Ludvig Norman symphonies.

[John H White]

Norman doesn't appear to have been a very prolific composer but, to me, his three widely spaced symphonies seem to be good, solidly built, musical structures well worthy of concert hall performance. In fact, I might go further and claim him to be Scandinavia's answer to Brahms! The 2nd symphony was issued on CD in 1989 by Musica Sveciae and our good friend Bo Hyttner filled in the gaps with Nos. 1 and 3 on his Sterling label ten years later. So far, I know of no other recordings of these works.

[Alan Howe]

Norman is an interesting and thoroughly worthwhile composer - but he's definitely not Scandinavia's answer to Brahms. Of the recordings available, that of No.2 is very good indeed and well worth seeking out; that of Nos.1 & 3 is, unfortunately rather poor - with scruffy orchestral playing, especially from the strings, and a peculiarly dead acoustic. Still, there's no other way of hearing the music at present...

[John H White]

It would be good to have alternative recordings of all 3 symphonies to get a more balanced view of these works through the eyes of different conductors. Sadly it seems that, with the notable exceptions of Raff and Spohr, the more adventurous recording companies seem to be reluctant to enter each other's territory, giving us as you indicate Alan, no option in the matter.

[Syrelius]

The first and second movements of Norman's 3rd symphony are real gems. Unfortunately, the recording on Sterling doesn't make justice to the music. There is an LP recording of the 3rd from the early 1980ies. I haven't heard it since my late teens, but as I recall it, that recording was superior to that of the Sterling CD.