite good. Sadly, memorability in the Symphony No. 3 is missing. A step backwards, maybe. A nice piece, though.
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

Christo

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on March 17, 2020, 02:42:30 PM


Hakon Borresen's Symphony No. 1 in C minor, whilst not a masterpiece, possesses substance enough to rate it very high. A work of evident profoundity whose themes and development satisfy with no problem, at least for me. The last movement Adagio lamentabile is magnificent. A very welcome rediscovery.

Quote from: André on March 17, 2020, 05:22:37 PM
Interesting, thanks, Cesar.  :)

I have 2 Dacapo discs of his music, including symphonies 2 and 3. Very interesting, esp. his Sea Symphony. I'll keep an eye on this CPO release.

Sometimes, indeed oftentimes, posts like these make me walk to my cd wall and put one on top of my pile. This one is right up there now, will duly oblige.  :D

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on August 01, 2019, 11:14:03 AM


Earlier I gave to these symphonies a revisit. My last memories told me that these works weren't appealing enough, and how wrong I was! I'm so glad to having changed my mind. The 1st Symphony is majestic and with certain struggle, mostly in the 1st movement. The 2nd movement is so inspired, it has an ethereal appeal to it. The 3rd movement is the culmination of greatness, a blaze of intense light. The ending is mightily uplifting and glorious.

The 2nd Symphony is a bit less good, but even so it doesn't disappoint at all. Inspired by the Greek mythology, it's much more succesful than other works with similar inspiration. And those ancient evocations are fairly felt. All in all, two of those fruitful rediscoveries.

There are two additional symphonies that haven't seen the light of day. Hopefully cpo or another advocate recording label will bring them to us in the near future.

+ one more.  8)
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: Christo on March 20, 2020, 10:56:23 AM
Sometimes, indeed oftentimes, posts like these make me walk to my cd wall and put one on top of my pile. This one is right up there now, will duly oblige.  :D

+ one more.  8)

8)
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

Roy Bland

#692

Symphonic Addict

That looks like an interesting release. Thanks for posting it.
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 March 31, 2020, 04:04:09 PM
That looks like an interesting release. Thanks for posting it.
+1 I have a CD of his music somewhere.
"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).

SonicMan46

Quote from: Roy Bland on March 31, 2020, 03:12:20 PM


Hey Roy - you need to learn to reduce the SIZE of your images - an easy task by inserting 'height' or 'width' in the leading [img ] brackets - quote this post to see that your image above now shows [img height=300], my addition - Dave

Christo

Quote from: Roy Bland on March 31, 2020, 03:12:20 PM


Own both symphonies in their former BIS and Simax releases, love them verily, will certainly buy this new release ASAP.  :)
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

vandermolen

Quote from: Christo on April 02, 2020, 12:35:36 AM
Own both symphonies in their former BIS and Simax releases, love them verily, will certainly buy this new release ASAP.  :)
+1
"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


Symphonic Addict



I often wonder how many musical treasures remain undiscovered in benefit of the mainstream stuff. Well, I'm so grateful with Dacapo for having brought one of those real beauties to life: the unabashedly extraordinary Symphony No. 3 in C major by Ludolf Nielsen. I can't be wrong calling it a masterpiece. Seriously speaking, the work does deserve such praises. It emanates grandeur and nobility in generous doses, besides striking themes, precise orchestration (scored for a big orchestra including 6 horns, tam-tam, tubular bells, among others) and a cohesive development. I can say it possesses all the ingredients I cherish in a symphony. The 1st movement has some Brucknerian gestures, mostly given to the brass, and a sense of nobility is easily perceivable. The 2nd mov. has that elf-and-fairy-like scherzo, sheer magic. The 3rd mov. begins with a quiet pastoral mood, but later the calm is broken with the arrival of a stormy fragment of significant imposingness, really tremendous; the apparent serenity returns afterwards but in a sadder way. The last movement is featured by agitated passages with certain similarity to those found in Mahler's symphonies. It's dramatic in the first minutes. An impressive climax builds up leading into potent brass, clashing cymbals, fierce timpani and tam-tam strokes, a super stirring moment. The work ends in the most possible poetic way. An incredible journey this symphony is.

With Ludolf it seems like his next symphony is better than the previous one, and I'm not demeaning the first two at all, they're splendorous for their own right.

All in all, this is one of the most epic symphonies I know, and a most fruitful rediscovery for me lately. The Bamberger Symphoniker play this work with real gusto under a conductor who understood the score. That's another big plus. I urge fans of late-Romantic works/symphonies to give it a try. I can't recommend it enough.
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