Today I stumbled upon an unsung work by an almost-sung composer, Wilhelm Stenhammar's First Symphony in F major, on the website of the Stockholms Konserthuset:
http://www.konserthusetplay.se/#afNOjt_1nuZGnYaC_akNbg (http://www.konserthusetplay.se/#afNOjt_1nuZGnYaC_akNbg)
I wanted to post it here because of the work itself and its excellent execution, but also because to me this ranks among the best concert registrations I've seen for some time. This is a director who clearly knows his stuff and his music: we get to see all sections of the orchestra at work at the moments they matter, instead of an hour-long focus on the conductor.
It is indeed a very good registration and - more important - a superb performance. in my opinion the best available. As far as I know there is no studio recording on the market, only live performances (Järvi with the Gothenburg Orchestra and Svetlanov with the Swedish Radio Orchestra). The Swedish Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is really top!
QuoteAs far as I know there is no studio recording on the market
Not so, sir! Järvi subsequently re-recorded the Stenhammar symphonies for DGG in the 1990s:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stenhammar-Symphonies-Excelsior-Serenade-Wilhelm/dp/B000001GP5/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1418912434&sr=1-1&keywords=stenhammar+jarvi (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stenhammar-Symphonies-Excelsior-Serenade-Wilhelm/dp/B000001GP5/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1418912434&sr=1-1&keywords=stenhammar+jarvi)
They are superb.
OK, I presumed it was a reissue of the original BIS recording but apparently I was wrong. Still I think the live performance of the Swedish Royal Philharmonic is top.
I've no doubt it's very good. But Järvi's second set is also very fine.
Stenhammar 1 makes the best possible case for enlightened eclecticism. That the composer reputedly discarded it after hearing Sibelius 1 is understandable, but my goodness, Beethoven 1 (among many others) is nothing if not eclectic. How many first symphonies surpass Stenhammar's?
I got to know Stenhammar 1 in the mid 1980s thanks to Jarvi, and I will always be grateful to him for that advocacy, even though today other conductors' narratives provide a broader and deeper experience of Stenhammar's artistry.
This seems to about duplicate a thread we had a few years ago that was continued a few months ago, btw, but...
anyhow, continuing still, if you want to hear Stenhammar's first symphony, you can here (http://www.rspoplay.se/#WxSwNYJj85XksbPq_PBWrQ) freely and legally. (Description: "Andrew Manze conducts the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in Wilhelm Stenhammar's Symphony No. 1 from 1903; the first performance of a new critical edition of the piece. An initiative from Swedish Musical Heritage. Recording from March 2014. ") (RSPO-play videos, it's called.)
(Ah. Ok,... that's probably -effectively- the same link as at the top of the thread, just with links to other RSPO videos (and reached a different way, from the website BachTrack). Whoops. Sorry!!)
I just discovered this recording today, what a superb symphony, what a superb performance, well, I did not expect anything different from Manze, at least having some Vaughan Willams Symphonies from the proms in mind.
I just bought the Brilliant CD Box (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stenhammar-Symphonies-Concerto-G%C3%B6teborgs-Konserthusk%C3%B6r/dp/B004W5MNR2/ref=pd_sbs_15_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P9FM8796TPV5FA227ZXM) including the Järvi recording you mentioned, Alan. Can't wait to listen to the CD as soon as I have the time to do so.
The konserthuset webpage has been reworked, the new URL is http://www.konserthuset.se/play/stenhammar-symfoni-nr-1/
Best, ewk
I have to second everything said about this performance - it's terrific.
I've uploaded a recording from the late 1990s to the Downloads board, in which the First Symphony is played by the Swedish RSO, conducted by Yevgeni Svetlanov. The sound quality isn't the best, but it's quite energetic. I'm not at all convinced that Svetlanov's approach fits the music, but it's an interesting recording at least.