# SS 26.09.20 - Stenhammar #2



## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

A continuation of the Saturday Symphonies Tradition:

Welcome to another weekend of symphonic listening!

For your listening pleasure this weekend:*

Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871 - 1927)*

Symphony #2 in G minor, Op. 34

1. Allegro energico
2. Andante
3. Scherzo: Allegro ma non troppo presto
4. Finale: Sostenuto - Allegro vivace - Tranquillamente - Allegro ma non troppo
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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 Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar's Second Symphony. I'm not familiar with this one at all so I'm looking forward to giving it a spin. I hope everyone else can give this one a listen.

I'll be listening to this one:




Vassily Sinaisky/BBC Philharmonic


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## cougarjuno (Jul 1, 2012)

It's about time I listened to this. Amazon has I bought it three years ago. I love his piano concertos, let's see about the symphony. N. Jarvi and Goteborgs.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Having played Stig Westerberg's recording with the Stockholms Filharmoniska Orkester quite recently, I'll go with this one.


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

Have to confess I'm much less familiar with No. 2 then No. 1. Time to give it a proper listening session with Lintu and the BBCSSO.


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## Simplicissimus (Feb 3, 2020)

Listening to Stig Westerberg/Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra on streaming. Very tuneful and happy despite being in a minor key. I’m going to enjoy listening to this symphony repeatedly over the course of this week.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Vassily Sinaisky/BBC Philharmonic

This one for me


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

I will go with this version


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## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

I will listen this one


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## Joachim Raff (Jan 31, 2020)

Its a symphony i regularly listen to, so i am very familiar with it. I have listened to the majority of these recordings. My reference version is Stig Westerberg.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

A symphony I always enjoy. Had this one for many years.


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## BlackAdderLXX (Apr 18, 2020)

Oh, can I play?
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Neeme Järvi
Recorded: 1993-09
Recording Venue: Konserthuset, Goteborg









I've listened to this work a couple of times but am still becoming familiar with it. Overall it's charming but there's some moments in it that I have really thought were excellent.


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

Mika said:


> View attachment 143628
> 
> I will listen this one


I'm listening to this one now.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Never listened to this before.

It seems that Stenhammar undertook this symphony (it took four years to finish) after hearing Sibelius's 2nd Symphony. That not only caused him to change his approach to music but to withdraw his 1st Symphony that he had written a decade earlier under the influence of Bruckner's music. To my ears, this work definitely leans in a "northerly" direction and occasional passages bring to mind identifiable parts of Sibelius's orchestral work - even more apparent on a second hearing. That said, it doesn't seem overly derivative to my ears and has its own distinct musical personality.

It's lengthy, about three-quarters of an hour, but it moves along nicely and seldom drags. The first movement starts out with a striking passage in the baritone voices. It continues with some energy and with the thematic parsimony championed by Sibelius - true of the rest of the symphony as well. The 2nd movement, an _Andante_, is a pleasant enough listen but maybe a bit long. The _Scherzo _opens with a somewhat heavy-footed Bruckner-like rhythm, followed by a passage reminiscent, oddly, of Shostakovich's Waltz No. 2. Overall, this may be the symphony's most distinctive movement. The finale, quite fugal in parts, is lengthy and involved but hangs together well. Its somewhat episodic and contrapuntal character might have been inspired by the finale of Mahler's 5th Symphony.

Overall this is a fine work, devoid of the usual late-romantic excesses and of any attempt to manufacture drama through musical histrionics. A great entry in the SS series and a keeper here. I'll be listening to Stenhammar's Serenade for Orchestra, piano concertos, and string quartets as well, all said to be quite fine and all available on YouTube.

I listened to the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Neeme Järvi.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

KenOC said:


> Never listened to this before.
> 
> It seems that Stenhammar undertook this symphony (it took four years to finish) after hearing Sibelius's 2nd Symphony. That not only caused him to change his approach to music but to withdraw his 1st Symphony that he had written a decade earlier under the influence of Bruckner's music. To my ears, this work definitely leans in a "northerly" direction and occasional passages bring to mind identifiable parts of Sibelius's orchestral work - even more apparent on a second hearing. That said, it doesn't seem overly derivative to my ears and has its own distinct musical personality.
> 
> ...


Excellent comments and I can little more
Definitely a good choice for this weekend


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Belatedly - Wilhelm Stenhammar, Symphony No 2 - BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu.










A fine Symphony - I'll go no further in my comments other than to tip my hat to Ken's erudite and from where I'm standing accurate thoughts :tiphat:


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