Wilhelm Stenhammar Symphony no 2 - Blomstedt and Lindberg, BIS

Two new recordings of Wilhelm Stenhammar Symphony no 2 in G minor op 34 (1911-15) one with Herbert Blomstedt and the Gothenberg Symphony, the other with Christian Lindberg and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.   Why two recordings from the same label, BIS, specialists in Scandinavian repertoire ? Even the booklet notes are identical.  BIS know their market, and know that two very different approaches will appeal to a more sophisticated audience than to those who still think Stenhammar is "unknown",  Neeme Järvi's recordings, from the1980's established the composer on an international level, followed by many others. So it's not at all a question of Blomstedt or Lindberg, but why.  For many,  Stig Westerberg's recording with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, from the late 1970's, is the benchmark against which all other performances of Stenhammar’s Symphony no 2 needs to be heard.

Like Järvi, Blomstedt has been conducting Stenhammar most of his career, so any recording he makes is a snapshot of the many performances he's given over the years, and this live recording, from Decemeber 2013, is well worth hearing. When the symphony premiered in 1916, Stenhammar wrote that he had wanted to write "sober and honest music without showing off", a statement that deliberately places a distance between him and the excesses of  post-Wagnerian Romanticism, and sets him in the context of Sibelius and the aesthetic of "Northern Light" which revitalized Scandinavian art, literature and culture. Sibelius expressed the same spirit when he wrote of his Symphony no 6 in 1923, that he did not engage in "manufacturing cocktails of every hue (but) I offer the public pure cold water". Significantly, he dedicated that symphony to Stenhammar.

Blomstedt's approach to Stenhammar reflects these Sibelius connections.  While Blomstadt approaches the  principal theme of the first movement with relative restraint, placing more emphasis on what evolves later, Lindberg defines it with greater vigour, emphasisng its crucial role. In this way, Lindberg is closer to the marking "allegro energetico" and to Stig Westerberg who showed how the the motif is broken into component parts, then redeveloped, each variation prefaced by different instrument (woodwinds, horns and woodwinds). Though this motif resembles the folk song "Row, row to the fishing inlet", what might meant more to Stenhammar was the sense of forward thrust, not the folk melody per se. Westerberg and Lindberg capture the ever-changing moods of the movement with stronger definition, so the variations surge, like the ocean, sometimes ebullient, somtimes with more stillness.  Blomstedt  suggests smoother passage, the strings of the Gothenberg Symphony rich and full, like Sibelius in full flow.  Though the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra doesn't have the Scandinavian pedigree of Gothenberg, who premiered the symphony in 1916 and have had it in their repertoire ever since, they respond well to the innate personality of the music.

In the second movement, an andante, the significance of the quieter moments in the first movement are revealed.  Though the mood is subdued, much happens "beneath the surface", so to speak. This movement proceeds as a series of developments, as did the first. Westerberg observes this so perceptively that each variation has character, giving context to the reiteration of the central motif which re-asserts itself as the movement ends with an almost Beethovenian sense of purpose.  Blomstedt is particularly good here, the classiness of the Gothenbergers' playing comes to the fore. Stenhammar   called the scherzo movement "a gentle and sympathetic piece", where the trio dances in triple time. Blomstedt is more refined but Westerberg captures the gaiety and good humour, and Lindberg's players enter into the spirit. Lindberg, incidentally, has recorded Stenhammar Serenade and Excelsior! , also for BIS, which was well received. It doesn't matter what nationality the players are, if they have a conductor who is enthusiastic and understands the music.

The finale begins with a theme which is not so much slow as sostenuto, sustained, not still, which ascends to joyous outburst, from which the original theme in the first movement returns, gently but with authority, the themes alternating in double fugue.  Each of the sections has character.Stenhammar   called the cantilena in the middle "The heart's song brimming over".  Nontheless it is balanced by the lively vivace sections around it and a tranquillo. The movement ends not with bombast but with equanamity.  Structure matters, and balance, and a sense of musicality, not overwrought excess.  Virtues we need all the more in these times of ignorance.  A while back there was a campaign on the internet predicting an end to performances of Carl Nielsen, of all people! Notice the carefully shaped pizzicato in Blomstedt, restrained percussion giving way to expansive strings.  Lindberg overall is brighter and livelier though he takes a whole minute longer - never trust timings alone - and has a rather good violin leader, and warm-sounding brass. (Lindberg also works as a trombone soloist.)  Westerberg takes the prize, though, for depth of interpretation, particularly in the finale, where some inexpressible emotional depth comes through, past structural quality and fine playing.

So, Blomstedt or Lindberg ?  The answer is both, since each one offers a distinctive and valid approach.  Blomstedt might seem the safe answer but Lindberg is closer to Westerberg, and  is an interpreter to listen out for.  Unsurprisngly his recording is something of a hit in some Stenhammar circles. BIS pairs Blomstedt with Serenade in F major op 31 and Lindberg with Stenhammar's Musik till August Strindberg's "Ett Drömspell".written for a performance in 1916 which did not take place. Here it is heard in a concert version from 1970 by Hilding Rosenberg (1892-1985), another great Swedish composer. It is an atmospheric work, strings reverberating in extended legato above the low rumbling of percussion winds and brass. An ascending figure introduces a new scene, where textures are brighter, but this is cut suddenly short by strident chords.  The figure returns, yet is confronted yet again by dominant chords which develop in a melody that evokes march or hymn.  Whizzing strings, whirring like wind, introduce the dramatic final section. A wall of sound (strings, brass, woodwinds) looms up suggesting a vast panorama before the final theme (led by harps and horns) suggests something mysterious and open ended.  Stenhammar's Symphony no 2 is so well known that it obscures much of Stenhammar's other music, which is also significant. I learned my Stenhammar from his many songs.  Again, it makes a difference to approach Stenhammar in the context of Scandinavian lietrature, art and culture. Please see HERE for my piece on Stenhammar's opera Gillet på Solhaug. 1893, one of the earliest Swedish operas, based on Henrik Ibsen's play Gildet paa Solhaug .