Gerhard Schjelderup - Symphonic Drama 'Brand'; Symphony No. 2 (Eivind Aadland)

Information

Composer: Gerhard Schjelderup

• (01) Brand, symphonic drama
• (10) Symphony No. 2 'To Norway'

Trondheim Symphony Orchestra
Eivind Aadland, conductor

Date: 2007
Label: cpo
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/Gerhard-Schjelderup-1859-1933-Symphonie-Nr-2/hnum/2482341

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

On evidence here, Gerhard Schjelderup (1859-1933) was a very good composer. Brand, a “symphonic drama” based on Ibsen, is a 30-minute hunk of post-Wagnerian Sturm und Drang, opulently scored and consistently engaging. The section titles tell it all (the work plays continuously): “Journey through fog and storm to the highest peak”; “Love in suffering and desire”; “All or Nothing!”; “He who has beheld Jehovah must die”; “My God is storm”; and of course, “Death of a hero”. Now come on, admit it–you want to hear this, don’t you? It’s all there: soaring strings and harps, heroic brass chorals, crashing percussion–the works. But more to the point, it’s really well done and thematically attractive.

The Second Symphony, despite the title “To Norway”, has few overtly nationalist qualities. It was composed in 1923 (Brand dates from about 1910), and once again the movements have programmatic titles: “The Sea”; “Spring”; “The mountain plateau”; “Up to the highest peaks!”. Schjelderup obviously was into peaks, and once again the symphony has more than its share. There are also a few dead spots, particularly in the first movement–this is a pretty glum, northern-style sea; but the third movement is hauntingly beautiful, and in the finale Schjelderup once again pulls out all the stops with great confidence.

The performances are very good. The Trondheim orchestra could benefit from a larger string section and a more massive sonority at the climaxes, but we’re not likely to hear better anytime soon. Such is the quality of the music that it makes little sense to quibble, particularly as the sonics are excellent. If you like late-Romantic, let-it-all-hang-out Germanic orchestral music, you will surely love this disc.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.classicalmusicsentinel.com/KEEP/keep-schjelderup-sym2.html
https://www.allmusic.com/album/gerhard-schjelderup-symphonic-drama-brand-symphony-no-2-mw0001955765
https://www.audaud.com/gerhard-schjelderup-brand-symphonic-drama-symphony-no-2-to-norway-trondheim-symphony-orchestra-eivind-aadland-cpo/
https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Schjelderup-Brand-Symphony-No-Norway/dp/B002X669I6

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Gerhard Schjelderup (November 17, 1859 – July 29, 1933) was a Norwegian composer, known especially for his operas. Born in Kristiansand, Norway, Schjelderup studied with Auguste Franchomme and Augustin Savard in Paris. He also studied with Jules Massenet at the Conservatoire de Paris. Schjelderup was introduced to the work of Richard Wagner while in Paris, which inspired him to write many operas, though he also composed a number of orchestral and chamber works. He also wrote on music for Norwegian publications, and wrote biographies of Edvard Grieg and of Wagner.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_Schjelderup

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Eivind Aadland (born 19 September 1956) is a Norwegian conductor and violinist. As a violinist, Aadland has been concert master of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. He was Chief Conductor and Artistic Leader of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra from 2004-2010, and maintains a regular relationship with many Scandinavian orchestras, including the Oslo and Bergen Philharmonics, Stavanger Symphony and Swedish Chamber Orchestra. Aadland's recording output encompasses a diverse range of repertoire and he is a champion of Norwegian and Swedish composers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eivind_Aadland
http://eivindaadland.com/

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