Scandinavian and Finnish composers.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

If one is to be clued by his avatar, I think Henk is a versatile listener  .

Erm... you're right!

[Henk]

Henk, be careful with Langgaard. I have noticed you like modern music best, so if you try Langgaard, begin with his most advanced piece - 'Music of the Spheres'. Most of the symphonies will be too romantic for you (or are you into late Romantic music?!)

I have heard Music of the Spheres already one time. Yes I'm into late Romantic music now, there's really much to explore in this genre, as you did before me.

[Henk]

If one is to be clued by his avatar, I think Henk is a versatile listener  .

Yes I dig nearly everything. Only Mozart is one of those composers I'm not really fond of..

[Lilas Pastia]

Who are the others?

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I have heard Music of the Spheres already one time. Yes I'm into late Romantic music now, there's really much to explore in this genre, as you did before me.

Excellent! My Langgaard recommendations (if you can get them) -

4, 5 and 6 under Järvi (Chandos)

10 under Stupel (Danacord, together with 11 - crazy piece! - and 12 - short but sweet)

13 and 16 (Stupel)

and 14 (Stupel, with 8 and 15, of which the first movement is terrific)

For one reason or another, I can't like Dausgaard in this repertoire. You must have a visionary streak to do this music justice, which he lacks, IMO.

[Henk]

Who are the others?

Brahms, Schnittke and Shostkovich. Schnittke and Shostakovich sound so aggressive, but I'll try again later.

[Varg]

Brahms, Schnittke and Shostkovich. Schnittke and Shostakovich sound so aggressive, but I'll try again later.

Did you try his German Requiem?

[rubio]

I listened to these two accounts of the 4th symphony, Järvi and Westerberg, both with Stockholm PO. This is my favourite Alfven work - atmospheric and seductive. You could think about a beautiful summer day in the ocean of Sweden. Westerberg is a bit more dramatic and maybe I prefer it slightly over Järvi. I also get associations with painting when I listen to this kind of music.

 

[vandermolen]

I listened to these two accounts of the 4th symphony, Järvi and Westerberg, both with Stockholm PO. This is my favourite Alfven work - atmospheric and seductive. You could think about a beautiful summer day in the ocean of Sweden. Westerberg is a bit more dramatic and maybe I prefer it slightly over Järvi. I also get associations with painting when I listen to this kind of music.

 

My favourite Alfven too + I have a recording on Russian Disc.

[Dundonnell]

Hmm...I was just about to order that CD! Will have a second thought!

I did finally order this CD from Arkiv and I have to say that I am favourably impressed by Pingoud's tone poems!

There is obviously a very considerable Russian romantic influence and fin de siecle intensity but not the Scriabinesque neuroticism I was perhaps anticipating

'Le prophete', ' Le fetich' and 'Le chant de l'espace' are each really rather grand and I am-at times-reminded of the music of Sir Arnold Bax, oddly enough The last two end with quite splendid dramatic climaxes!

I must confess that I had been in no great hurry to play this CD after it arrived but now I want to hear these works again and that is always a good sign

[rubio]

Stenhammar's 2nd performed by Stig Westerberg/Stockholm PO. I love some of these Scandinavian symphonic composers and their clear inspirations from the majestic nature. I'm not sure if I prefer this one or the Neeme Järvi reading. I have to check how they compare in this work.

[Lilas Pastia]

A lovely work. Just about everything I've heard from Stenhammar sounds lovely.

Piano? Lovely. Violin and orchestra? Loverrrly. Voice and piano? Purrrrfectly lovely. Orchestra? Expansively lovely. I yet have to find a Stenhammar work that doesn't sound lovely. By which I don't mean the music may sound undramatic or lacking structure. A Viking Mendelssohn.

[PerfectWagnerite]

Brahms, Schnittke and Shostkovich. Schnittke and Shostakovich sound so aggressive, but I'll try again later.

You can call Brahms a lot of things, aggressive is probably not one of them.

[The new erato]

A lovely work. Just about everything I've heard from Stenhammar sounds lovely.

Piano? Lovely. Violin and orchestra? Loverrrly. Voice and piano? Purrrrfectly lovely. Orchestra? Expansively lovely. I yet have to find a Stenhammar work that doesn't sound lovely. By which I don't mean the music may sound undramatic or lacking structure. A Viking Mendelssohn.

You forgot the 6 string quartets. THE major cycle of romantic quartets in Scandinavia/Finland. Gorgeous works.

[Lilas Pastia]

That's because I've never heard them, so I could not comment. It's the only Stenhammar I don't have. I just never came across them .

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Stenhammar's 2nd performed by Stig Westerberg/Stockholm PO. I love some of these Scandinavian symphonic composers and their clear inspirations from the majestic nature. I'm not sure if I prefer this one or the Neeme Järvi reading. I have to check how they compare in this work.

Westerberg 'wins', IMO. I really miss this performance (i.e. listened to it many many years ago, borrowed from the library). Järvi is too rushed. Westerberg invests the last movement with the Brucknerian grandeur it deserves.

[Dundonnell]

Have you returned for keeps, Johan? Or is this just another "window of opportunity"...technically speaking, that is

[Ugh!]

Regarding Norwegian music, the Norwegians seem more reticent in promoting their music than the Finns. There was(is?) a label called Aurora which issued quite a lot of interesting stuff-Klaus Egge's Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 and 4, Piano Concerto No.2 and Cello Concerto, Conrad Baden's Symphony No.6, Bjarne Brustad's Symphony No. 2, Hallvard Johnsen's Symphony No.3, and Eivind Groven's big choral 'Draumkvaedet" -but these were all issued twenty years ago.
Simax(which definitely is still going strong) has issued Groven's Symphony No.2 and Piano Concerto, Olav Kielland's Symphony No.1 and Ludvig Irgens Jensen's huge choral 'Heimferd', Symphony, Tema con variazioni and Japanischer Fruhling(Jensen's Passacaglia and Partita Sinfonica-both fine works-were also on a twenty-year old CD) but, again, these were issued over 15 years ago. Apart from the new Braein CD discussed above I can't think of much else.

In the last decade BIS has seemed to take over with its Saeverud cycle, CDs of music by Geirr Tveitt, Groven's Symphony No. 1 and the new Fartein Valen cycle. Even the indefatigable CPO seems to have restricted its output to the Christian Sinding symphonies.

Two very fine living Norwegian composers-Halvor Haug and Ragnar Soderlind-are under-represented in the catalogues. (Arne Nordheim lies outside my area of taste!). On a visit to Oslo a couple of years ago or so I was disappointed to find little recently recorded music by Norwegian composers.

Contrast this with the efforts of Ondine in Finland or Dacapo in Denmark(although Ondine is branching out into music from other countries).

Of these composers-apart from Saeverud-the most interesting I think are Klaus Egge and Ludvig Irgens Jensen. As I remarked above it is sad that there has not been a modern set of the Egge symphonies. Egge was a composer of considerable musical craftsmanship and his music is at least interesting. The four purely orchestral works of Jensen I have heard(I am not sure that he wrote much else?) certainly deserve modern recordings and I am sure that Saraste intended to record some with the Oslo Philharmonic.

You are absolutely right that recently recorded music by Norwegian composers tend to be hard to find.  And as you mention, Aurora is a good place to start: http://www.musikkonline.no/shop/displayLabel.asp?id=1205. It is actually the record company of the Norwegian Composer's Guild. The series "Contemporary Music from Norway" (in cooperation between the Norwegian Composer's Guild and Polygram) during the 80's is highly recommended.

Two very exciting young Norwegian composer are Maja Ratkje and Lene Grenager. They are both part of various constellations and groups and compose idiosyncratic works mixing genres and often emphasizing improvisation. They have released music on various experimental labels around the world. The former is also an experimental vocalist, the latter a cellist and conductor, performing together in the group "Spunk".... 
http://www.ratkje.com/
http://www.grenager.no/

[Dundonnell]

Cripes! Pretty wayout stuff there

There was me talking about conservative, mainstream Norwegian composers of the mid 20th century

When i was on holiday in the little town of Stokmarknes on Hadseloya in the Vesteralen I discovered that it was the home town of a Norwegian rock band called Madrugada. Seemed incongruous somehow

[Ugh!]

Cripes! Pretty wayout stuff there

There was me talking about conservative, mainstream Norwegian composers of the mid 20th century

When i was on holiday in the little town of Stokmarknes on Hadseloya in the Vesteralen I discovered that it was the home town of a Norwegian rock band called Madrugada. Seemed incongruous somehow

Ha ha, rural Norway is also the hot spot for Black Metal bands. 

If however you are looking for something a little more mainstream, I would like to recommend:

Antonio Bibalo http://www.musikkonline.no/shop/displayAlbum.asp?id=25645 
http://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2002092514495660498054
The most prominent Norwegian opera composer, who died this year. But also wonderful piano works.

Jon Øyvind Ness http://www.musikkonline.no/shop/displayAlbum.asp?id=18560
With titles not far from our own Greg's: Wet Blubber Soup (2002), One Tooth Clapping (2001), Half Pint Pygmy (2001)....

Olav Anton Thommesen http://www.musikkonline.no/shop/displayAlbum.asp?id=28493
Postmodern composer who is fond of incorporating and recomposing existing works, not least Griegs...

Ketil Hvoslef http://www.musikkonline.no/shop/displayAlbum.asp?id=25740
Composer Harald Sæverud's son, but IMO much more interesting as a composer than his father.

Gunnar Sønstevold http://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2002100719403142618905
Mixed influences including jazz and twelve-tone music as well as a wish to combine amateur and professional musicians. His Litany in Atlanta, in memoriam Louis Armstrong is a remarkable work for orchestra, jazz orchestra, mixed (amateur) choir, and female reciter. Based on WEB Du Bois's poetic response to the 1906 Atlanta race riot. He was also the first Norwegian to use electronics in a composition (1958, The Tempest).

Arne Nordheim http://www.arnenordheim.com/
THE Norwegian contemporary composer who has become a symbol of modernism in Norway, in both positive and negative terms. Highly associated with his electroacoustic compositions (realized at Studio Eksperymentalne in Poland). For instance, his Poly-Poly for the Scandinavian pavillion at Expo in Osaka, Japan (1979) contains several tape loops that interact in a way that makes the piece last 302 years or so before the loops repeat. However, IMO his orchestral works that also make limited use of tape parts remain his most interesting compositions, including the ballet The Tempest (1979) and Epitaffio for orchestra and magnetic tape.

Sadly, the public interest for Norwegian contemporary music is rather abysmal and there are seldom reviews of premiere performances etc...