Wilhelm Peterson-Berger - Symphony No. 1; Suite 'Last Summer' (Michail Jurowski)

Information

Composer: Wilhelm Peterson-Berger

• Symphony No. 1 in B flat major, 'Banéret' (The Banner)
• Suite 'I somras' (Last Summer)

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken

Michail Jurowski, conductor

Date: 1998

Label: CPO

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Review

The Swedish Wagnerite, poet and nationalist Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (1867-1942) was a late-Romantic more feared as critic than composer. Contemporaries and compatriots stung by his acid tongue (‘criticism must be ruthless,’ he believed) scorned him as a miniaturist. Yet his five music dramas and as many symphonies show he had the capacity to sustain a large-scale structure as successfully as pen an unforgettable idyll, to argue a learned fugue as refreshingly as indulge an old-time gallantry or occasional fanfare. His imaginatively individual sound-world, neither Sibelian nor Mahlerian, was one of mystic forest murmurs, winter frosts and spring flowers, luscious solos and grand tuttis. In the inevitability of his melody, rhythm and form seems to have lurked the Berwald touch. Memorably turned, unexpectedly angled, the first two symphonies (1903, 1910), both programmatic, comfortably hold their own, while the D minor Romance (1915) passionately incarnates the Chausson Poème in northern light. Last Summer (1903, drawing on piano originals) reveals the intimate watercolourist. Predictably big-boned and committed, Jurowski’s performances are outstanding, his orchestras giving him remarkable corporate and individual support. Vivid, physically immediate recording. Comprehensive notes from Stig Jacobsson. Splendid.

— Ates Orga

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Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (27 February 1867 — 3 December 1942) was a Swedish composer and music critic. Born in Ullånger, he studied at the Stockholm Conservatory and later in Dresden. Influenced by Richard Wagner, Edvard Grieg and Swedish folk music, Peterson-Berger composed five symphonies, five operas, choral works, songs, chamber music and piano pieces. His most famous works are three albums of national romantic piano pieces entitled Frösöblomster (Flowers of Frösö), which capture the spirit of the Swedish landscape. Peterson-Berger was also a respected though very controversial and conservative music critic.

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Michail Jurowski (25 December 1945 – 19 March 2022) was a Russian conductor who based in Germany for most of his career. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory and began his career as an assistant to Gennady Rozhdestvensky at the Moscow Radio Symphony. After relocating to Germany in 1989, he held leading positions with several orchestras, such as the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (1992–98), the Leipzig Opera (1999–2001), and the WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln (2006–08). Jurowski made many first recordings of rarely performed music by Rangström, Peterson-Berger, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, among others.

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