Kurt Atterberg - Piano Concerto; Rhapsody; Ballade & Passcaglia (Love Derwinger; Ari Rasilainen)

Information

Composer: Kurt Atterberg

1. Rhapsody for piano & orchestra, Op. 1
2. Piano Concerto in B flat minor, Op. 37: I. Pesante allegro
3. Piano Concerto in B flat minor, Op. 37: II. Andante
4. Piano Concerto in B flat minor, Op. 37: III. Furiosa
5. Ballade & Passacaglia over a theme from a Swedish folk tune, Op. 38

Love Derwinger, piano (1-4)
NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Ari Rasilainen, conductor

Date: 2001
Label: CPO

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Review

Full­blooded Romanticism ably played

For those who like music trivia questions‚ what is the common link between the Op 1s of Béla Bartók and of Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg? Answer: they are both Rhapsodies for piano and orchestra. Bartók’s is – slightly – the earlier‚ but Atterberg’s (1908­09) is the more accomplished and characteristic piece‚ all the more strikingly so as he had at this time received little formal tuition. That said‚ the work as we have it here is the result of thoroughgoing revisions in 1912 and 1956. Perhaps its most remarkable feature is the fluency of the piano writing and the confident handling of the orchestration.

Atterberg’s Piano Concerto was begun in 1927‚ the year after Bartók had completed his First‚ but not finished until 1935. It is audibly the work of the same composer‚ which cannot be said when comparing Bartók’s concertos with his earlier Rhapsody. Atterberg’s model was Tchaikovsky’s B flat minor Concerto‚ and he produced a full­bloodedly Romantic work of considerable sweep‚ its heart very much on its sleeve. Although it does not sound overtly Russian in character‚ it should appeal to anyone responsive to‚ say‚ Rachmaninov‚ which is precisely how Derwinger and Rasilainen (rightly) take it in what proves an even more persuasive account than Dan Franklin Smith’s on Sterling (coupled with the Violin Concerto)‚ fine though that was. CPO’s sound is also rather fuller and richer‚ with greater depth‚ and for good measure they throw in the orchestral Ballade and Passacaglia‚ Op 38‚ of 1936‚ one of the Swede’s most attractive shorter scores.

-- Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: **** / SOUND: ****
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/Mar02/Kurt%20ATTERBERG.htm
http://www.classicalcdreview.com/kapc.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Piano-Concerto-K-Atterberg/dp/B00005QHS1

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Kurt Atterberg (12 December 1887 – 15 February 1974) was a Swedish composer and engineer, best known for his symphonies, operas and ballets. Atterberg composed nine symphonies, six concertante works, nine orchestral suites, three string quartets, five operas and two ballets. His works combine compositional styles of the Russians, Brahms and Reger with Swedish folk tunes. From 1924 to 1947, Atterberg was president of the Society of Swedish Composers, which he co-founded in 1918, alongside other prominent composers such as Ture Rangström, Wilhelm Stenhammar and Hugo Alfvén.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Atterberg

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Love Derwinger (born 1966) is a Swedish pianist and conductor. He made his début at the age of sixteen as soloist in Liszt’s Second Piano Concerto and since then has given recitals throughout Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan, the Middle East and South America. As a conductor, he successfully performed Morton Feldman’s opera Neither with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, one of the highlights of the international Stockholm New Music Festival. He also devotes much attention to chamber music, contemporary music and the Lieder repertoire.  Derwinger regularly accompanies soprano Barbara Hendricks.
http://www.eclassical.com/performers/derwinger-love/

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Ari Rasilainen (born 18 February 1959 in Helsinki) is a Finnish conductor. Rasilainen studied under Jorma Panula (conducting) at the Sibelius Academy, and later under Arvid Jansons (conducting) and Alexander Lobko (violin) in Berlin. He started his career as a violinist and was leader of the 2nd violins with the Helsinki Philharmonic (1980-1986). Rasilainen was Chief Conductor of the Lappeenranta City Orchestra (1984-1989), the Norwegian Radio Symphony (1994-2002), and the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (2002-2009). He has recorded More than 50 recordings for various labels.
https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ari_Rasilainen
http://www.arirasilainen.fi/

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