Are Swedish composers unjustly neglected?

[Dundonnell]

Would somebody-anybody-please tell me if there is any point in making a serious contribution to this thread??

[karlhenning]

Serious contributions are their own justification.

[BachQ]

Would somebody-anybody-please tell me if there is any point in making a serious contribution to this thread??

People who refrain from taking this thread seriously will be pooped on by a flying monkey .........

[springrite]

People who refrain from taking this thread seriously will be pooped on by a flying monkey .........

The rest will be sat on by a pooping donkey!

[karlhenning]

You cheesy lot of second-hand electric donkey-bottom biters!

[Sergeant Rock]

Serious contributions are their own justification....

...and will be duly ignored.

Sarge

[Dundonnell]

Serious contributions are their own justification.

Ok! Point taken.

Here goes then-

It is true that Sweden almost certainly does not have a composer of genius to rank alongside Sibelius in Finland, Carl Nielsen in Denmark
or Grieg in Norway, although, arguably, Franz Berwald(1796-1868) was a composer of tremendous substance whose music has received inadequate exposure in the concert-hall.

There are a considerable of Swedish composers whose music has however been recorded in recent years and who have proved to be deserving of attention.

Berwald was followed by fine composers like Wilhelm Stenhammer(1871-1927) and the nationalists Wilhelm Peterson-Berger(1867-1942) and Hugo Alfven(1872-1960). All three of these composers wrote worthy, colourful symphonies which certainly give me a lot of pleasure. There are those who would regard Stenhammer's symphonies even more highly.

The next generation-the so-called 'generazione dell'Ottanta'-includes Ture Rangstrom(1884-1947) and Kurt Atterberg(1887-1974). Rangstrom was as better song composer than symphonist but his four symphonies are jolly, rumbustuous works which I admit to finding fun. Atterberg's symphonies are enjoying a mini-revival and are well worth hearing.

Responding more to developments in 20th century European music were the (one-time) 'grand old man' of Swedish music Hilding Rosenberg(1892-1985), Gosta Nystroem(1890-1966), Lars-Erik Larsson(1908-86), Dag Wiren(1905-86), Karl-Birger Blomdahl(1916-68) and, of course, Allan Pettersson(1911-80)-who needs no introduction here!!

There are-of course- younger composers with whose music I am not so familiar(Ingvar Lidholm, for example).

Have these composers been neglected? Well, yes, outside Sweden and in the concert-hall. On disc? No, I think to be fair MOST of them have been given a fair degree of attention by record companies with the certain exception in recent years of Hilding Rosenberg.

What IS odd is that the German company CPO has served the cause of Swedish music rather better than the principal Swedish company BIS.
It is CPO that has provided complete cycles of the symphonies of Peterson-Berger, Rangstrom, Atterberg, Wiren and Pettersson. BIS has done cycles of Alfven and Nystroem in recent years and the Larsson and Blomdahl symphonies are available from that company in rather older recordings. Some of Alfven's many choral compositions can be obtained on the Sterling label. But-as I have remarked here before-we do need a complete cycle of Rosenberg's symphonies and concertos in modern recordings.

Right...there is my contribution. I am sure that many others are much more clued-up on more modern Swedish composers than I am!!

[karlhenning]

Right...there is my contribution. I am sure that many others are much more clued-up on more modern Swedish composers than I am!!

I am not so sure of that.  Nice post, thank you!

[Dundonnell]

...and will be duly ignored.

Sarge

Thank you for that!!

[Sergeant Rock]

There are those who would regard Stenhammer's symphonies even more highly.

(May I borrow your table, Karl?)

Sarge, pounding the table.

[karlhenning]

(May I borrow your table, Karl?)

Al vostro servizio!

[greg]

Where is the "ALL OF THE ABOVE" button? You can't expect me to bother to click so many times to select all the choices manually myself!

edited. 

[greg]

Ok! Point taken.

Here goes then-

It is true that Sweden almost certainly does not have a composer of genius to rank alongside Sibelius in Finland, Carl Nielsen in Denmark
or Grieg in Norway, although, arguably, Franz Berwald(1796-1868) was a composer of tremendous substance whose music has received inadequate exposure in the concert-hall.

There are a considerable of Swedish composers whose music has however been recorded in recent years and who have proved to be deserving of attention.

Berwald was followed by fine composers like Wilhelm Stenhammer(1871-1927) and the nationalists Wilhelm Peterson-Berger(1867-1942) and Hugo Alfven(1872-1960). All three of these composers wrote worthy, colourful symphonies which certainly give me a lot of pleasure. There are those who would regard Stenhammer's symphonies even more highly.

The next generation-the so-called 'generazione dell'Ottanta'-includes Ture Rangstrom(1884-1947) and Kurt Atterberg(1887-1974). Rangstrom was as better song composer than symphonist but his four symphonies are jolly, rumbustuous works which I admit to finding fun. Atterberg's symphonies are enjoying a mini-revival and are well worth hearing.

Responding more to developments in 20th century European music were the (one-time) 'grand old man' of Swedish music Hilding Rosenberg(1892-1985), Gosta Nystroem(1890-1966), Lars-Erik Larsson(1908-86), Dag Wiren(1905-86), Karl-Birger Blomdahl(1916-68) and, of course, Allan Pettersson(1911-80)-who needs no introduction here!!

There are-of course- younger composers with whose music I am not so familiar(Ingvar Lidholm, for example).

Have these composers been neglected? Well, yes, outside Sweden and in the concert-hall. On disc? No, I think to be fair MOST of them have been given a fair degree of attention by record companies with the certain exception in recent years of Hilding Rosenberg.

What IS odd is that the German company CPO has served the cause of Swedish music rather better than the principal Swedish company BIS.
It is CPO that has provided complete cycles of the symphonies of Peterson-Berger, Rangstrom, Atterberg, Wiren and Pettersson. BIS has done cycles of Alfven and Nystroem in recent years and the Larsson and Blomdahl symphonies are available from that company in rather older recordings. Some of Alfven's many choral compositions can be obtained on the Sterling label. But-as I have remarked here before-we do need a complete cycle of Rosenberg's symphonies and concertos in modern recordings.

Right...there is my contribution. I am sure that many others are much more clued-up on more modern Swedish composers than I am!!

Love your post, Dundonnell!
I'm giving you a million rounds of applause! 

in reference to how you find it odd that the German company CPO records more Swedish music than BIS.... here's a bit from Paul's review on amazon: (which needs better spelling, of course)

It was in 1975, 20 yrs after establishing himself as a mojor composer in Sweden, seems the Stockholm PO had a USA concert tour that was to include a sym from Pettersson. At the last minute the Stockholm altered the program to not include the Pettersson work. This cause much agitation and hurt to Petterson's spirit, as now even his country's main orch failed to give due respect and honor to their country's finest composer.

It seems like Sweden likes to neglect their own composers or something. Does not make a bit of sense to me. They must be in SERIOUS lack of killer vibrational fields.

[karlhenning]

I'm giving you a million rounds of applause! 

How long did that take you?

(No, I mean, really?)

[Brian]

I vote for
ATTERBERWALD

[greg]

How long did that take you?

(No, I mean, really?)

5 minutes. I'm pretty fast.

I vote for
ATTERBERWALD

ok, i'll add that one in there, too. Alongside Pedro.

[karlhenning]

Gosh, Dundonnell, that's more than 3,000 'rounds of applause' per second.

Scant applause, wasn't it? 

You deserve better than that.

[Dundonnell]

I am very grateful for the applause but it would be nice if someone else took this topic more seriously!

Or am I missing something here........like a sense of humour??

[karlhenning]

Well, how shall we test you for a sense of humor?

[greg]

I am very grateful for the applause but it would be nice if someone else took this topic more seriously!

Or am I missing something here........like a sense of humour??

no, i think the point of this thread is being proven- you're one of the few who even knows that much about Swedish composers.

Gosh, Dundonnell, that's more than 3,000 'rounds of applause' per second.

Scant applause, wasn't it? 

You deserve better than that.

what'd help is if you pounded the table 10,000 times per second....