Stenhammar: Serenade, Excelsior!, & Interlude from 'The Song'
6/3/2014, 7 Tracks, 58:19
Featuring
Christian Lindberg
Antwerp Symphony Orchestra
Wilhelm Stenhammar
Did you know?
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Compositional Technique
The Interlude from Sången, an orchestral introduction to Part Two, is noted for its simpler texture and more measured breathing compared to the dramatic vocal polyphony surrounding it, with an atmosphere often compared to Bruckner's brass chorales.
Critical Reception
The overture Excelsior! disappeared from the repertoire for over seventy years after its initial performances, partly because critics felt it was too rooted in German culture.
Composer Biography
Wilhelm Stenhammar, the composer, reportedly began each workday by asking himself, 'What is a note?', indicating a sharp musical intellect and inclination towards self-criticism.
Recording & Production
This Hybrid SACD recording was made in March 2013 at deSingel, Antwerp, Belgium, and aims to reproduce natural concert venue sound using 5.0 Surround sound.
Composition History
The Stockholm premiere of Sibelius's Second Symphony caused a deep crisis for Stenhammar, leading him to withdraw his own recently completed Symphony in F major for revision.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The program of Excelsior! alludes to human striving towards loftier goals and the struggle against baser instincts, a central theme in Goethe's Faust, which Stenhammar had studied.
Composition History
Stenhammar's concert overture Excelsior! was first performed in 1896 by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Arthur Nikisch, but was not a great success.
