Johan Svendsen: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 (1988)

Due to their shared Norwegian nationality and mutually supportive friendship, Johan Svendsen and Edvard Grieg are commonly linked; yet these bonds seem musically irrelevant when Svendsen's symphonies are understood as outgrowths of German tradition, as inculcated by his teacher, Carl Reinecke, and as represented by his models, Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. In its structure, melodies, harmonies, and development, the Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 4, is most easily identified with practices prevalent in Leipzig, and ... Read More

Due to their shared Norwegian nationality and mutually supportive friendship, Johan Svendsen and Edvard Grieg are commonly linked; yet these bonds seem musically irrelevant when Svendsen's symphonies are understood as outgrowths of German tradition, as inculcated by his teacher, Carl Reinecke, and as represented by his models, Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. In its structure, melodies, harmonies, and development, the Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 4, is most easily identified with practices prevalent in Leipzig, and has little of the folk-song experimentation that emerged from circles in Oslo. While appealing in its exuberance and sparkling orchestration, this work still seems like a student's earnest imitation of early Romantic exemplars, Mendelssohn most of all. The Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 15, is a more mature effort, with bolder strokes and richer scoring. But here, Schumann is the dominant influence: Svendsen's themes, rhythms, and orchestration often bring the "Rhenish" Symphony... Read Less