Well, as to Alfven, here's a quick precis of the moods of the 4 symphonies I remember (i haven't heard the 5th, actually, beyond snatches, so I won't try): sym. 1 in f minor- a novice work. .I. enjoy it a lot. No one else does, if Penguin Guide is any indication. Heard it a lot on WQXR around midnight, so maybe Nimet likes it too, actually. (Or was it WNYC, and I'm misremembering?) It's not deep. (But then, I don't think of the first rhapsody as "sappy", as Mr. Satz describes it, either; happy, yes, but sappy, no. All I can say is, if it bothers you that much, don't give up on Alfven until you've heard the 3rd Rhapsody, a quite different beast altogether- and not, by the way, to be confused with the 3rd symphony.) sym. 2 in D major/minor... have only heard first mvt. and finale, but hope to hear rest sometime; .very. striking. The first movement is cheery in a somewhat but not very subdued fashion, and the finale, a chorale and fugue IIRC, is .very. minor-mode. Tragic. Depressed. Nobly-doomed, if that doesn't give the wrong impression. This is a good one. sym. 3 in E major. Probably the best all around of the symphonies, and the one I've heard most often, though it doesn't necessarily leave the same impressions as 1 (imperfect, but, contagious!- to me anyhow!) or 2 (an impressive and ultimately bleak edifice). 3 is very enjoyable, though, and I think it deserves such popularity as it does have (and some more as well). sym. 4 in c minor. Ok, you either haven't heard of this piece, or you love it, or you hate it. I fall into category 3 after just one listen. Only Alfven piece that ever did .that. to me, either. I love Strauss (Richard, that is)'s music, but while this piece is full of Straussian gestures, no piece by Strauss ever sounded so- to my ears- unoriginally Straussian. (Ok, I haven't heard the Festliches Praludium yet, or the Japonische (sp?) Festmusik, or the... but feel some confidence that I might even like them. I might even like this piece, if I can bring myself to listen to it again. It seemed to have little to recommend it, alas...) sym. 5 has an interesting history- only the first movement was even known to survive for years, I believe (not sure), but all four movements were recorded by Neeme Jarvi for BIS- and the audio snatches I've heard from it, I liked. Of course, they try to choose the best stuff from a piece... Hope this helps at least .somewhat. As to Hill- heard a quartet of his once on an Australian label, liked it, hope to hear more sometime. Eric Schissel [log in to unmask] http://www.lightlink.com/schissel ICQ#7279016