Wilhelm Peterson-Berger - Symphony No. 5; Violin Concerto (Michail Jurowski; Ulf Wallin)

Information

Composer: Wilhelm Peterson-Berger

• (01) Symphony No. 5 in B minor 'Solitudo'
• (05) Violin Concerto in F sharp minor

Ulf Wallin, violin

Norrköping Symphony Orchestra

Michail Jurowski, conductor

Date: 2005

Label: cpo

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

Despite its “Solitudo” subtitle, Wilhlem Peterson-Berger’s Symphony No. 5 has a mostly public, out-of-doors character. The work’s folk-music underpinnings, genial demeanor, and suite-like progression of movements bring to mind Goldmark’s Rustic Wedding Symphony, though the musical language is closer to Grieg. After a sunny, bucolic first movement and rustically dancing scherzo, the Andante beguiles with its disarmingly simple melodies dovetailed by lushly chromatic passages. The volatile finale has the feel of a tarantella (though, Berlioz-style), and ends the work in frothy high spirits. Throughout it all Peterson-Berger enchants the ear with his colorful orchestration and delightful tunes.

Peterson-Berger would seem to have taken fellow Scandinavian Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto as a model for his own. Both works feature stirring, rhapsodic first movements (including far-flung, virtuoso cadenzas), poignantly lyrical slow movements, and robustly dancing finales. In Peterson-Berger’s case the four violent chords that launch the attacca finale initially sound as if borrowed from Verdi’s Dies irae. But it’s soon clear he’s emulating another Italian composer, namely Puccini, as the music’s pentatonic harmonies and Chinese-style melodic contours unavoidably bring Turandot to mind.

Even so, the concerto is marked by its originality, clearly the work of a composer who writes brilliantly for the violin–a point confirmed by Ulf Wallin’s powerful and persuasive rendition of the solo part. Michail Jurowski and the Norrköping Symphony do much the same for the concerto’s orchestral accompaniment as well as for the symphony. CPO’s spacious recording relays the full dynamic range of the orchestra (including the well-captured bass drum) with impressive impact. If you’ve been looking to sample Peterson-Berger’s music, here’s a great place to start.

-- Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday

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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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Ulf Wallin is a Swedish violinist who was born in Växjö and grew up in Linköping. He studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna. Wallin has particular interest in contemporary music and close collaboration with composers such as Alfred Schnittke and Rodion Shchedrin. He has made numerous recordings for radio and television, and recorded over 40 CD recordings for BIS, cpo, EMI and BMG. Wallin is professor of violin at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" Berlin since 1996, and a member of the Royal Music Academy since 2015.
https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulf_Wallin

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