Johan Svendsen, the composer, learned violin from age nine and played multiple instruments in a military band, including clarinet, flute, trombone, and percussion.
Performer Biography
Marianne Thorsen, the violinist on this album, plays the 'Emiliani' Stradivari violin, arranged through the Leif Hoegh Foundation.
Composition History
Svendsen sold the rights to his highly successful 'Zorahayda' to his publisher, Carl Warmuth, despite not being pleased with the work, due to financial need.
Composer Biography
Svendsen left Norway secretly in 1862, playing in cafés and restaurants across Sweden, Denmark, and Germany to fund his journey to the Leipzig Conservatory.
Composition History
Richard Wagner, the famous German composer, reviewed Svendsen's 'Karneval i Paris' score, humming delightfully and remarking, 'It looks amusing!'
Composition History
Svendsen's orchestral arrangement of Wagner's 'Träume' (Dreams) premiered in Kristiania (now Oslo) on October 26, 1872, at the same concert as his 'Karneval i Paris'.
Compositional Technique
Svendsen's 'Fest-Polonaise' combines themes contrapuntally and incorporates Norwegian folk music and the 'Grieg motive' (a descending note pattern A - G sharp - E).
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