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Saturday, November 10, 2018

Wilhelm Stenhammar - Sången; etc. (Neeme Järvi)


Information

Composer: Wilhelm Stenhammar
  • (01) Suite from Romeo och Julia, Op. 45 (arr. Hilding Rosenberg)
  • (06) Reverenza (original second movement of Serenade, Op. 31)
  • (07) Two Sentimental Romances, Op. 28
  • (09) Sången (The Song), symphonic cantata, Op. 44

Sara Trobäck, violin (7, 8)
Charlotta Larsson, soprano (9, 10)
Martina Dike. alto (9, 10)
Lars Cleveman, tenor (9, 10)
Fredrik Zetterström, baritone (9, 10)

Children’s Choir of Norrköpings Musikklasser
Gothenburg Symphony Choir & Vocal Ensemble
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor

Date: 2018
Label: BIS
http://bis.se/conductors/jarvi-neeme/stenhammar-sangen-symphonic-cantata-1

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Review

Wilhelm Stenhammar established the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra as one of the finest in the Nordic region as its first Chief Conductor (from 1907), while Neeme Järvi arguably turned it into one of the finest in Europe during his own reign, which ended in 2004. Not that this selection of works shows it off to the highest degree. All were born of Stenhammar’s tenure at the ensemble but none reaches the heights of the composer’s best works – his two piano concertos, Sixth String Quartet or Second Symphony, for example.

The main event is Sången, a two-part cantata that celebrates the birth of song and then erects a temple ‘legitimised solely by the power of music’ to it (Signe Rotter-Broman’s critical booklet note), in which a final orgy of poetry and music ensues. The score has passing, rousing brilliance but is generally more problematic, from the Arcadian nature of Part 1 to the congested triumphalism of Part 2. If it’s possible to be too inspired, Stenhammar is here. The performance less so. There is some slightly uneven, woolly choral singing and, on the whole, Herbert Blomstedt in Stockholm offers that bit more choral brightness and slow-burning atmosphere, particularly at the Intermezzo that launches Part 2.

At the other end of the compositional scale, Stenhammar’s music for Per Lindberg’s 1922 production of Romeo and Juliet has the distillation and one-mood-per-movement of Sibelius’s theatre scores. It is a slim but effective pastoral lined with tragedy. The influence of Sibelius (it’s worth remembering that both he and Carl Nielsen cleaved to Stenhammar’s Gothenburg orchestra while escaping criticism at home) is also felt in the cross-hatched textures, lingering brass chords and treatment of a small fragment as a fertile theme in the charming Reverenza, formerly the second half of the Serenade. The Two Sentimental Romances do what they say on the tin, with particularly sweet-toned playing from concertmaster Sara Trobäck.

-- Andrew Mellor, Gramophone

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Wilhelm Stenhammar (February 7, 1871 – November 20, 1927) was a Swedish composer, conductor and pianist. He received his first musical education in Stockholm, then went to Berlin to further his studies. Initially an admirer of German music, particularly that of Wagner and Bruckner, Stenhammar subsequently sought to write in a more "Nordic" style, looking to Nielsen and Sibelius for guidance. His works were quite varied and among them included 2 completed symphonies, a Serenade for Orchestra and two piano concertos. Stenhammar was also considered the finest Swedish pianist of his time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Stenhammar

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Neeme Järvi (born June 7, 1937 in Tallinn) is an Estonian conductor. He studied at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others. Järvi was Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Gothenburg Symphony (1982-2004), Royal Scottish National Orchestra (1984-1988), Detroit Symphony Orchestra (1990-2005) and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (2012-2015), among others. He made over 400 recordings for labels such as BIS, Chandos and Deutsche Grammophon and best known for his interpretations of Romantic and 20th century classical music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neeme_J%C3%A4rvi

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FLAC, tracks
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Enjoy!

6 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Oh! I really hope you can post Stenhammar string quartets and piano concertos! Bravo!!!

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  3. Any chance this could be re-uploaded? Thank you.

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. Choose one link, copy and paste it to your browser's address bar, wait a few seconds (you may need to click 'Continue' first), then click 'Free Access with Ads' / 'Get link'. Complete the steps / captchas if require.
    Guide for Linkvertise: 'Free Access with Ads' --> 'Get [Album name]' --> 'I'm interested' --> 'Explore Website / Learn more' --> close the newly open tab/window, then wait for a few seconds --> 'Get [Album name]'

    https://link-hub.net/610926/stenhammar-sangen
    or
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    or
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