Wilhelm Stenhammar
(1871-1927)
Serenade in F Major for Orchestra, Op. 31 (1911-13)
Symphony #1 in F Major
Symphony #2 in G minor, Op. 34
Concert Overture "Excelsior!", Op. 13
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra/Neeme Järvi
Deutsche Grammophon 445857-2 2CDs 74:54
Listening to the Serenade, a jewel of a work in five movements, one can imagine that Stenhammar held an artist's palette, but instead of pigments, he held all the colors and sounds of his favorite composers. There is the orchestrational skill of Tchaikovsky, the richness of Bruckner and Sibelius, the space of Nielsen, the drama of Wagner and Richard Strauss, and the interest in national and ancient music, all transformed into the language of the Late Romantic. This is a great "guessing game" piece to stump music lovers who don't yet know Stenhammar.
