Kurt Atterberg (1887-1974)

[kyjo]

I am a huge admirer of the unapologetically romantic music of Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg, as some of you may know. His cycle of nine symphonies stands amongst my very favorite symphonic cycles-if you have not yet purchased the CPO set of his symphonies, I recommend with all possible enthusiasm that you please do so :) If the overwhelmingly enthusiastic reviews on Amazon don't convince you, nothing will: http://www.amazon.com/Kurt-Atterberg-Symphonies-Box-Set/dp/B0007ACVDW/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1359143294&sr=1-1&keywords=atterberg

Here's an excellent description of his symphonies from an Amazon reviewer (I couldn't have described them better):

his symphonies have the color of Respighi's and Holst's large orchestral works, the depth and broadness of Sibelius, the gushing of Mahler, the structured melodrama of Tchaikovsky when not filled with the skipping Swedish joy of Alfven, and the brooding development of Rachmaninoff. Some have compared Atterberg's music to John Williams; perhaps the relationship in that case is in Atterberg's clearly presented grand thematic material, but further associations are hazy.


Definitely my type of music ;D My favorite symphony is probably the 3rd-what gorgeous, evocative, dramatic music! There's not a single dud in the set, though-Atterberg was very good at creating consistency of quality in his works.



Here's a MusicWeb review of the cycle: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Sep05/Atterberg_symphonies_7771182.htm


Besides the symphonies, CPO recorded three other discs of Atterberg's music which are all uniformly excellent:



The PC and other works for piano and orchestra are hyper-romantic works in the style of Grieg and Rachmaninov, but not at all cliché or overblown. Atterberg's VC may very well be one of my favorite VCs of all time (given that I am not a huge fan of VCs)! Its grand, sweeping drama is truly breathtaking! The string orchestra disc, rather unsurprisingly, features the more intimate side of Atterberg's musical language, but the music never loses its lyrical power.

Other works of Atterberg have been scattered across various CDs and mp3 albums. There is this excellent mp3 download from Amazon featuring mostly works CPO did not cover in their (unfortunately incomplete) survey of Atterberg's orchestral works: http://www.amazon.com/Atterberg-Orchestral-Works/dp/B003F1F2LS/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1359141264&sr=1-4&keywords=atterberg

It contains the lovely concertos for cello and horn, A Varmland Rhapsody, Ballad Without Words, Symphony no. 6 Dollar (only item recorded by CPO), the Swedish Rhapsody De favitska jungfrurna, the Suite no. 3 for violin, viola and strings and the Suite Pastorale.

Atterberg's soulful, lyrical Cello Concerto has been recorded by BIS in an excellent performance by Truls Mork (along with a lush orchestration of Brahms' String Sextet no. 2 by Atterberg):



Marco Polo recorded two discs of Atterberg's chamber music, which are worth checking out as well. It should be noted that the Piano Quintet in C major is merely a chamber reduction of the Symphony no. 6.



There's also these discs containing Atterberg's music (the Westerberg recording of Symphony no. 2 is especially excellent):



(apologies for all the pictures :-[)

Also, his late Double Concerto for violin, cello and strings is in our downloads here.

Although one cannot complain about Atterberg's representation on disc, Atterberg fanatics like myself will notice that quite a few of his works remain unrecorded. It's a pity that CPO didn't go on to record his complete orchestral works, but I'm just happy enough that they gave Atterberg such great service in the recordings they did make :)

Any other admirers of Atterberg?

[tapiola]

I agree with everything you've written.  I much prefer the Ehrling 3rd. What a magnificent work!  Always blows me out of mychair.  Next, the darker 5th. The Piano Concerto is quite fabulous too.

[kyjo]

Thanks for your recommendation of Ehrling's performance of the Third :) If it's better than Rasilainen's, I'm sure to get blown out of my chair (especially in the Storm second movement) ;D

I forgot to express my admiration for the Fifth-what a powerful piece!

Like with many other lesser-known composers, it strikes me just how well Atterberg's music would go down in concert! His thrillingly romantic, passionate, dramatic music would bring the house down!

[guest145]

Like with many other lesser-known composers, it strikes me just how well Atterberg's music would go down in concert! His thrillingly romantic, passionate, dramatic music would bring the house down!

I believe it would, too. Unfortunately, there are too many ignorant, overly cautious orchestra boards (and conductors) that are terrified of programming anything unfamiliar to the ever-dwindling classical audience, forever "playing it safe." I believe a work like Stenhammar's 2nd Symphony (since we're in a Swedish vein here) would also be a real stunner, as well as his 2nd Piano Concerto.

[kyjo]

That is the sad truth, Maris :( I do agree about those two Stenhammar works, especially if his Symphony no. 2 was given a rendition of the same caliber as Eckerberg's magnificent recording on Caprice (which blows away Jarvi's rushed interpretation). This recording appears to be back in print in the US, but at a rather high price.

Back to Atterberg, I forgot to mention that his Bergslagen Serenade for string orchestra is on this Nosag CD featuring other music inspired by Bergslagen composed by Rosenberg, von Koch and others:



I just noticed this badly OOP Swedish Society disc of some of Atterberg's works that have not been otherwise recorded: http://www.amazon.com/Aladdin-Overture-Suite-Atterberg-Quartet/dp/B00008FVB9/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1359170578&sr=1-3&keywords=atterberg+aladdin

It contains the Aladdin Overture, Suite no. 5 Barocco for flute, oboe, clarinet and strings, Suite no. 8 Suite Pastorale in modo antico for small orchestra as well as his String Quartet in B minor. I'm really interested in this disc but cannot find a reasonably priced copy anywhere :(

The most glaring omission in Atterberg's discography is his Requiem, op. 8 (1914). Let's hope it gets recorded sometime!

[mjkFendrich]

I've just uploaded a magnificent performance of Atterberg's piano concerto (albeit in poor sound quality).

[kyjo]

Gosh, has it been quiet on the forum recently!

Thanks very much, mjkFendrich and Matthias, for those two Atterberg works :)

[guest224]

Thank you to all for your contributions on Atterburg, a composer I know nothing about and hadn't heard of before I joined here, but about whom there seems to be a lot of positive noise here and elsewhere.

Obviously you love all of his works, but if there were, say, 3 pieces you would tell someone who doesn't know him to buy, which would they be?  My general impression from reading the above would be that his piano concerto and 3rd Symphony would be included, is that fair comment?

[mjkFendrich]

Atterberg's most famous work - not one I would recommend when restricted to 3 items only - is his
6th symphony, for which he won the Schubert centennary price in 1928. As you correctly assumed, I would
definitively start with his 3rd symphony (preferredly in Ehrling's interpretation on Caprice) and his piano concerto.
Additionally I would urgently recommend Truls Mork's recording of the cello concerto on BIS.

[Elroel]

I would rather start with the Cello Concerto. Truls Mork is a very powerfull player, who does the work all credits.
And we know BIS for quality recordings, also in this record.

[kyjo]

I'm thrilled to hear that we've sparked your interest in Atterberg, Christopher! Exploring his music for the first time is a wonderful experience indeed (not to say, of course, that subsequent listenings aren't as enjoyable)! I concur heartily with mjkFendrich's and Roelof's recommendations. I would also like to put in a word for Symphonies 2 and 5 as well as the Violin and Horn Concertos. But, then again, Atterberg hardly wrote anything that is not worthy of investigation. Happy listening :)

[guest128]

If I were to recommend 3 CD's of Atterberg works they would be the Caprice recording of Symphony No.3
& the Horn Concerto, the Discofil recording with Symphony No.2 & Suite No.3 (possibly my favorite Atterberg composition, - this performance is superior to Naxos), and the Koch recording of the Cello Concerto & Cello Sonata (with its mesmerically beautiful slow movement).

[kyjo]

Greg, do you happen to know how the Koch recording of the Cello Concerto compares with the BIS? I don't own the Koch CD and was just wondering.

[guest128]

Greg, do you happen to know how the Koch recording of the Cello Concerto compares with the BIS? I don't own the Koch CD and was just wondering.

I know the Thomas-Mifune (Koch) recording much better than Mork's (on BIS), - and haven't played Mork in some time, but my recollected impressions (which may be disputable) are that the Koch reading is more brooding, more inner, and "breathes" somewhat more, the BIS more passionate, more sharply characterized, with dynamic contrasts heightened (it's a virtuosic performance, whereas T-M is a bit more self-effacing).  Comparative timings are Koch 35:45, BIS 32:52.  I clearly prefer Thomas-Mifune in this work, and love the Cello Sonata that comes with it.  (The CD cover art is much more pleasing also :)).

[kyjo]

Thanks for your reply, Greg :) I shall investigate this recording!