Kurt Atterberg(1887-1974): a Catalogue of the Complete Music

[Dundonnell]

KURT ATTERBERG: A CATALOGUE OF THE ORCHESTRAL AND CHORAL MUSIC

1908-09:Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, op.1    +  (cpo cd)
1909-11/
  1913:   Symphony No.1 in B minor, op.3: 40 minutes   +  (Sterling and cpo cds)
1910-12/
   1933:   Concert Overture in A minor, op.4   + (cpo cd)
1911-13:"Det ar sabbatsdag I bygden" for baritone and orchestra, op.5
1911-23:Symphony No.2 in F major, op.6: 39 minutes   + (Swedish Society Discofil and cpo cds)
1913:      Suite No.1 "Oriental"
1913-14:Violin Concerto in E minor, op.7: 37 minutes   +  (Sterling and cpo cds)
                 Song "Svarta svanor" for baritone and soprano and orchestra
1914:       Requiem for soloists, chorus and orchestra, op.8
1914-15:Ballet "Per Svinaherde", op.9
1914-16:Symphony No.3 in D major "West Coast Pictures, op. 10: 34 minutes      +  (Caprice and cpo cds)
1915:      Suite No.2 "Fem stycken" ("Summer Heat") for chamber orchestra
1917:      Symphony No.4 in G minor "Sinfonia Piccola", op.14: 21 minutes      +  (Sterling and cpo cds)
                Suite No.3 for violin, viola and string orchestra, op.19: 12 minutes   +  (Swedish Society Discofil, BIS, Claves and Naxos cds)
1917-22:Cello Concerto, op.21: 35 minutes    +  (Koch and BIS cds)
1917/33:Prelude and Fugue for string orchestra: 3 minutes    +  (cpo cd)
1919:      "Jambaraland" for soloists, chorus and orchestra, op.16
                Ballet "Ballettskizzen"
1920:      Ballet/Swedish Rhapsody "De Fatiskva Jungfrurna", op. 17: 19 minutes       + (commercial download available)
1921:      Intermezzo for strings: 8 minutes   +  (cpo cd)
1922:      Symphony No.5 "Sinfonia Funebre", op. 20: 33 minutes  + (Musica Sveciae and cpo cds)
1923:      Suite No.5 "Barocco" for flute, oboe, clarinet and strings, op. 23: 16 minutes
1925:      "Das Lied" for soloists, chorus and orchestra, op. 25
                Suite No.6 "Oriental Legend" for flute, oboe, clarinet, percussion and string orchestra, op. 30
1926:      Horn Concerto in A minor, op.28: 19 minutes   +  (Caprice and BIS cds)
                Suite No. 7 for string orchestra, op.29 (from the Incidental Music to Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra"): 13 minutes   + (cpo cd)
1927-28:Symphony No.6 in C major "Dollar Symphony", op.31: 33 minutes      +  (Guild, Dutton, BIS and cpo cds)
1927-35:Piano Concerto in B flat minor, op.37: 34 minutes  + (Sterling and cpo cds)
1928:      "Sangens Land" ("The Land of Song") for soloists, chorus and orchestra, op.32
1929:      Symphonic Poem "Alven" ("The River-from the Mountains to the Sea, op.33: 19 minutes    +  (cpo cd)
1931:      Suite No.8 "Suite Pastorale in modo antico" for small orchestra, op. 34: 20 minutes
1933:      A Varmland Rhapsody for orchestra, op.36: 8 minutes  +  (BIS and cpo cds)
1935:      Ballade and Passacaglia over a theme from a Swedish Folk-Tune for orchestra, op. 38   +  (cpo cd)
1939-40:Rondo Caracteristique for orchestra, op.42
1940:      Concert Overture in popular style, op. 41
1941:      "Aladdin: Ouverture(Perpetuum mobile orientale)", op.44
1941-42/
  1972:      Symphony No.7 "Sinfonia Romantica", op.45: 34 minutes  + (Sterling and cpo cds)
1944:       Suite No. 9 "Suite Dramatica" for chamber orchestra, op.47
1944-45:Symphony No.8, op.48: 34 minutes   +  (Sterling and cpo cds)
1950:      "Indian Tunes" for orchestra, op. 51
1953:      Symphony for Strings, op.53: 29 minutes   +  (cpo cd)
1955-56:Symphony No.9 "Sinfonia Visionaria" for mezzo-soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra, op. 54   +  (cpo cd)
1956-57:Rondo-overture on melodies from "Fridas Bok"(Birger Sjoberg)
1957:      "Swedish Summer Party" for chamber orchestra
1957-58:Ballad Without Words for orchestra, op.56: 18 minutes   +  (BIS cd)
1959-60:Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and String Orchestra, op. 57: 16 minutes    *
1962:      "Vittorioso" for orchestra(original finale to Symphony No.7), op.58
1964-65:Suite No.2 from the Opera "The Storm", op. 59
1967:      Adagio Amoroso for Violin and Strings: 8 minutes   + (cpo cd)

and      Bergslags-Serenade for string orchestra, op.22
           "Marcia trionfale della bella Lucia" for brass

[Balapoel]

One of my favorites. Here's the rest:

Chamber

2   String quartet No. 1 in D Major (1909)
11   String quartet No. 2 (1918) (20')
19.2   Suite No. 4 "Suite chinoise" for string quartet (1920)
22.2   Bergslags-serenad for string quartet or string orchestra (published ca. 1950) (6'30")
27   Cello Sonata in b minor (or violin/viola/horn) (1925) (21')
31.1   Piano Quintet in C Major, adaption from Symphony No. 6 (1928/1942) (31')
39   String quartet No. 3 in D major (1937)
46   Variations and fugues - over a text of Bellman for sting quartet(1944)
53.1   Symphony for strings - version for string quintet of Sinfonia Op. 53 (1953)
57.1   Trio concerto in g minor/C major for violin, cello and harp - chamber version (1959/60, rev. 1965) (18')
   Sorgmarch "Funeral march" in memoriam his majesty Gustav V for horn quartet (1950)
   Reverence à Bach for two cellos (1905)

Opera/Incidental Music

12   Härvard Harpolekare(1916-18) Revised toHärvards Heimkehr (1951)
13   Perseus och vidundret "Persus and the wonder" (1918)
18   Der Sturm "The Storm" 1921)
24   Bäckahästen (1923-24)
35   Fanal (1929-32)
43   Aladdin (1936-41)
49   Stormen "The Storm" (1946-47)
   Jefta (1913)
   Mats und Petter (1915)
   Schwester Beatrice (1917)
   Turandot (1920)
   Die drei Tanten (1923)
   Ein Wintermärchen (1923)
   Hassan (1925)
   Antonius und Kleopatra (1926)

Keyboard

   Bröllopsmarsch "Wedding March" for organ (1916)
   Preludium and fugue for organ (1917)
15   2 Höstballader "Autumn Ballads" (1918) (11')
26   Rondeau rétrospectif for piano four hands (11')
   Syster Beatrice - Valse "Fantôme" of Maeterlinck (1917) (6')

[TerraEpon]

A shame CPO never recorded the rest of the orchestral music....

[Peter1953]

I see it a bit differently. How wonderful that cpo has released so much of Atterberg's beautiful music, albeit not all of it. Which other label did the same for us Atterberg lovers?

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Of course, you're both absolutely right! We can celebrate that CPO has recorded so much, and yet regret there are substantial works yet to be recorded.

For myself, I'd love to hear the three String Quartets. Then there is a fair amount of vocal / choral music, including the Requiem Op. 8. Is that any good, I wonder? And then - but of course it is an impossibility in the current climate - there are no less than five operas. Are any of them ever produced in Sweden? Given the orchestral music I can easily imagine Atterberg's operas might be rather good (a typical English understatement!), and he was certainly a man of the theatre composing much incidental music.

(Can't resist thinking the world would be a better place if BIS recorded some Atterberg rather than devoting its attention to re-recording Sibelius. But, please, let us not open that thread again!)

[Dundonnell]

Indeed   I can agree with al of you

I would like to have seen the Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and orchestra on disc and some of the choral music. It does have to be said however that, courtesy of cpo in the main, Atterberg's has been very fortunate in receiving so much exposure-certainly compared to, say, Rosenberg. I suspect that, as with the same Rosenberg, Atterberg is a composer Bis is simply not interested in

Many thanks to Balapoel for the addition of the chamber and operatic works

[Hovite]

How wonderful that cpo has released so much of Atterberg's beautiful music

I am indeed grateful to CPO but I fail to understand why Atterberg is not more frequently performed and recorded.

[britishcomposer]

19.2   Suite No. 4 "Suite chinoise" for string quartet (1920)
22.2   Bergslags-serenad for string quartet or string orchestra (published ca. 1950) (6'30")

Balapoel, can you tell me where to find these recordings ?

[Balapoel]

19.2   Suite No. 4 "Suite chinoise" for string quartet (1920)
22.2   Bergslags-serenad for string quartet or string orchestra (published ca. 1950) (6'30")

Balapoel, can you tell me where to find these recordings ?

After a bit of rechecking, it seems my info was faulty. I have the Suite No. 1 'Suite orientale' for string quartet (it's on the Marco Polo disc with the New Budapest Quartet) - I'm not sure why it was labeled 'Suite chinoise' in my itunes.

Regarding the Bergslags-serenad, I'm not sure why I put that as blue - since I don't have that - I think because it was between the Op. 19 and Op. 27 sonata. After my checks, I don't think either piece is available commercially at present. Sorry to get your hopes up - Atterberg is one of my favorite scandinavian composers.

[eschiss1]

I had a would-be "getting-to-be-complete" list of Atterberg's music on a website of mine at one time myself, though accounting for unpublished works like some of the string quartets, etc., was something I barely tried to do.  It turns out that the publisher that's now taken over most of his output, Svensk Musik, lists almost all of his works, and PDF links of perusal downloads of quite a few complete (though not reuploadable-for-reuse- they're called perusal downloads for a reason) scores of his (and of course purchase of scores and parts for would-be performers).

(STIM.)

(They have this for Stenhammar too, and other late-Romantic and modern Swedes. Since Atterberg is within our current orbit, I mention this here. No, I don't work for them- I just find it a "neat thing" - and good source of composition as against publication dates (that lil' bugaboo of mine) too, since one sees from the downloaded scores that that's what they're using. So- yes- neat. )

(From their list one learns that sym. 9 has the subtitle "in modo di rondo espansivo". ... that I did not know...)

[eschiss1]

Belatedly, hrm. The download of symphony 9 (they also have a more obviously incomplete one of symphony 5 @ STIM, 10 pages) has 36 pages, but looked complete to me because it ends in a B-flat minor cadence ; I didn't really go over it sound-and-score-and.  The score of no.9 as published ca.2011 by Svensk Musik AB (my local uni library has a copy of this, might request as interloan...) has 144 pages.  Guessing it's just the first movement that you can download from stim.se, or something... still, that's -something-!