Steve Schwartz offers a typically fine review of the new Alfven Symphony #4. A worthy piece to be sure. I did wonder about Steve's opening paragraph: > Hugo Alfven may be the most popular Swedish composer in Sweden. And wh= y > not? Marvelous tunes in sumptuous Straussian orchestrations characterize > him at his best. Unlike someone like Sibelius, Stenhammar, or Nielsen, > however, Alfven's music lacks a strong intellectual or architectural > component. Listeners usually don't have to fret over whether they will > "get it." When I lived in Sweden (first in the mid-70s and again in the mid-80s), I heard almost no Alfven other than his two folksy blockbusters "Midsommarvaka" and "Dalarapsodi." I never heard his symphonies on a Filharmonic concert. Still, Swedes do love those romantic folksong numbers. Steve is right about the good tunes and sumptuous orchestration, and listeners do definitely "get it." While I was there, the Swedish composer that seemed to get the most play was Lars-Erik Larsson. Then there was also quite a bit of Berwald, Stenhammar, Atterberg, Wiren, and early Rosenberg. But that was twenty years ago. Does anybody know who the most popular Swedish composers are these days? Maybe Alfven really has had a reawakening. In any case, you hear a heck of a lot more Swedish music in Sweden than American music in America. Fy, skam! David Lamb in Seattle *********************************************** The CLASSICAL mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's HDMail High Deliverability Mailer for reliable, lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html