The Three Nocturnes, Op. 35bis, are orchestral movements extracted by Atterberg from his opera 'Fanal', which was based on dramatic events during the German Peasants' War in 1525.
Critical Reception
Stockholm critics dismissed Atterberg's Third Symphony as merely 'orchestral effects,' while German papers hailed it as the finest symphonic work of the century, apart from Richard Strauss.
Composer's Artistic Vision
When a Stockholm critic suggested Atterberg composed as a 'medium' without understanding his own work, Atterberg considered it 'the finest words of praise one can give a composer'.
Composition History
Atterberg's Symphony No. 3, 'Västkustbilder' (West Coast Pictures), originated as individual 'Pictures' completed at intervals, which he later decided to combine into a three-movement symphony.
Critical Reception
Despite initial dismissive reviews in Stockholm, Atterberg's Third Symphony achieved great popularity abroad, being played twenty-two times by foreign orchestras by 1924.
Composer Biography
Kurt Atterberg, the composer, wrote a large part of his Third Symphony while in the archipelago on the Swedish west coast, similar to his Second Symphony composed on the east coast.
Composition History
Atterberg's 'Vittorioso', Op. 58, originated as a fourth movement for his Seventh Symphony, which he later abandoned but rewrote as an independent composition twenty years later.
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