Alfvén: Symphony 2

On this CD:

1. Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 11, R28
Composed by Hugo Alfven
Performed by Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Leif Segerstam

Alfvén: Symphony 2, Music, Hugo Alfven, Leif Segerstam, Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, 20th/21st Century Symphony, Classical, Orchestral & Symphonic, Symphonic

Alfvén: Swedish Rhapsodies; A Legend of the Skerries
Average customer rating:

Swedish delight

Truly Swedish

Alfvén: Swedish Rhapsodies; A Legend of the Skerries

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
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Alfvén: The Prodigal Son Suite/Symphony No. 2

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Alfvén: Symphony No. 5; Andante religioso

ASIN: B000000AVI
Release Date: 1994-10-25

Tracks:

Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 19 'Midsommarvka' - Allegro moderato - Andante - Allegretto - Allegro con brio
Swedish Rhapsody No. 2, Op. 24 'Uppsalarapsodi' - Larghetto - Moderato
Swedish Rhapsody No. 3, Op. 47 'Dalarapsodi' - Andante - Allegretto
A Legend Of The Skerries, Op. 20 - Andante - Moderato
Elegy From 'King Gustav Adolf II', Op. 49 - Adagio

Customer Reviews:

Swedish delight.......2006-01-04

The most famous Swedish composer, aside from Franz Berwald, has to be Hugo Alfven. His music is ultra-Romantic, and on this CD, the influence of Swedish folk music is in the forefront with five works: Alfven's three Swedish Rhapsodies, his Legend of the Skerries, and the beautiful Elegy.

The first Swedish Rhapsody is entitled Midsummer Fest, the celebration of the longest day of light. Like the day it celebrates, the work is sunny and radiant. The opening melody is like an old friend, one that is immediately enjoyable and fondly remembered. The theme goes from instrument to instrument, but when the full orchestra tackles it, the immediate joy is overwhelming. The middle slow section begins with warm strings and an echo of the opening idea, but a new, slightly melancholy, soaring melody takes over, and switches to a powerful emotion of longing. When the pace quickens, a new sprite melody takes over, again bringing back the happiness. The music erupts into yet another section, more reminiscent of a Scottish reel. The 14-minute work ends with fanfares and jubilation. The second Swedish Rhapsody, Uppsala Rhapsody, was commissioned for the University of Uppsala. It is a sort of medley, or more appropriately termed, fantasy, of popular college tunes. The 11-minute rhapsody begins hushed with a chorale Alma Mater feel, into a more noble, almost British-sounding tune. Many more are strung together, but nothing is particularly distasteful, and the sometimes familiar settings are interesting to hear. The end is heralded by a brilliant fugal treatment and a rousing conclusion. The final, and longest, Swedish Rhapsody, timing at 20+ minutes, shows Alfven's love of setting tragic sounding music. A plaintive double-reed solo opens the Dalecarian Rhapsody, as Alfven's program of a lonely mountain shepherdess dreams about a different life. Two or three times the melancholy if broken up by various rustic dances, whether conjuring up some past memory or evoking a young girl's longings, is up to the listener. All three Swedish Rhapsodies on three different aspects of Swedish life. The music is rooted in Swedish music, often reminded of Dvorak and Grieg, it is creative and imaginative. It is especially nice to have them all on one disk!

A Legend of the Skerries takes place on an Autumn evening, first in the moonlight, then a storm comes, and then a calm. The skerries is described as the place where the water meets the rocks, a place of eternal sprays of water and swirling pools. The calm of the opening easily gives way to the dynamic waves of the water, first a love of the sea is present, but darkness eventually arrives as the storm nears and nature adjusts itself for the impending drama. Throughout the 18-minute work, there is a general optimism and love of the sea, however, and the work ends peacefully. The sweet and personally emotional Elegy is a beautiful setting from stage music based on the life of King Adolph II. The King is remembering various passionate sequences of his youth, and the music swells emotionally. A lovely and emotional 5-minute work.

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra under Petri Sakari give lush and moving performances. The Chandos label sound is warm and all voices of the orchestra speak very clearly. Terrific and well-performed music, it is nice to have all of the rhapsodies, plus some nice additions, on a single disk. For the thrifty spender, you can find these works on the Naxos label, usually paired with a symphony or ballet, but this all folk-based CD is a good one to have, and competitively, the better performance.

Truly Swedish.......2000-03-14

This could possibly be the finest set of tone poems written by any Scandinavian. I originally bought this on a whim, but unbeknownst to me, a rare treasure existed. The colors that Alfven writes are truly unique: lush and often very eclectic. One of the rhapsodies is a montage of old ivy league college tunes. Another depicts the Swedish celebration of the longest day of sunlight in a brilliant fashion. What truly gets me each time I listen to it is Alfven's skill at writing both beautiful and exhilarating lines for the French Horn. At times my jaw drops at the horn lines at each section of the rhapsody.

Tracks:

March - Laurence Cummings
Largo - Bertalan Hock
Air - Capela Istropolitana
Dance Of The Blessed Spirits - Nora Mercz
Largo - Bertalan Hock
Marche Funebre - Razumovsky Sinfonia
Adagio In G Minor (Giazotto) - Bertalan Hock
Elegy - Okko Kamu
Dead March - Alfred Eschwe
Priere - Bertalan Hock
Adagio - Capella Istropolitana
Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring - Bertalan Hock
Last Spring - Capella Istropolitana
Marcia Funebre - CSR Symphony Orchestra

Alfvén: The Prodigal Son Suite/Symphony No. 2

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Swedish Surprise

Alfvén: The Prodigal Son Suite/Symphony No. 2

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00005NUON
Release Date: 2001-10-16

Tracks:

The Prodigal Son (Ste from The Ballet): Moderato
The Prodigal Son (Ste from The Ballet): (Untitled)
The Prodigal Son (Ste from The Ballet): Drottningens Av Saba Festmarsch (Allegro Maestoso)
The Prodigal Son (Ste from The Ballet): Polketta: Tempo Di Polketta
The Prodigal Son (Ste from The Ballet): Steklat: Allegretto
The Prodigal Son (Ste from The Ballet): Polka
The Prodigal Son (Ste from The Ballet): Final: Polska
Sym No.2 in D, Op.11: I. Moderato
Sym No.2 in D, Op.11: II. Andante
Sym No.2 in D, Op.11: III. Allegro
Sym No.2 in D, Op.11: IV (I). Prld: Adagio
Sym No.2 in D, Op.11: IV (II). Fuga: Allegro Energico

Customer Reviews:

Swedish Surprise.......2001-11-12

Alfven's Second Symphony is probably the best unknown symphony in the world. Almost no one records it, it is never played in concert halls (at least not in the states), and for some diabolical reason Alfven is still best known for his first Swedish Rhapsody (fine piece though it is). The Second Symphony is so much more--a complete surprise if you enjoy late Romantic music and have never heard it. Powerful, brooding, yet with melodies that only Alfven could have written (the second theme of the first movement, for example). How this symphony remains unknown is a complete mystery, as it easily ranks with early Nielsen and Sibelius. The Naxos version is wonderfuly played, the sound is great, and overall, it is a tremendous performance that should win a wide audience (as wide as classical can be these days). The bonus, his short ballet suite from The Prodigal Son, is lighter Alfven, but extremely charming stuff. Derived from Swedish folksong, it inhabits a sunny world very much in tune with his early Swedish Rhapsody. A must have for fans of late Romantic music, Scandinavian music, or Alfven's works. Go ahead and buy it.

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Scandinavian Moods

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Average customer rating:

Hugo Alfvén: Symphony No. 1
Compelling performances of a great Swedish composer.

Alfvén: Orchestral Works, Vol.1

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000ICL7
Release Date: 1999-03-23

Tracks:

The Mountain King: Festival Overture, Op. 25
The Mountain King: Invocation
The Mountain King: Dance Of The Troll Maiden
The Mountain King: Summer Rain
The Mountain King: Dance Of The Shepherd Girl
Uppsala Rhapsodies, Op. 24: Swedish Rhapsody, No. 2
Symphony No.1 In F-Minor, Op.7: Grave - Allegro con brio
Symphony No.1 In F-Minor, Op.7: Andante
Symphony No.1 In F-Minor, Op.7: Allegro molto scherzando
Symphony No.1 In F-Minor, Op.7: Allegro ma non troppo

Customer Reviews:

Hugo Alfvén: Symphony No. 1.......2006-08-06

This is wonderful, outstanding music! I would make this recording required listening for anybody familiar with Alfvén's splendid "Midsommarvaka" (Swedish Rhapsody No. 1).

Compelling performances of a great Swedish composer........1999-05-07

Hugo Alfven (1872-1960) is now regarded as a leading Swedish composer, along with Wilhelm Stenhammar. In the past 30 years, prominent conductors such as Neemi Jarvi, Stig Westerberg, Evgeny Svetlanov, Lief Segerstam, & Sakari, advocated their works, especially through recordings. It was Stig Westerberg who was the first to bring works of these important Scandanavian composers from obscurity through the LP recordings. On the debit side, however, many of there chamber & chorus works (including songs) have not made it to the record shelves.

The festival overture is an appealing, nationistic 3/4 metre of a work, almost like a waltz, but with a more specific purpose. It's not a pompous work, but a work with sheer optimism & grandeur, with a fanfare opening suggesting nothing but festivity. It was composed in 1908 for the occasion of the opening of the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm.

The ballet-pantomine "Bergakungen" (The Mountain King (1917-1922)) was based on the legendary story of shepardess who was abducted by a mountain king. With the help of a troll, the lover of the shepardess rescued her from the mountain king. The troll however realized that that he will never win the love of the shepardess, & therefore allowed them to die in a snow storm. This story is as tragic as the Czech fairy tale "The Noon Witch" for which Antonin Dvorak based his symphonic poem upon. The Suite, extractions from the ballet, is in four movements, with memorable themes throughout. The work is imaginative, mystic, & ultimately & immediately compelling. The beginning has a Sibelius' Finlandia touch & has the beauty of a Claude Debussy. The orchestration is personal & individualistic, & those qualities never left the composer for the rest of his prolific & successful career.

The Second of the three Uppsala Rhapsodies (Swedish Rhapsody no. II) was composed by 1907 for the 200th aniversary celebration of the Uppsala University. It's a parallelism to Brahms' Academic overture of 1881, with school song themes embetted throughout. It's an attractive, if not, a plain work that is appreciative.

The main item of this compact disc is the First Symphony in F minor of 1897 in four movements. The first is has a grim, slow, beginning. It gathers pace, but with no optimism, but with seriousness, ending on a tragic note. The Andante is meditative & laid back, with the idiom sounding somwhat modernistic. The Scherzando third movement is joyful, youthful, & somewhat pastorale, reminding one of Edvard Grieg. The finale has a Beethovenian like opening. Its' pace quickens with both festivity & youthful optimism. The middle section is memorable & charming before the movement picks up where it left off. Although somewhat discursive & episodic, the movement has it appeals nevertheless & neatly fits into the entire scheme of the symphony.

The performances of these works are no more or no less authoritative & compelling than those of Stig Westerberg, Jarvi, or Svetlanov. Although Niklas Willen & the Royal Scottish National Orchestra were slower in pace in Alfven's First symphony, most especially in the first movement, they performed the work, with other works on the disc, with passion, conviction, and with perfect discipline. Should you decide to go for the symphony, you can opt for any recordings currently available, including this one under Naxos (and under a budget-price). You will not be disapointed, I promise.

Tracks:

Midsommarvaka (Swedish Rhapsody No. 1)
(I) Moderato
(II) Andante
(III) Allegro
(IV) Preludio: Adagio
Fuga: Allegro Energico

Customer Reviews:

More Melody from the Nordic Realm.......2006-05-19

Hugo Alfven (1872 - 1960) was a Swedish violinist, conductor, painter, and composer, a man whose works are not heard regularly but who composed five symphonies and a number of choral, chamber and vocal works. The neglect of his output is unfounded as this fine recording by the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Neeme Jarvi demonstrates.

The Swedish Rhapsody No. 1 ('Midsummer Vigil') is one of his more well known works and justly so. The rhapsody combines the lyricism of Grieg with a fine, colorful orchestration. The piece sings along without great climaxes: it is simply a loosely connected set of theme variations.

The Second Symphony shows more substance and fire. Alfven was clearly a composer who held on strongly to the romantic and post-romantic ideas of European music, but his technical skills as an orchestrator are estimable. Hearing his music is not unlike viewing his paintings, works of light and shadow that celebrate the landscapes and moods of Sweden. Perhaps this is not great music, but is most certainly music worth getting to know, especially for those who relish the more 'modern' romantic orchestral works. Grady Harp, May 06

Swedish Symphonic Fare.......2001-04-04

For one who may only be familiar with Alfven's Swedish Rhapsody No. 1 (the one work by which he is most commonly known), this CD is an excellent way of expanding that familiarity, for in addition to containing the rhapsody, it also contains his second symphony, the major work on the CD. The symphony clearly reveals that Hugo Alfven was by no means a one-work composer, and that his other compositions will certainly reward the listener.

Average customer rating:

The Music of Scandinavia

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00000DSF4
Release Date: 1992-07-14

Average customer rating:

Wonderful, celebratory collection

50 Years of Vox

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000001K6U
Release Date: 1995-10-24

Tracks:

Symphony No. 4 In C Minor, D.417: 'Tragic'
Caprice No. 20 In D Major for Violin And Piano, Op.1
Donizetti's Opera: 'Lucia di Lammermoor'
Lyric Pieces, Op. 54: Nocturne
Symphony No. 29 In A Major, K.201: Allegro moderato
Piano Concerto No. 19 In F Major, K.459: Allegro
Fireflies
Hornpipe
Violin Concerto in D Major: Capriccio
Diabelli Variations Nos. 6,7,9,10
Nocturne In A-flat Major, Op.32 No.2
Piano Sonata No. 12 In F Major, K.332: Adagio
Clarinet Sonata No. 2 In E Flat Major Op.120: Allegro appassionato
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6
Mephisto Waltz

Tracks:

La Cenerentola
Royal Fireworks: Overture
2-Piano Concerto In E Flat Major, K.365: Allegro
Mass In B Minor, BWV 232: Dona Nobis Pacem
Night on Bald Mountain
Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, Op.19: 'Midsommarvaka'
Norwegian Dance Op.35, No. 1
Holiday Symphony: Fourth Of July
Sinfonia India

Tracks:

Two Studies for Doktor Faust: Cortege
Etude No. 7 In E Minor
Flute Suite No. 2 In B Minor
Piano Sonata No. 21 In C Major, Op.53: 'Waldstein'
Variations serieuses, Op.54
Trio No. 1 In B Major, Op.8: Allegro
Sonata For Trumpet And Piano
Angels
Violin Concerto No.2, Op.22
Mazurka No. 7, Op.3
Piece en forme de Habanera
Estampes (Jardins sous la pluie)
Organ Toccata in F Major
Water Music: Suite In D
The Thunderer March

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful, celebratory collection.......2003-09-27

Amazon currently sells this as a sealed cutout for an incredible $4.97 in the used CD section, under this code:
Label: Scde
ASIN: B00005MJTD

As many of the old Vox single CDs & boxes disappear or are reshuffled into deceptively "premium" packaging, this wonderful, celebratory collection remembers the glory years with a wide-ranging selection of great music, from the post-war mono recordings that, among other achievements, resuscitated Otto Klemperer's career & sent him on to settle some old scores, to pristine sessions from the Eighties engineered by the team of Marc Aubert & Joanna Nickrenz. Along the way there are some delightful surprises; pianists Novaes, Philipp, Haebler; Alfgren's lovely "Swedish Rhapsody" superbly played by the Baltimore Symphony as something more than a light classic; the under-rated Donald Johannos & Dallas Orchestra challenging Lenny Bernstein in 1967, the height of the Charles Ives revival, with a remarkable "Fourth of July;" Ravel's "Habanera" performed by violinist Elmar Oliveira. Included is a colorful 40 page booklet, written by frequent Vox liner note contributor, Richard Freed, outlining the Vox history with special attention to its visionary founder, George H. de Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (a collateral descendent of Felix & Fanny). My set also came with a "complete listing" insert of Vox Boxes, so many of which have been discontinued since 1995. One could only wish for a fourth CD devoted to the avant garde music Vox issued on the Turnabout & Candide labels, proudly mentioned in the booklet, but alas, tapes apparently buried in a secret vault somewhere.

Tracks:

Hej Dunkom
Uti VHage
Pjet I Sol - W Peterson-Berger
Ett bondbrp: (4) I brpsgen - A Sman
Kung Liljekonvalje - D Wikander
Four Old Hungarian Songs - B Bart
I. The Songs Of Hamlet - V Tormis
II.
I. Three slovakian folksongs - E Suchon
II.
III.
Wir Zogen In Das Feldt - J N David
Traumlicht - R Strauss
An Das Meer - M Reger
Stopwatch - S Baber
Il brivido - E Bossi
Psaume 121 - D Milhaud
Psaltarelle - C Saint-Sa
Il trovatore: Coro Di Singari - G Verdi
Faust: Ch Des Soldates - C Gounod

Average customer rating:

Watercolors: Swedish Songs
Anne-Sofie von Otter , Hugo Alfven , Tor Aulin , Gunnar de Frumerie , Lars-Erik Larsson , Bo Linde , Gustaf Nordqvist , Gosta Nystroem , Ture Rangstrom , and Bengt Forsberg
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Otter, Anne Sophie von | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Anne Sofie von Otter - Schumann: Frauenliebe und -leben / Forsberg

ASIN: B0000SWNI4
Release Date: 2004-02-10

Tracks:

Kiss Of The Wind
Grass Sings Under Wandering Feet
The Cloud, The Flower And The Lark
Peonies
Take My Heart
On The Reef
Amazing Day
The Song Of The Sea
Old Dance
A Moment In Time
The Anemones
If I Could Be Tears
On The Sea
When You Close My Eyes
You Make Everything Beautiful
Blessed It Is To Wait
From The Depths Of My Soul
You Are My Aphrodite
Like A Wave
The Meadow Where You Kissed Me
Apple-trees And Pear-trees
And The Knight Rode To The Holy Land
To A Rose
Winter In My Heart
What Do I Want?
The Judgment
A Summer Morning
Serenad
The Amazon
I Am Tired To Death
Is It You, Most Beloved Child
Take Me
May We Be Happy

Amazon.com

Anne Sofie Von Otter is a born singer of songs, and this collection of Swedish miniatures dating from about 1910 to the 1950s are easy to relate to both in their Romanticism and the direct, unaffected manner in which the fine mezzo puts each across. In Ture Rangström's "En gammal dansrytm" (Old Dance), she uncharacteristically slides into the song in a sultry fashion; it makes you sit up and listen. She rarely brings any darkness into her tone. In keeping with the CD's title, we get soft, Northern light in both her tone and pianist Bengt Forsberg's--and by so avoiding any false sense of drama, each song's subject, particularly the ones about nature are, well, natural. But when something else is called for, as in Bo Linde's "Är jag intill döden trött" ("I Am Tired to Death"), von Otter knows how to emphasize the text amost conversationally. This lovely collection of pastels occasionally threatens to evaporate, but close attention reveal true delights. The mezzo is in fine voice, with no "opera diva" behavior to get in the way of the songs' charms. A specialized collection, perhaps, but one which reaps fine rewards. --Robert Levine

Music Review:

Music Review

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