# SS 15.06.19 - Berwald #3 "Sinfonie Singulière"



## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

A continuation of the Saturday Symphonies Tradition:

Welcome to another weekend of symphonic listening! 
_*
*For your listening pleasure this weekend:*

Franz Berwald **(1796 - 1868)*

Symphony No. 3 in C major "Sinfonie Singuliere"__
1. Allegro fuocoso
2. Adagio - Scherzo (Allegro assai) - Adagio
3. Finale: Presto

Post what recording you are going to listen to giving details of Orchestra / Conductor / Chorus / Soloists etc - Enjoy!_


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

Another weekend is upon us and another symphony is up for your listening enjoyment. This weekend it's the last of Swedish composer Franz Berwald's symphonies to appear on our list with his Third. I like Berwald and haven't heard this one in a while so I'm looking forward to hearing it again. I hope everyone can join in. I usually go for Jarvi, but I'm going to listen to this one for a change which I'll post a YouTube link to as well.





Igor Markevitch/Berlin Philharmonic


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

I like this work. I'll listen to Kamu here as it's the one I have.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Wow, again! Two of my very favourite Symphonies in a row! A four (!) - movement masterpiece, and just magically beautiful.

I think I'll listen to Roy Goodman's excellent recording.









I'll give that Markevich version a listen too.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Hmmm…my choice is among Ehrling, Kamu, Dausgaard, and Bolton. I like them all but am less fond of the Jarvi, for whatever reason.

That Bolton fellow wouldn't be Ramsay Bolton, would he? No, I guess not. Good.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Ehrling for me!


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

CnC Bartok said:


> Wow, again! Two of my very favourite Symphonies in a row! A four (!) - movement masterpiece, and just magically beautiful.
> 
> I think I'll listen to Roy Goodman's excellent recording.
> 
> View attachment 120128


Agree with your comments and choice of version


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

CnC Bartok said:


> Wow, again! Two of my very favourite Symphonies in a row! A four (!) - movement masterpiece, and just magically beautiful.


Four movements downhill with a tailwind! Berwald sneakily enfolds the scherzo in the adagio, so maybe it's three movements, or at most three and a half.

But at least it's all there, which is more than we can say about Haydn, who definitely shortchanged us last week.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

This one for sure, perhaps the Markevich too.


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## cougarjuno (Jul 1, 2012)

I have the Jarvi and Gothenburg so, I'll listen to this one too. Berwald's music always catches my interest as his music to me seems more inspired than that of many 19th century composers. He is a true underrated composer whose symphonies should definitely be heard more often in the concert hall.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I got to know this symphony from this Nonesuch LP, which in my memory was an excellent performance. The Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra conducted By Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt.


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## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

CnC Bartok said:


> Wow, again! Two of my very favourite Symphonies in a row! A four (!) - movement masterpiece, and just magically beautiful.
> 
> I think I'll listen to Roy Goodman's excellent recording.
> 
> ...


One I have, one I will listen to.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I have Markevitch and will give it another outing.

View attachment 120141


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

KenOC said:


> Four movements downhill with a tailwind! Berwald sneakily enfolds the scherzo in the adagio, so maybe it's three movements, or at most three and a half.
> 
> But at least it's all there, which is more than we can say about Haydn, who definitely shortchanged us last week.


I have irrefutable proof Berwald stole the idea from Bartok's 2nd Piano Concerto


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Listened to Ehrling’s old recording with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He plays it pretty much the way I like it.

To me, this is the most interesting of Berwald’s symphonies, and I doubt I’m alone in feeling that way. It has some absolutely wizard ideas with major impact, especially in the first movement and the adagio portion of the second.

The connecting material between the big ideas, and some of the other thematic material as well, consists of clipped, short ideas that seem coiled and tense, like springs about to be sprung. This gives the music a nervous energy very unlike any other composer of the time and makes it sound, to me, more “modern” than it is. I can well imagine that listeners of the time (1845!) had some difficulties with this* when they were more accustomed to the breadth of, say, Beethoven.

The central movement of this symphony is novel in that it consists of both a slow adagio and a rather fleet scherzo, the latter enfolded in the former.** I know of no other example of this.

Thanks to Saturday Symphony for the opportunity to listen to this excellent symphony again!

*Oh, I see it wasn’t even performed until 1905! Belay that comment about “listeners of the time”. :lol:

**At least he gave us the whole symphony, unlike a certain swindling composer featured very recently on SS!


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

D Smith said:


> I like this work. I'll listen to Kamu here as it's the one I have.


Missed thos as i was away all weekend. Just played the disc above. I enjoy Berwald's symphonies.


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