Allan Pettersson - Concerto No. 3 for String Orchestra (Christian Lindberg)

Information

Composer: Allan Pettersson

• Concerto No. 3 for String Orchestra

Nordic Chamber Orchestra

Christian Lindberg, conductor

Date: 2010

Label: BIS

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Review

Following their 2009 release of the first two concertos for string orchestra by Allan Pettersson comes Christian Lindberg's recording with his Nordic Chamber Orchestra of the third and last of the concertos. By the time of its composition, Pettersson had already written three symphonies, and during the following two decades he produced symphony after symphony. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that the large-scale Concerto No.3 for string orchestra exceeds any conventions that may be associated with its genre and, in fact, lays claim to symphonic weight. Characterized by dynamic culminations and passages of extremely detailed writing, as well as a melodic flow, the work is based on just a few motifs; an example of the delicate balance between intricate development and wide-ranging lines that is a fundamental element of Pettersson's music. At the time of the first performance Pettersson himself stated that 'It's my mother who is my music. It's her voice that speaks there'. Regarding Mesto, the second movement, he added that it 'is a 24-minute-long statement in which I gradually arrive at a song that could have been sung by a Salvation Army soldier. The song is a testimony, a confession'. This highly personal music, by one of the most personal of all composers, began to lead an existence of its own very shortly after the first performance of the concerto, and is regularly performed as a work in its own right. Pettersson, who passed away in 1980, has found a present-day champion in Christian Lindberg, described in Gramophone's review of his earlier Pettersson disc as 'a most persuasive advocate', while his orchestra received high praise from all quarters for its performances of the highly virtuosic scores. Receiving the blessing of the composer's estate, Lindberg in January 2010 conducted the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra in the world première of the composer's never completed first symphony. While waiting for the results of further Pettersson recordings by these forces, the present release is sure to find a warm welcome.

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Allan Pettersson (19 September 1911 – 20 June 1980) was a Swedish composer and violist. He is considered one of the 20th century's most important Swedish composers. He studied at the Swedish Royal Academy of Music, and later in Paris with René Leibowitz, Arthur Honegger, Olivier Messiaen and Darius Milhaud. Pettersson was best known as the creator of Barfotasånger, a collection of 24 songs for voice and piano set to his own lyrics. He also wrote 16 symphonies, choral and chamber music, and a number of orchestral pieces. His symphonies are often compared to Mahler's symphonic output.

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Christian Lindberg (born 15 February 1958) is a Swedish trombonist, conductor and composer. In the course of an exceptional career, Lindberg has single-handedly established the trombone as a solo instrument and was the first Swedish instrumentalist to perform with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO). Today he devotes most of his time to composing, with commissions from ensembles such as the CSO and the Rotterdam Philharmonic. Lindberg also has a flourishing conducting career. His acclaimed and wide-ranging discography on BIS includes more than 50 CDs.

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