Kurt Atterberg; Ture Rangström - String Quartets (Stenhammar Quartet)

Information

Composer: Kurt Atterberg; Ture Rangström

• Atterberg - String Quartet, Op. 11
• Atterberg - String Quartet, Op. 2 / Op. 39
• Rangström- String Quartet "Un notturno nella Maniera di E. Th. A. Hoffmann"

Stenhammar Quartet

    Peter Olofsson, violin

    Per Öman, violin

    Tony Bauer, viola

    Mats Olofsson, cello

Date: 2014

Label: CPO

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Review

The compositional history of Atterberg’s quartets is not straightforward. The First, Op 2, was composed in 1907 08 but Atterberg was not satisfied with it, discarding the outer movements. The central Scherzo and Romance were retained and in 1937 he composed a bracing new opening Allegro (using a theme from a student quartet) and closing Allegro deciso finale. Atterberg’s style did not change much over time, so he was able to get away with the mild discontinuity of the middle movements. The Stenhammar Quartet render it splendidly.

By this time, he had composed his second Quartet in B minor (1916), for long referred to just as ‘String Quartet, Op 11’, which is how it was issued on a Swedish Society LP and CD long ago in a vivid account by the Saulesco Quartet. (There is also a truncated recording on Caprice.) The new account by the Stenhammar Quartet is by a distance the front-runner: their tone, aided by CPO’s warm and vibrant recording, is richer than their rivals and they catch its late-Romantic atmosphere superbly well.

The filler is no mere makeweight but the only contribution to the medium by Ture Rangström, ‘A Nocturne in the manner of ETA Hoffmann’ (1909). Hoffmann inspired a number of Rangström’s works over the next 10 years. More a suite than a sonata structure, it is dedicated to Nielsen, who oversaw its composition from a distance; the version recorded here is that published posthumously and co-edited by Kallstenius and…Atterberg.

— Guy Rickards

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Kurt Atterberg (12 December 1887 – 15 February 1974) was a Swedish composer and civil engineer. Born in Gothenburg, he studied composition at the Stockholm Conservatory and earned an engineering degree from the Royal Institute of Technology. Atterberg composed nine symphonies, six concertante works, five operas, and two ballets, all in a late Romantic style. In addition to composing, he also served also as a conductor, critic and administrator. After the end of World War II, Atterberg was accused of being a Nazi sympathizer, which resulted in him being isolated and ignored by younger composers and writers.

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Ture Rangström (30 November 1884 – 11 May 1947) was a Swedish composer, music critic and conductor. Born in Stockholm, he studied with Hans Pfitzner in Berlin and Julius Hey in Munich. His early works were symphonic poems, including Dityramb (1909), Ett midsommarstycke (1910) and En höstsång (1911). Rangström later composed four symphonies, three operas—notably Gilgamesj (1944)—and nearly 300 songs, many of which he orchestrated. He was also a founding member of the Swedish Society of Composers and served as principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra from 1922 to 1925.

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Formed in 2002, the Stenhammar Quartet has established itself as one of Scandinavia's leading string quartets. Its wide-ranging repertoire spans from the Classical period to contemporary, including works by Wilhelm Stenhammar and other Swedish composers. The Quartet also regularly commissions works from Nordic composers such as Anders Hillborg, Sven-David Sandström, Kaija Saariaho and Bent Sørensen. The ensemble's recordings for record labels such as BIS, CPO and Alba have been met with critical acclaim. The Stenhammar Quartet has performed extensively across Europe, as well as in Japan, Algeria and India.

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