Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra & Peter Szilvay - Groven - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 (2020) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Many interwar Norwegian composers tried to create a new national music by combining elements of authentic folk music with new techniques. Eivind Groven was considered one of the most innovative composers in this quest, integrating the structure of folk dances from his rural upbringing into familiar formal principles. Both symphonies make use of techniques of so-called ‘progressive transformation’, which led fellow composer Arne Nordheim to declare: ‘While others made instrumentations of folk tunes, Groven created sounds, for example in his [two] symphonies which, in my opinion, are quite unique.’

"Born in Norway in 1901, Eivind Groven, grew up on a farm that offered a backdrop for folk music, and aged just 15, he had a fiddle repertoire of over 200 dance tunes. Becoming a school teacher and a move to Oslo brought his first encounter with classical music, and created a desire to bring together the music he heard in the concert hall with his vast wealth of folk music. It was to be the basis of his First Symphony in 1937, subtitled ‘Towards the Mountains’, the inspiration coming from Hans Kinck’s play, ‘The Cattleman’. Cast in four movements, and employing a modest sized orchestra, it was to be revised in 1950, seven years after completion of his Second Symphony. There are informative printed notes in the disc’s booklet to guide you through each score, and when he introduces folk melodies, they are integrated into the content of the music rather than standing apart from it. For my part, I would say that while he created a personal voice, the music belongs to the late 19th century. Often forceful, as in the first movement of both symphonies; there is the attractive melodic invention we find in the hauntingly expressive Largo of the First; a dramatic war influenced Andante in the Second Symphony that ends in a mood of optimism. Groven was to die in 1977, never having added to those two symphonies. They are here performed with much conviction by the orchestra from Kristiansand, one of Norway’s seven full-time orchestras, here conducted by Peter Szilvay. With a wide dynamic range, there is also clarity of detail in a fine recording." (David’s Review Corner)

TRACKLIST
Eivind Groven (1911 - 1977): Symphony No. 1, Op. 26 "Towards the Mountains":

1 Symphony No. 1, Op. 26 "Towards the Mountains": I. Andante quasi cantabile
2 Symphony No. 1, Op. 26 "Towards the Mountains": II. Allegro
3 Symphony No. 1, Op. 26 "Towards the Mountains": III. Largo
4 Symphony No. 1, Op. 26 "Towards the Mountains": IV. Allegro ma non troppo

Symphony No. 2, Op. 34 "The Midnight Hour":

5 Symphony No. 2, Op. 34 "The Midnight Hour": I. Allegro moderato
6 Symphony No. 2, Op. 34 "The Midnight Hour": II. Andante
7 Symphony No. 2, Op. 34 "The Midnight Hour": III. Allegro



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