Peterson-Berger: Arnljot
Soloists
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Okko Kamu
This continues my exploration of Scandinavian opera. Peterson-Berger was an important figure in late 19th century Swedish music. As well as being a teacher and composer he was also a critic and here is link to Stenhammer’s opera in this project. Peterson-Berger wrote a very damning criticism of Stenhmamer’s Tirfing, which effectively ended any possibility that it could become a repertory item.
Ironically Peterson-Berger’s opera (only extracts are available) doesn’t have anything like the impact of Stenhammer’s work. There was some attractive music here but it did seem very varied in style and I didn’t really detect the voice of a composers who had a clear personality. Some of the music seemed progressive but in other places it seemed almost naive. There were some Wagnerian influences but surprisingly to me I was quite often reminded of early 20th century English music - Delius and Vaughan Williams - though obviously this was not direct influence but perhaps evidence of common roots in the mid 19th century.
