jmc's classics
Today is the birthday of Norwegian composer Johan Svendsen (1840-1911). He is overshadowed by his younger contemporary Edvard Greig (1843-1907). He was also a violinist and conductor. he lived out his life in Denmark. Today he is remembered for his Romance for Violin and Orchestra (Opus#26) He also wrote an excellent Violin concerto (Opus#6) a Cello Concerto (Opus#7), two symphonies (Opuses 4 and 15) one each String quartet, String Quintet and String Octet (Opuses 1, 5 and 3). He wrote three Norwegian Rhapsodies and several miniatures for orchestra. He wrote several vocal pieces and one ballet. It was said that everything that Grieg was not that Svendsen was. Greig wrote a lot of solo piano music and vocal music. He was called the "Norwegian Chopin" Both Chopin and Greig were friends.
I enjoy his music. Especially his violin concerto and the opening of the first movement. His Romance for violin is his most famous piece. He wrote two symphonies. Both of which are in five movements instead of the standard four movements. Legend has it that he wrote a third symphony but his wife destroyed the manuscript for it. This is only a rumor. He was married twice. His younger son Eyvind Svendsen (1896-1946) was a famous actor. He studied at the Leipzig conservatory and was one of its star pupils. His three early chamber works brought him great fame. These were not considered to be student works. He did not write too much after 1883. Much of his career was spent as a conductor. From 1883 until 2908, he was the conductor of the Royal Danish National Orchestra. I do not know if there are any recordings of him conducting. in those days recordings were in their infancy. There are numerous recordings available of his music. There were several versions of the symphonies. The one that I have is of Mariss Jansons conducting the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra on the EMI label. I am not sure if this is still available. It has been off and on for the last few years. I have a CD of the String Quartet and Octet which features the Kontra Quartet plus Lars Bjornkjear, Per Lund Madsen, Bjarne Boei Rasmussen and lars Johanson for the Octet This is on the BIS label. These are both good recordings. The Kontra Quartet is a Danish based string quartet founded by Hingarian-Danish violinst Anton Kontra. They recorded on the Bis label. I hope that Svendsen's music comes back in to favor soon.
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