Tor Aulin - Master Olof; Swedish Dances; Dances from Gotland (Niklas Willén)

Information

Composer: Tor Aulin

• Four Swedish Dances, Op. 32
• Three Dances from Gotland, Op. 28
• Master Olof, Op. 22

WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln

Niklas Willén, conductor

Date: 2013

Label: CPO

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Review

Tor Aulin was a Swedish violinist-composer who wrote beguiling, folksy music and then died in a really horrible fashion at the age of 47. We have here two sets of charming, tuneful dances and the incidental music to a play, Master Olof. The Swedish Dances and Three Dances from Gotland (a sizeable island in the Baltic Sea) have rustic cheer, a firm rhythmic stamp, an abundance of good tunes, and much folkloric color. They’re a little less concise than comparable dances by Brahms or Dvorák, and consistently cheery, but a whole lot of fun. The first dance from Gotland is especially harmonically spicy. Think of the dance sets by Grieg and you have the right basic idea.

 

Master Olof is a slightly different story. The orchestration is still splashy, with lots of tunes for brass, cymbal crashes, and sweeping melodies, but there’s more contrast, including a pretty memorable death scene. Aulin allows himself more emotion and subtler ideas here, from an introduction of regal restraint to a second number which ends on a note of Elgarian melancholy.

 

I’m a little worried about the sound quality. CPO’s German engineering has failed me twice in a row now, between this and a recent disc of waltzes by Richard Eilenberg; the sound seems over-reverberant and aggressive, with sections of the orchestra fighting each other in a jumble for supremacy. The timpani really rumble away. Still, the playing’s very good, and if I can imagine a bit more sprightliness in the dances, Niklas Willén compensates with a very sympathetic manner.

 

The best of Aulin’s music, that I’ve heard, remains the third violin concerto, which manages the neat trick of being pastoral, not especially dramatic, and continuously gorgeous but somehow incredibly compelling. Master Olof ranks right up there, and the Dances are delightful. Very much worth your time!

 

— Brian Reinhart

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Tor Aulin (10 September 1866 – 1 March 1914) was a Swedish violinist, conductor and composer. He studied in Stockholm and Berlin with Carl Johan Lindberg, Émile Sauret and Philipp Scharwenka. Aulin was concertmaster of the Royal Swedish Opera (1889–1892) and later went on to conduct major orchestras in Stockholm and Gothenburg. In 1887, he founded the Aulin Quartet, Sweden's first professional string quartet, which gained reputation before disbanding in 1912. Aulin was a notable champion of Berwald's and Stenhammar's music. As a composer, he wrote violin concertos, a sonata, an orchestral suite, and violin pieces.

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Niklas Willén (born 30 March 1961 in Stockholm) is a Swedish conductor. He studied conducting at the Royal College of Music under Jorma Panula. Willén has served as chief conductor of several orchestras, including the WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln and Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, principal guest conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and artistic director of the Göteborg Wind Orchestra. He has conducted leading orchestras across Europe and recorded extensively. Willén has also been active in opera, having conducted at major houses such as the Göteborg Opera and Greek National Opera.

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