Allan Pettersson - Symphony No. 15; Viola Concerto (Christian Lindberg; Ellen Nisbeth)

Information

Composer: Allan Pettersson

• Symphony No. 15
• Fantaisie for Solo Viola
• Viola Concerto

Ellen Nisbeth, viola

Norrköping Symphony Orchestra

Christian Lindberg, conductor

Date: 2022

Label: BIS

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Review

With this release, only four of Allan Pettersson’s symphonies remain for Christian Lindberg to record: Nos 3, 8, 10 and 11, all of which Leif Segerstam set down for BIS, as he did the iconic Seventh and the main work here, No 15 (1978). Lindberg’s account of the Fifteenth was made in January 2020 and is its third recording, the first being Peter Ruzicka’s for CPO, issued a few months before Segerstam’s tauter, more driven account.

At 35 minutes, Lindberg’s lies between Ruzicka’s pioneering account (which ran to nearly 39') and Segerstam (32'30", the closest to the composer’s own timing of 31'). As with his previous Pettersson interpretations, Lindberg finds more light and shade than his rivals, securing the best attributes of both: tightness of performance (the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra are once more on scintillating form) and illumination of the knottier tangles in the composer’s polyphony without making the whole seem an incoherent rant. His slightly more expansive tempo choices allow him to exercise more control over the whole discourse and let it sing.

The couplings for viola bookend Pettersson’s career. The unaccompanied Fantaisie (1936) is a student work, rather Hindemithian in tone. Ellen Nisbeth takes it at a more relaxed tempo than Michael Scheitzbach on CPO, and in this more resonant recording it feels a stronger piece if still a minor one. The Concerto (1979) was Pettersson’s last completed composition, although it lay hidden for a while after his death. It may be that the composer had not put all the finishing touches to the orchestration – which might account for its lighter textures – and the title-page is missing. Ellen Nisbeth has edited the solo part for this recording, which compares favourably with Nobuko Imai’s account with Lev Markiz. Nisbeth’s tone is warmer and fuller than Imai’s and she plays with greater knowledge of the score (I do not know how long Imai had to learn it). This stunningly recorded album can be safely recommended to the adventurous.

— Guy Rickards

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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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Ellen Nisbeth (born 1987) is a Swedish violist. She studied viola at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, the Royal College of Music in London, and the Norwegian Academy of Music. In 2015, Nisbeth was appointed Associate Professor of Music at the University of Stavanger in Norway. She also teaches at Edsberg Castle and the Royal College of Music, Stockholm. Regularly giving masterclasses and performing around the world, Nisbeth has achieved a well known status as a violist. She performs on a Dom Nicolo Amati viola from 1714. As a recording artist, she has collaborated with BIS Records since 2017.

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