Johan Svendsen

[Symphonic Addict]

No thread for this composer, so I started one on the strength of his String Octet in A major which I listened to a few minutes ago. This is an extraordinarily beautiful, memorable and very Nordic-sounding piece. It's his longest work and the longest string octet I know (more so than the Enescu's), lasting around 40-41 minutes, full of ideas that linger on the mind. In this octet Svendsen is not far from Dvorak in terms of writing memorable melodies.

This recording leaves nothing to be desired. Exemplary rendition.

[DaveF]

Heck, you're right, so well done for creating the thread!  I remember first coming across him in Tower Records in Piccadilly in the 80s, when they were playing a recording of the symphonies, which I bought on the spot and have loved ever since.  (Historical puzzle here - it must have been the Järvi recording, yet the one I have is the Engeset, not released until years later.)  He's much better at handling large-scale forms than Grieg, IMO.  Must give the Octet a listen.

There's the strange story of his wife having burned the MS of his 3rd symphony, which I'm not sure stands up to strict historical investigation.  It would be extra-sad if two final Nordic symphonies had ended up in the fire.

[Daverz]

His symphonies are a schnoozefest.  I'll check out the Octet.

[foxandpeng]

I'm really surprised that no thread existed for Svendsen before today! Thank you for rectifying the situation 🙂🙂

[DaveF]

His symphonies are a schnoozefest.

Well, they're not, although Järvi does his best to make them so on his later recording with the Bergen Phil.  For comparison, here he is taking 6½ minutes over the 3rd movement of no.1:

and here's Bjarte Engeset in Bournemouth, a 5-minute job:

Strangely, Järvi has added a minute to the timing of his earlier, Gothenburg, version, so this ponderous approach must have some thought behind it.

[J]

I can recall hearing both Violin & Cello Concertos by Svendsen, but not sure if they were commercial recordings.

[Symphonic Addict]

Well, they're not, although Järvi does his best to make them so on his later recording with the Bergen Phil.

Agreed, they are imbued with some beautiful melodies and have good writing overall (I could even prefer them over the Halvorsen's). The EMI recording featuring Jansons and the Oslo P.O. is quite fine as well.

[foxandpeng]

His symphonies are a schnoozefest.  I'll check out the Octet.

🤭🤭