Harald Sæverud - Symphony No. 8; Cello Concerto (Ole Kristian Ruud; Truls Mørk)

Information

Composer: Harald Sæverud

• (01) Cello Concerto, Op. 7
• (04) Symphony No. 8 'Minnesota', Op. 40

Truls Mørk, cello
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra
Ole Kristian Ruud, conductor

Date: 2000
Label: BIS Records
https://bis.se/conductors/ruud-ole-kristian/saverud-symphony-no8-minnesota

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

Norway’s Harald Saeverud, who died in 1992 at the ripe old age of 95, was a distinctive voice in contemporary music. His (comparatively) early Cello Concerto, from 1930, dates from a period in which he briefly flirted with 12-tone composition, and accordingly it’s a thorny and uncompromising work that manages to remain remarkably fluent and clear. The chamber-like scoring, which presents memorable if necessarily chromatic melodies in kaleidoscopic combinations of solo instrument with individual orchestral groups (especially the winds), makes for bracing listening, and it’s very well played by cellist Truls Mork. This piece will never be popular, but it’s good to have on disc.

The Eighth Symphony was commissioned and premiered by the Minnesota Orchestra (then the Minneapolis Symphony) in 1958. It’s Saeverud’s most ambitious symphonic work, a big, bold, colorful score in the composer’s late, “bony” style: clearly tonal, acerbic, and scored without an ounce of excess fat. Its four movements reflect the history of Minnesota’s large Norwegian immigrant community and carry evocative subtitles: “Once upon a time…”, “Hope and longing”, “Gay day”, and “Man and machine”. There’s a lot to enjoy here: the pastoral interludes (complete with cowbells), sly references to folk song, and the mechanical sounds of the finale, all rendered with Saeverud’s keen ear and dry wit. The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra under Ole Kristian Ruud plays this far-from-easy music with real commitment, and sports some excellent first desk solos from the winds and brass. BIS’ sound is typically resplendent, making this a fine addition to its undeservingly little-known Saeverud series.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/aug00/saeverud.htm
https://www.amazon.com/Cello-Concerto-Symphony-No-Minnesota/dp/B00004SYCC

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Harald Sæverud (17 April 1897 – 27 March 1992) was a Norwegian composer. Sæverud studied at the Grieg Academy in Bergen with Borghild Holmsen, and at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik with Friedrich Koch. He is most known for his music to Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt, Rondo Amoroso, and the Ballad of Revolt. Sæverud wrote nine symphonies and a large number of pieces for solo piano. He was a frequent guest conductor of his own works with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Sæverud's central place in Norwegian and European music has resulted in many honorary awards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_S%C3%A6verud

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Truls Mørk (born 25 April 1961 in Bergen) is a Norwegian cellist. Mørk began his studies with Frans Helmerson at 17 at Edsberg Music Institute, then went on to study with the Russian cellist Natalia Shakhovskaya. Mørk's discography includes an award-winning recordings of the Shostakovich Cello Concertos and of Bach's Suites for Solo Cello. He has recorded for such labels as Virgin Classics and Harmonia mundi. Mørk holds a Professorship at the Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo. He performs on a rare Domenico Montagnana cello (Venice, 1723), whose scroll was made by Stradivarius.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truls_M%C3%B8rk

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Ole Kristian Ruud (born 2 October 1958, Lillestrøm) is a Norwegian conductor. He studied clarinet with Richard Kjelstrup at the Norwegian Academy of Music. He studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy and made his debut in Oslo with the National theater. Ruud was principal conductor of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. He has been professor of conducting at the Norwegian Academy of Music since 1999. In 2005, he completed recording the complete orchestral works of Grieg with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, for BIS records.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Kristian_Ruud

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