A place to discuss the barely known Swedish composer, Yngve Skold. Although his 2nd symphony was once hailed "the greatest Swedish symphony of all time", Skold's reputation has decreased in recent years and unfortunately very few of his works are recorded or in the standard repetoire. Hopefully he shall find some more appreciation here on GMG! :)
I absolutely love his music, especially the 4 symphonies, the violin concerto, horn concerto etc.
If you do not know his music, a few of his works such as the 2nd symphony and violin concerto have been recorded, but you can find a wider variety of his works on youtube which one of his relatives (who I am good friends with :) ) uploaded. :) Get listening/commenting! :)
Daniel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDRhpoTvOgY&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDRhpoTvOgY&feature=related)
Here is a good place to start, the first movement of the 2nd symphony. Enjoy!
Daniel
Review of this disc here-
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/Feb03/skold.htm
It is-agreed-a delightful work and Skold's neglect is certainly undeserved. I am not sure who hailed the symphony as "the greatest Swedish symphony of all time" but that is hyperbole, I am afraid ;D It isn't that!
But well done to his young relative Erik who is trying to encourage people to listen to the music through youtube :)
Quote from: madaboutmahler on September 07, 2011, 03:04:34 AM
his 2nd symphony was once hailed "the greatest Swedish symphony of all time"
May I ask who said that? An odd ball review or a widely held opinion? There is a big difference there.
Quote from: Dundonnell on September 07, 2011, 04:54:11 AM
Review of this disc here-
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/Feb03/skold.htm
It is-agreed-a delightful work and Skold's neglect is certainly undeserved. I am not sure who hailed the symphony as "the greatest Swedish symphony of all time" but that is hyperbole, I am afraid ;D It isn't that!
But well done to his young relative Erik who is trying to encourage people to listen to the music through youtube :)
Hello Colin,
I am not sure who said that, just a quote Erik told me. :) It's probably my personal favourite swedish symphony though. :)
Daniel
I believe it was Kanye West, interrupting an award acceptance speech by Allan Pettersson.
Quote from: madaboutmahler on September 07, 2011, 03:04:34 AM
A place to discuss the barely known Swedish composer, Yngve Skold. Although his 2nd symphony was once hailed "the greatest Swedish symphony of all time", Skold's reputation has decreased in recent years and unfortunately very few of his works are recorded or in the standard repetoire. Hopefully he shall find some more appreciation here on GMG! :)
I absolutely love his music, especially the 4 symphonies, the violin concerto, horn concerto etc.
If you do not know his music, a few of his works such as the 2nd symphony and violin concerto have been recorded, but you can find a wider variety of his works on youtube which one of his relatives (who I am good friends with :) ) uploaded. :) Get listening/commenting! :)
Daniel
It's one of the little problems of classical music I think, there are many brilliant composers who unfortunately aren't as appreciated as they would deserve.......
Apart from the orchestral works you mentioned, I particularly like the Sonatina for Flute & Piano, and the Prelude and Fugue, quasi una fantasia.
Is really Erik a relative of Yngve Skold? Amazing! :D
Quote from: madaboutmahler on September 07, 2011, 05:27:21 AMIt's probably my personal favourite swedish symphony though. :)
Daniel
My only question is how many Swedish symphonies have you heard?
Quote from: madaboutmahler on September 07, 2011, 05:27:21 AMIt's probably my personal favourite swedish symphony though. :)
Daniel
Okay, your homework assignment is Kurt Atterberg Symphonies 3, 5, 7, and 8. ;D
But I will be very happy to listen to as much Skold as I can get my hands on!
Quote from: Brian on September 07, 2011, 08:26:59 PM
Okay, your homework assignment is Kurt Atterberg Symphonies 3, 5, 7, and 8. ;D
But I will be very happy to listen to as much Skold as I can get my hands on!
Or Alfven's symphonies or Pettersson's or Stenhammar's or Berwald's or Rangstrom's....
My own personal best among Swedish symphonies is Stenhammars no 2, Nystrøms Sinfonia del Mare, Petterson 6-8 and most of Hilding Rosenbergs, with honorable mentions to Atterberg and Berwald. Alfven and Petterson-Berger not so much (too longwinded and loose), but I have orderes the BIS disc of Blomdahl to investigate those.
Quote from: The new erato on September 07, 2011, 11:40:07 PM
I have orderes the BIS disc of Blomdahl to investigate those.
Blomdahl was such a disappointment for me. Maybe I will give him another change later.
How about this one:
Skold, Yngve [1899-1992]: Poem for Cello & Piano; Sonata for Cello & Piano, Op.27
It is available at BRO. I just put it into my cart.
Skold (and Melchers and Koch) is a couple of names I have noted for future investigations of Swedish music.
Quote from: Mirror Image on September 07, 2011, 08:21:02 PM
My only question is how many Swedish symphonies have you heard?
Quite a few.
Quote from: Mirror Image on September 07, 2011, 08:41:25 PM
Or Alfven's symphonies or Pettersson's or Stenhammar's or Berwald's or Rangstrom's....
Alfven, Atterberg and Stenhammar as well as the Skold. Berwald doesn't do much for me, I admit I don't know much Rangstrom though, at least not that well.
Daniel
Quote from: springrite on September 07, 2011, 11:44:38 PM
Blomdahl was such a disappointment for me. Maybe I will give him another change later.
How about this one:
Skold, Yngve [1899-1992]: Poem for Cello & Piano; Sonata for Cello & Piano, Op.27
It is available at BRO. I just put it into my cart.
I had very high hopes for the cello music disc based on my liking for Skold's Symphony & Violin Concerto, but alas found the works altogether lacklustre. I'd be surprised if you came to a different judgement.
Quote from: J on September 08, 2011, 07:59:39 AM
I had very high hopes for the cello music disc based on my liking for Skold's Symphony & Violin Concerto, but alas found the works altogether lacklustre. I'd be surprised if you came to a different judgement.
Well, do let us know what you think springrite. I think it is a rather nice work! Although I think his best work obviously lied in the orchestral music. His symphonies, concertos etc are excellent.
Daniel
Apart from No.2, do you have access to Skold's other symphonies, Daniel?
It is surely very difficult-if not impossible-to compare the Swedish romantics from Berwald through to the generation which would include Peterson-Berger(b.1867), Stenhammer
(b. 1871), Alfven(b.1872), Natanael Berg(b. 1879), Rangstrom(b. 1884) and Atterberg(b.1887) with those Swedish composers who began to incorporate more 'modern' trends in European music into their compositions, people like Nystroem, Rosenberg, Wiren, Pettersson and Blomdahl.
There is plenty of room for both ;D I certainly like many of the Peterson-Berger and Atterberg symphonies but I wouldn't want to be without the music of a great and under-recorded composer like Rosenberg.
Quote from: madaboutmahler on September 08, 2011, 08:02:24 AM
Well, do let us know what you think springrite. I think it is a rather nice work! Although I think his best work obviously lied in the orchestral music. His symphonies, concertos etc are excellent.
Daniel
The least we can agree on, I suppose, is that the Cello Sonata is definitely not mature Skold, - it was written in his early twenties, I believe. My own recollection is that he repeats the same tiresome themes over and over again with only the most threadbare development. I tried very hard to like the work, with only increasing exasperation.
The best Swedish Cello Sonatas?
Of those I have heard probably Atterberg in a more romantic vein, - with a gorgeous slow movement, as one might expect, - and the much more astringent Rosenberg Sonata among the modernist composers.
Quote from: Dundonnell on September 08, 2011, 01:05:11 PM
Apart from No.2, do you have access to Skold's other symphonies, Daniel?
Unfortunately, only movements I believe, that my friend Erik (as I said, a relative of Yngve) has uploaded to youtube.
no.3 m1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEvm_Yv832w
no.4 scherzo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYEa25vJ8ig
I wish more conductors/orchestras would perform his symphonies, it is amazing that his 1st symphony has never been performed!
Daniel
Listening to the Symphony No.3, First Movement on youtube.
Was this taken from a radio broadcast? Presumably it was. In which case where is the rest of the symphony?
It is romantic but self-confident late romanticism. It is the sort of music which would have been regarded as out of place and out of time in Sweden by the 1940s onwards but could now get a favourable reception.
....AND I am impressed by the Scherzo of Symphony No.4!
If young Erik was able to make contact with a record label like CPO in Germany or Sterling in his native Sweden they might be interested!
Quote from: Dundonnell on September 10, 2011, 05:23:50 AM
Listening to the Symphony No.3, First Movement on youtube.
Was this taken from a radio broadcast? Presumably it was. In which case where is the rest of the symphony?
It is romantic but self-confident late romanticism. It is the sort of music which would have been regarded as out of place and out of time in Sweden by the 1940s onwards but could now get a favourable reception.
....AND I am impressed by the Scherzo of Symphony No.4!
If young Erik was able to make contact with a record label like CPO in Germany or Sterling in his native Sweden they might be interested!
Probably was a radio broadcast, yes. Not sure about the rest of the symphony! I will ask Erik! :)
Glad you enjoyed those two movements.
I shall suggest that to Erik. Apparently Skold's works have been suggested to the major Swedish orchestras before and they didn't want to programme them, as he was not an "international composer". If I am successful in my ambition as a composer, I will make sure to program some of Skold's works! :)
Daniel
Bo Hyttner (the boss of Sterling) has recorded plenty of Swedish music which is not "international"; as indeed have CPO.
An orchestra will play anything if they get paid to do it ;D ;D ;D
http://www.sterlingcd.com/catalogue/
Quote from: Dundonnell on September 10, 2011, 07:57:35 AM
Bo Hyttner (the boss of Sterling) has recorded plenty of Swedish music which is not "international"; as indeed have CPO.
An orchestra will play anything if they get paid to do it ;D ;D ;D
http://www.sterlingcd.com/catalogue/
haha ;) Well, I will suggest it to Erik! :)
Daniel
Seriously....
Recording music is all about money. If you can persuade a record company to invest in making a recording you will always be able to find an orchestra who-if paid in full and on time ;D ;D-will play the piece and a conductor to conduct it. There ARE conductors out there who claim to be able to conduct anything and who want their name noticed.
Even better....find a Radio Orchestra, in Germany or the United Kingdom, for example, whose musicians do not have to be paid extra because recording is part of their contract.
Then you just have to pay the conductor and the radio company/station ;D ;D
The trick is to interest the record label :)
Quote from: Dundonnell on September 10, 2011, 08:10:31 AM
Seriously....
Recording music is all about money. If you can persuade a record company to invest in making a recording you will always be able to find an orchestra who-if paid in full and on time ;D ;D-will play the piece and a conductor to conduct it. There ARE conductors out there who claim to be able to conduct anything and who want their name noticed.
Even better....find a Radio Orchestra, in Germany or the United Kingdom, for example, whose musicians do not have to be paid extra because recording is part of their contract.
Then you just have to pay the conductor and the radio company/station ;D ;D
The trick is to interest the record label :)
I suppose it is! I shall forward this message to Erik as a suggestion! :)
Daniel
Listened to symphony No 2 in the car yesterday and enjoyed it. It has a catchy first movement and a slow movement of wistful melancholy, rising to an impassioned climax. The last movement was more uninhibited than expected - quite exciting with lots of drum sequences. Peterson-Berger and Atterberg often came to mind.
I just stumbled across this composer on YouTube. I agree with the posters here in saying that his Symphony No.2 is really very good and deserves a place in the repertoire. Unfortunately his other works don't seem so interesting.
This is a tremendously attractive piece! So Nordic, so heartfelt, invigorating. And yeah, definitely great comparisons with Atterberg, Peterson-Berger, Stenhammar, Rangström. Easly at the same league. Like Sköld, Rosenberg has a special appeal to my tastes as well.
This week I came across this composer again and I listened to his symphonies 2-4. No. 2 is a very joyful work, but the next ones are much more serious and menacing. No. 4 (on the video below) made an especially strong impression on me. I consider it should belong to the greatest Swedish symphonies. A powerful and brooding piece that somehow reminded of Holmboe in its intensity and severity. The recording and performance are more than serviceable, something important to appreciate the quality of the music.
https://www.youtube.com/v/6D4d9efOrqg
I find the work (Symphony No.4) gray and anonymous, without thematic distinction, and lacking coherence, - my first listen reaction only, but its greatness is not apparent. We hear with different ears. Skold's Symphony No.2 is just far more communicative and ingratiating (you'd likely agree), with No.4 expressive of a private world you must share in some fashion, but most will not.
I'm glad to disagree with you. I don't need to be an expert to detect when a work is interesting or not, and this one is for me. I hear different things in this gripping symphony. Music is not always about memorable themes. The way this work unfolds makes it for me.
I wonder what works are interesting for you.
When you make the claim for a heretofore utterly obscure work that it belongs among the "greatest Swedish Symphonies" you might not be wrong, but there's a hurdle to surmount if you wish to move that judgment out from the realm of mere subjectivity (which you might not care to).
But stopping short of that hurdle, and speaking only out of my own subjectivity as well, lining up Skold's 4th with, say, the respective 2nd & 3rd Symphonies of Nystroem & Rosenberg (which all share a somewhat similar language, wouldn't you agree?), I question if Skold doesn't fall way short.
Not that we need to rank everything, or insist on a uniformity of likes and dislikes, but it just raised my eyebrows that a work you found so superlative largely failed to hold my attention, let alone grip me in any way whatsoever. Repetition could change that assessment, of course. Interested to hear others' evaluation if they are drawn to a listen.
Quote from: J on May 23, 2021, 02:22:17 PM
When you make the claim for a heretofore utterly obscure work that it belongs among the "greatest Swedish Symphonies" you might not be wrong, but there's a hurdle to surmount if you wish to move that judgment out from the realm of mere subjectivity (which you might not care to).
But stopping short of that hurdle, and speaking only out of my own subjectivity as well, lining up Skold's 4th with, say, the respective 2nd & 3rd Symphonies of Nystroem & Rosenberg (which all share a somewhat similar language, wouldn't you agree?), I question if Skold doesn't fall way short.
Not that we need to rank everything, or insist on a uniformity of likes and dislikes, but it just raised my eyebrows that a work you found so superlative largely failed to hold my attention, let alone grip me in any way whatsoever. Repetition could change that assessment, of course. Interested to hear others' evaluation if they are drawn to a listen.
Regarding subjectivity, when I think of the great Swedish symphonies, I can only think of a few: Stenhammar's 2nd, Pettersson's 7th, Nystroem's
Sinfonia del Mare and Atterberg's 3rd. I had listened to a bit of the Skold and found it pleasant, but I'm not doing cartwheels in terms of finding some hidden gem that has been brought to light and that has enriched my own musical journey.
Quote from: Mirror Image on May 24, 2021, 06:57:58 AM
Regarding subjectivity, when I think of the great Swedish symphonies, I can only think of a few: Stenhammar's 2nd, Pettersson's 7th, Nystroem's Sinfonia del Mare and Atterberg's 3rd. I had listened to a bit of the Skold and found it pleasant, but I'm not doing cartwheels in terms of finding some hidden gem that has been brought to light and that has enriched my own musical journey.
I'd add Rosenberg's 3rd Symphony (possibly 2, 4, 6 as well) as well as Atterberg's No.5 'Funebre' to your list of great Swedish symphonies John.
Quote from: vandermolen on May 24, 2021, 07:48:21 AM
I'd add Rosenberg's 3rd Symphony (possibly 2, 4, 6 as well) as well as Atterberg's No.5 'Funebre' to your list of great Swedish symphonies John.
Very nice, Jeffrey. I've got Rosenberg's 3rd, I should revisit it.