Wilhelm Peterson-Berger - Symphony No. 1; Suite 'Last Summer' (Michail Jurowski)

Information

Composer: Wilhelm Peterson-Berger

• (01) Symphony No. 1 in B flat major, 'Banéret' (The Banner)
• (05) Suite 'I somras' (Last Summer)

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken

Michail Jurowski, conductor

Date: 1998

Label: cpo

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Review

The Swedish Wagnerite, poet and nationalist Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (1867-1942) was a late-Romantic more feared as critic than composer. Contemporaries and compatriots stung by his acid tongue (‘criticism must be ruthless,’ he believed) scorned him as a miniaturist. Yet his five music dramas and as many symphonies show he had the capacity to sustain a large-scale structure as successfully as pen an unforgettable idyll, to argue a learned fugue as refreshingly as indulge an old-time gallantry or occasional fanfare. His imaginatively individual sound-world, neither Sibelian nor Mahlerian, was one of mystic forest murmurs, winter frosts and spring flowers, luscious solos and grand tuttis. In the inevitability of his melody, rhythm and form seems to have lurked the Berwald touch. Memorably turned, unexpectedly angled, the first two symphonies (1903, 1910), both programmatic, comfortably hold their own, while the D minor Romance (1915) passionately incarnates the Chausson Poème in northern light. Last Summer (1903, drawing on piano originals) reveals the intimate watercolourist. Predictably big-boned and committed, Jurowski’s performances are outstanding, his orchestras giving him remarkable corporate and individual support. Vivid, physically immediate recording. Comprehensive notes from Stig Jacobsson. Splendid.

-- Ates Orga, BBC Music Magazine

More reviews:
https://www.amazon.com/Wilhelm-Peterson-Berger-Symphony-Baneret-Somras/dp/B00000DHRH

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/peterson-berger-complete-symphonies-violin-concerto

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/sept06/peterson-berger_symphonies_7771602.htm

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Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (27 February 1867, Ullånger, Ångermanland – 3 December 1942, Östersund) was a Swedish composer and music critic. As a composer, his main musical influences were Grieg, August Söderman and Wagner as well as Swedish folk idiom. He is best known for three albums of national romantic piano pieces (Frösöblomster I, II, III), which were composed over a period of 18 years (1896-1914). His other works include five symphonies, four operas and about eighty songs. His songs for vocal ensemble are also still regularly performed, and are part of the core repertoire of Swedish choirs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Peterson-Berger

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Michail Jurowski (born 25 December 1945 in Moscow) is a Russian conductor. He is the son of Soviet composer Vladimir Jurowski (1915-1972), and the father of Russian conductor Vladimir Jurowski (b. 1972). Jurowski studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Lev Ginzburg and Alexey Kandinsky, and also worked as assistant to Gennady Rozhdestvensky. Jurowski was music director and principal conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (1992-1998), the Leipzig Opera (1999-2001), and the WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln (2006-2008). He is currently principal guest conductor of the Sinfonia Iuventus in Warsaw.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michail_Jurowski
https://imgartists.com/roster/michail-jurowski/

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