Mikael Rasmusson wrote:
>>... His [Leif Segerstam's] rather recent recording of Peterson-Berger
>>(Sym. 1 and 5) was nominated for a Swedish Grammy, an it's an outstanding
>>recording
Richard Pennycuick replies:
>I recall Don Satz was somewhat less than rapturous about Peterson->Berger's
2nd and my limited experience of minor late C19-early C20 >Swedish composers
(Lindberg, Norman) makes me more than usually >cautious about investigating
him, despite Mikael's recommendation (which >label is the CD, BTW?).
The label is Sterling, I can check the details at home, if you're
interested. I think Lindberg is OK, but Norman is slightly boring.
>I find much to admire in eg Alfven, Atterberg, Larsson, Stenhammar. Would
>Don or someone care to "rank" Peterson-Berger in some way?
Alfven: A Swedish Richard Strauss, unfortunately it was too much Strauss
and not enough Alfven after the First World War.
Atterberg: Sounds too German to me. Not so original.
Stenhammar: Reminds me (too much) of Rachmaninov (central European Late
Romanticism). The 2nd Symphony is of course a masterpiece and the Serenade
is entertaining. The 2nd Piano Concerto starts off well but then turns
Rach...
Larsson: Also an uneven Composer.
Peterson-Berger: Wrote 5 Symphonies (No 4 never recorded), 4 Operas (No
complete recordings), a number of Songs and Piano Works. You might call
him a Swedish Grieg. His musical language is original and what I would
call genuine Swedish.
His large-scale works may contain a moment or two of sudden loss of
inspiration, but to me he is No 1 in Sweden.
My ranking would be: Peterson-Berger, Rangstroem (have you heard of him?),
Berwald, Stenhammar, Alfven, Larsson, Atterberg.
Mikael Rasmusson <[log in to unmask]>
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