On the 26th of April there was a very rare opportunity to hear some
of Peterson-Berger's major works in concert.  The Norrkoping Symphony
Orchestra (NSO) is currently recording all of P-B's orchestral works,
including his violin concerto.  This concert, dedicated to P-B's music,
included the fifth symphony and the violin concerto, both which are to
be recorded later this month.

But the concert opened with P-B's own orchestration of five pieces
from the "Flowers of Froso" (recorded on NSO's latest P-B release).
The conductor Michail Jurowski and the orchestra both looked a bit tense,
and the tension was not entirely positive.  The orchestra did not sound
as focused and crisp as one could except after hearing their CDs.

Next up was the violin concerto with Ulf Wallin as the soloist.  Now the
orchestra responded better to maestro Jurowski, but the soloist struggled
during the first half of the first movement.  However, the cadenza halfway
through the movement was executed beatifully and from there on the soloist
was really back in the game.  But I still prefer the Phono Suecia recording
with Nilla Perriou, where in the fact the cadenza (and the sound to some
extent) is the least convincing part of the entire recording.

After the interval, P-Bs final symphony "Solitudo" was played.  I learned
that this symphony was a success when it was premiered in 1934, but the
critics were ruthless as expected (it was payback time), and the symphony
was soon to be largely forgotten for nearly 60 years.

The orchestra now looked much more relaxed and the performance was so
good that it could have been transferred to CD straight away.  This
symphony was recorded some five years ago with Segerstam conducting the
Royal Opera Orchestra of Stockholm.  Jurowski provided a different and
interesting interpretation.  In the first movement Jurowski interpreted
the con moto-indication as a Allegro moderato, while Segerstam's tempo
leaned towards Andante moderato.  This made a huge difference, and
Jurowski's approach resulted in a more stubborn than tragic atmosphere,
and the connection with swedish folk music was made even clearer than
in Segerstam's recording.  Having said that, I think that both approaches
are valid.

However, Jurowski's swifter approach resulted in a better balanced
symphony with a less dominating first movement.  Jurowski also managed
to link the final movement's contrasting sections into something meaningful
and coherent, which Segerstam could not achieve.

Mikael Rasmusson