SCANDINAVIAN SYMPHONIES
From the 19th Century To the Present

A Discography Of CDs And LPs
Prepared by Michael Herman

© 2009-19 Michael Herman

All national discographies

Nielsen ~ Composers A-K ~ Composers L-Z

Most recent update: February 2022

INTRODUCTION

Before even discussing the musical contents and structure of this work, it is necessary to define its geographical limits. The term "Scandinavian" herein refers to the peoples and cultures of three Northern European nations and an island nation and a small chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, namely Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, that speak related North Germanic or Nordic languages and share a common historical background. A broader definition, not used here, would include Finland, a nation with strong cultural ties to Scandinavia but linguistically distinct from it. Finnish composers are covered along with their colleagues from the three Baltic nations (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) in a seperate discography now in perparation.

The composers included in this discography are those born in or who came to live in these countries and wrote symphonies from the beginning of the 19th century to the present that have been recorded. It will be noticed that many composers have more than one country listed in the heading for his or her entry. This reflects the fluidity often seen in the music world where some leave a smaller place in order to create in a larger artistic milieu while others go in the opposite direction often to seek refuge in a less turbulent environment. Unlike the previous discographies in this series, an alphabetical arrangement is utilized here because we are dealing with composers of different nationalities and the idea of educational continuity is less meaningful. A single alphabet is used for the all the composers from the various nations and a composer index is placed first so the reader can immediately go via links to any particular composer.

As in the previous discographies in this series, no attempt has been made to list every release of every recording of each work. There have just been too many reissues, especially from the major labels, to make this feasible for many recordings. Instead, what are listed are the most current issue the author has located and the earliest release (if any on LP or CD) of that particular recording. In general, multi-disc compendium releases are omitted unless they contain a unique recording or the sole modern reissue of a previously released performance.

The entry for each composer consists of two sections. First there is a compact biographical paragraph that notes some essential information such as place of birth, higher musical education (including schools and prominent teachers), subsequent musical careers in addition to composing, details of other symphonies that have not been recorded and selective lists of other works for orchestra. Compositional styles are not discussed in these paragraphs and readers are referred to the bibliography where various reference books that cover this subject are listed. The second part of each composer entry consists of lists of his or her symphonies that have been recorded and the various recordings of each work. Symphony is defined here as any work the composer has designated as such in its title including works called "sinfonia" or "sinfonietta." The works can be for full orchestra, chamber orchestra, strings, winds, brass or chorus and orchestra. For every symphony that has them, the opus number, key signature and title are noted and the year of composition is stated for all. The entries of the symphonies that have had multiple recordings are listed alphabetically by the conductor's name. Each listing of a recording consists of the following components (if known): (1) Performers (in this order if all are involved - conductor, soloists, choral group, orchestra), (2) Other works on the recording. (3) Label and catalogue number and year of issue and (4) If the recording is a reissue, the original LP or CD release and its year of issue. Please note that the performers listed are for the entry work and not necessarily for the works that it is coupled with. Also, in most instances when an entry work is included in a large collection (especially if most of the other works are not related to the discography's subject) the list of couplings is not given but replaced by the title of the collection.

The symphony arrived in Scandinavia during the eighteenth century. The form moved North from Germany and the earliest examples were written by composers such as Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758), known as the "Father of Swedish music," Johan Agrell (1701-65) and Johan Daniel Berlin (1714-87), a German immigrant who settled in Norway. Their "sinfonias" were basically a shorter type of work derived from the Italian opera overture. A more substantial type of symphony, similar to what was then being written in Germany, came from Sweden's Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-92), considered Scandinavia's first important symphonist and the Dane Christoph Weyse (1774-1842) who was a contemporary of Beethoven. The nineteenth century witnessed the gradual arrival of the Romantic symphony in the 1830's through the 1840's with works by Adolf Lindblad and Franz Berwald in Sweden and Niels W. Gade in Denmark. Norway would have to wait another two decades for the symphonies of Otto Winter-Hjelm, Edvard Grieg and Johan Svendsen and Iceland would have to wait until the 20th century before their composers would compose works in that form. Despite this late start, the symphony blossomed in Scandinavia and, as the pages that follow will attest, numerous composers would produce symphonies, some in substantial numbers and, unlike most other European areas, this tradition still thrives today. One must concede, however, that with few exceptions (basically Nielsen, and Sibelius in neighboring Finland), the Northern symphonies are as good as unknown in concert halls around the world. Obviously, many of the works listed below cannot compete in quality and memorability with their famous counterparts in the so-called "basic repertoire." However, there are also many wonderful works that ought to be heard by a more general public who would immediately recognize what treasures they have been missing. Romantics such as Svendsen, Halvorsen, Stenhammar, Atterberg and Glass and modernists such as Rosenberg, Saeverud, Holmboe and Nørgård come immediately to mind as composers to start one's "symphonic explorations" with.

 

A wish list
The composer paragraphs below include lists of unrecorded symphonies by those already represented but what follows is a brief "wish to hear" list of such works by composers thus far totally unrecorded:

Erik Åkerberg (1868-1938) Sweden: Symphony in E minor
Alfred Nikolai Andersen-Wingar (1869-1952) Norway. 4 Symphonies
Bror Beckman (1866-1929): Sweden: Symphony in F
Jørgen Bentzon (1897-1951) Denmark: 2 Symphonies
Erling Brene (1896-1980): Denmark: 3 Symphonies
Hjalmar Borgström (1864-1925) Norway: 2 Symphonies
Arne Eggen (1881-1955) Norway: Symphony in G minor..(1920)
Gunnar Ek (1900-1982) Sweden: 3 Symphonies
Catherinus Elling (1858-1942) Norway: 2 Symphonies
Johannes Haarklou (1847-1925) Norway: 4 Symphonies
Emil Hartmann (1836-1898) Denmark: 7 Symphonies
Harald Heide (1876-1956) Norway: Symphonie Romantique
Gustaf Helsted (1857-1924) Denmark: 2 Symphonies
Albert Henneberg (1901-1991) Sweden: 6 Symphonies
Fini Henriques (1867-1949) Denmark: Symphony in C
Ole Hjellemo (1873-1838) Norway:: 5 Symphonies
Finn Hoffding (1899-1997) 4 Symphonies
Sigurd Islandmoen (1881-1964) Norway: 2 Symphonies
Ingemar Liljefors (1906-1981) Sweden: Symphony, Op. 15
Johan Backer Lunde (1874-1958) Norway: Symphony in D minor
Otto Malling (1848-1915) Denmark: Symphony in D minor
Einar Oulie (1890-1957) Norway: 2 Symphonies
Gustaf Paulson (1913-1966) Sweden: 13 Symphonies
Stig Rybrant (1916-1985): Sweden: 2 Symphonies
Svend S. Schultz (1913-1998): Denmark: 7 Symphonies
Eirík Árna Sigtryggsson (b. 1943) Iceland: 5 Symphonies
Marius Ulfrstad (1890-1968) Norway: 5 Symphonies
Adolf Wiklund (1879-1950) Sweden: Symphony, Op. 20

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I have received a lot of help in preparing this work. For this particular Discography, I am especially indebted to my Swedish friend Stig Jacobsson who looked over all the CD and LP listings and let me know about a substantial number of recordings that I had missed. If that name looks familiar you will have recognized it from the brilliant notes he has written over the years for hundreds of Scandinavian LPs and CDs as well as books and articles about Scandinavian composers. Special thanks also to G.P. Gennaro for his specialized knowledge of the recordings of Carl Nielsen's Symphonies. As in my previous Discographies, Rob Barnett of MusicWeb helped eliminate a lot of errors by proofreading the entire work. I am very grateful to him as well as to MusicWeb's webmaster Len Mullenger who has kindly hosted and helped me prepare my Discographies for the website and has patiently instructed me on the use of a software program that has made it easier for me get my work ready for the internet.

Please note that all recordings listed are CDs unless specifically designated as LPs.

Finally, as this book is published online it can always be a work in progress as the author has the ability to amend the work when necessary with very little difficulty. A work of this type is bound to contain errors and omissions as so much material has been gathered from so many diverse sources.

---

COMPOSER LISTING
Please note that while the discography continues to be updated, the list below will not be.

AAGUIST (JOHANSEN), SVEND (b. 1948), Denmark ABRAHAMSEN, HANS (b. 1952), Denmark ALEXANDERSSON, HELMER (1886-1927), Sweden ALFVÉN, HUGO (1872-1960), Sweden ALNÆS, EYVIND (1872-1932), Norway ANDRÉE, ELFRIDA (1841-1929), Sweden ATTERBERG, KURT (1887-1974), Sweden BÄCK, SVEN-ERIK (1919-1994), Sweden BADEN, CONRAD (1908-1989), Norway BENDIX, VICTOR (1851-1926), Denmark BENGTSSON, GUSTAF (1886-1965), Sweden BENTZON, NIELS VIGGO (1919-2000), Denmark BERG, NATHANAEL (1879-1957), Sweden BERWALD, FRANZ (1796-1868), Sweden BIBALO, ANTONIO (1922-2008), (Italy)/Norway BLOMDAHL, KARL-BIRGER (1916-1968), Sweden BOLDEMANN, LACI (1921-1969), (Finland)/Sweden BORISOVA-OLLAS, VICTORIA (b. 1969), (Russia)/Sweden BØRRESEN, HAKON (1876-1954), Denmark BÖRTZ, DANIEL (b. 1943), Sweden BRÆIN, EDVARD FLIFLET (1924-1976), Norway BROMAN, STEN (1902-1983), Sweden BRUSTAD, BJARNE (1895-1978), Norway BUCHT, GUNNAR (b. 1927), Sweden BYSTRÖM, OSCAR (1821-1909), Sweden CARLSTEDT, JAN (1926-2004), Sweden CRUSELL, BERNHARD (1775-1838), (Finland)/Sweden DEÁK, CSABA (b. 1932), (Hungary)/Sweden DENTE , JOSEPH (1838-1905, Sweden) EGGE, KLAUS (1906-1979), Norway EGGERT, JOACHIM NICOLAS (1779-1813), Sweden EICHBERG, SØREN NILS (b. 1973, Denmark) EIRIKSDÓTTIR, KARÓLINA (b. 1951), Iceland EKLUND, HANS (1927-1999), Sweden ELIASSON, ANDERS (1947-2013), Sweden ENNA, AUGUST (1860-1939), Denmark FERNSTRÖM, JOHN (1897-1961), Sweden FRANDSEN, JOHN (b. 1956), Denmark FRANKE-BLOM, LARS-ÅKE (b. 1941), Sweden FRØHLICH, JOHANNES FREDERIK (1806-1860), Denmark GADE, NIELS WILHELM (1817-1890), Denmark GERSON, GEORGE (1790-1825), Denmark GLASS, LOUIS (1864-1936), Denmark GRAM, PEDER (1881-1956), Denmark GRANDERT, JOHNNY (b. 1939), Sweden GRIEG, EDVARD (1843-1907), Norway GRØNDAHL, TERJE (b. 1960), Norway GROVEN, EIVIND (1901-1977), Norway GUDMUNDSEN-HOLMGREEN, PELLE (1932-2016), Denmark HAGERUP BULL, EDVARD (1922-2012), Norway HÄGG, JAKOB ADOLF (1850-1928), Sweden HALLBERG, BENGT WILHELN  (1824-1883,Sweden HALVORSEN, JOHAN (1864-1935), Norway HAMERIK, ASGER (1843-1923), Denmark HAMERIK, EBBE (1898-1951), Denmark HARTMANN, JOHAN PETER EMILIUS (1805-1900), Denmark HAUG, HALVOR (b. 1952), Norway HEDWALL, LENNART (b. 1932), Sweden HEGDAL, MAGNE (b. 1944), Norway HELSTED, CARL (1818-1904), Denmark HERMANSON, ÅKE (1923-1996), Sweden HØFFDING, FINN (1899-1997), Denmark HOLEWA, HANS (1905-1991), (Austria)/Sweden HOLMBOE, VAGN (1909-1996), Denmark HOLTER, IVER (1850-1941), Norway HURUM, ALF (1882-1972), Norway IRGENS-JENSEN, LUDVIG (1894-1959) Norway JOHANSON, SVEN-ERIC (1919-1997), Sweden JOHNSEN, HALLVARD (1916-2003), Norway JONSSON, JOSEF (1887-1969), Sweden JOSEPHSON, JACOB AXEL (1818-1880), Sweden KALLSTENIUS, EDVIN (1881-1967), Sweden KARKOFF, MAURICE (1927-2013), Sweden KARLSEN, KJELL MØRK (b. 1947), Norway KAYSER, LEIF (1919-2001), Denmark KIELLAND, OLAV (1916-1985), Norway KLEIBERG, STÅLE (b. 1958), Norway KLENAU, PAUL VON (1883-1946), Denmark KLEVEN, ARVID (1899-1929) Norway KOCH, ERLAND VON (1910-2009), Sweden KOPPEL, ANDERS (b. 1947), Denmark KOPPEL, HERMAN DAVID (1909-1998), Denmark KVANDAL, JOHAN (1919-1999), Norway

LANGE-MÜLLER, PETER ERASMUS (1850-1926), Denmark LANGGAARD, RUED (1893-1952), Denmark LARSSON, LARS-ERIK (1908-1986), Sweden LARSSON GOTHE, MATS (b. 1965), Sweden LEIFS, JÓN (1899-1968), Iceland LIE, HARALD (1902-1942), Norway LIE, SIGURD (1871-1904), Norway LILJEFORS, RUBEN (1871-1936), Sweden LILLEBJERKA, SIGMUND (1931-2015), Norway LINDBERG, OSKAR (1887-1955), Sweden LINDBLAD, ADOLF FREDRIK (1801-1878), Sweden LINDE, BO (1933-1970), Sweden LUNDQUIST, TORBJÖRN IWAN (1920-2000), Sweden MARÓS, MIKLÓS (b. 1943), (Hungary)/Sweden MARTHINSEN, NIELS (b. 1963), Denmark MELCHERS, HENRIK MELCHER (1882-1961), Sweden MELLNÄS, ARNE (1933-2002), Sweden MORTENSEN, FINN (1922-1983), Norway NIELSEN, CARL (1865-1931), Denmark NIELSEN, LUDOLF (1876-1939), Denmark NIELSEN SVEND (b. 1937), Denmark NILSSON, ANDERS (b. 1954), Sweden NØRGÅRD, PER (b. 1932), Denmark NØRHOLM, IB (b. 1931), Denmark NORMAN, LUDVIG (1831-1885), Sweden NYSTEDT, KNUT (1915-2014), Norway NYSTROEM, GÖSTA (1890-1966), Sweden ÖLANDER, PER AUGUST (1824-1886), Sweden OLSEN, OLE (1850-1927), Norway OLSEN, POUL ROVSING (1922-1982), Denmark OLSSON, OTTO (1879-1964), Sweden ØRBECK, ANNE-MARIE (1911-1996), Norway PERGAMENT, MOSES (1893-1977), (Finland)/Sweden PETERSON-BERGER, WILHELM (1867-1942), Sweden PETTERSSON, ALLAN (1911-1980), Sweden PHILIP, HANS-ERIK (b. 1943), Denmark RANGSTRÖM, TURE (1884-1947), Sweden RASMUSSEN, KARL AAGE (b. 1947), Denmark RASMUSSEN, SUNLEIF (b. 1961), Denmark (Faroe Islands) RAUTAVAARA, EINOJUHANI (1928-2016), Finland RIISAGER, KNUDÅGE (1897-1974) Denmark ROSENBERG, HILDING (1892-1985), Sweden RUBENSON, ALBERT (1826-1901), Sweden RUDERS, POUL (b. 1949), Denmark RYPDAL, TERJE (b. 1947), Norway SÆVERUD, HARALD (1897-1992), Norway SANDBY, HERMAN (1881-1965), Denmark SCHIERBECK, POUL (1888-1949), Denmark SCHJELDERUP, GERHARD (1859-1933), Norway SCHMIDT, OLE (1928-2010), Denmark SILLÉN, JOSEF OTTO AF (1859-1951), Sweden SIMONSEN, RUDOLPH (1889-1947), Denmark SINDING, CHRISTIAN (1856-1941), Norway SIVELÖV, NIKAS (b. 1968) Sweden SKÖLD, YNGVE (1899-1992), Sweden SÖDERLIND, RAGNAR (b. 1945), Norway SOLBERG, LEIF (1914-2016), Norway SOMMERFELDT, ØISTEIN (1919-1994), Norway SÖRENSON, TORSTEN (1908-1992), Sweden SPEIGHT, JOHN (b.1945) Iceland STENHAMMAR, WILHELM (1871-1927), Sweden SVENDSEN, JOHAN (1840-1911), Norway SYBERG, FRANZ (1904-1955), Denmark TARP, SVEND ERIK (1908-1994), Denmark THÓRARINSSON, LEIFUR (1934-98), Iceland THYRESTAM, GUNNAR (1900-1984), Sweden TVEITT, GEIRR (1908-1981), Norway VALEN, FARTEIN (1887-1952), Norway VALKARE, GUNNAR (b. 1943), Sweden WERLE, LARS JOHAN (1926-2001), Sweden WEYSE, CHRISTOPH (1774-1842), Denmark WINTER-HJELM, OTTO (1837-1931), Norway WIRÉN, DAG (1905-1986), Sweden

 

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

(1) BOOKS

Clough, Francis F. and C.J. Cuming. The World's Encyclopedia of Recorded Music (including Supplements) in 3 vols. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1952-57.

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2d ed., in 29 vols., edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. New York: Grove, 2000.

Jacobsson, Stig. Svenska Tonsättere Diskografi. Gothenburg: Rikskonserter, 1986.

Layton, Robert (ed.). A Guide to the Symphony. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Sadie, Julie Anne and Rhian Samuel (eds). The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. New York: W.W. Norton and Co.,
1995.

The Society of Norwegian Composers. Contemporay Norwegian Orchestral and Chamber Music. Oslo: Johan Grundt Tanum Forlag, 1970.

Simpson, Robert. The Symphony, 2 vols. New York: Drake Publishers, 1972.

Slonimsky, Nicolas. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 8th edition. New York: Schirmer Books, 1992.

Slonimsky, Nicolas. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Classical Musicians (edited by Laura Kuhn). New York:
Schirmer Books, 1997.

Swedish Music Information Center. Swedish Composers of the 20th Century. Stockholm: SMIC, 1988.

Thompson, Oscar (ed). The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, updated 11th edition. New York: Dodd, Mead and
Co., 1985.

(2) RECORD CATALOGS

Gramophone Classical Record Catalogue (retitled: Gramophone Classical Catalogue) (1953-1996)

Schwann Long Playing Record Catalog (retitled: Schwann 1 – Record and Tape Guide and Schwann Opus) (1949-2001)

 

(3) WEBSITES

LIBRARY CATALOGUES AND NATIONAL COMPOSER INFORMATION SITES

British Library Sound Archive http://www.bl.uk/collections/sound-archive/nsa.html

Danish Music Info http://www.danishmusic.info/

Denmark: The Royal Library (Main Collection of Printed Music) http://www.kb.dk/en/nb/samling/ma/hs.html

Iceland Music Information Centre (ITM) http://www.mic.is/eng/

Library and Archives Canada http:www.colectionscanada.gc.

Library of Congress http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First

Norwegian Music Information Centre http://www.mic.no/english

Swedish Music Information Centre (SMIC) http://www.mic.stim.se/avd/mic/prod/micv5.nsf/docsbycodename/start

New York Public Library Research Catalog http://catnyp.nypl.org/

 

OTHER SITES

Amazon (UK) http://www.amazon.co.uk

Arkiv Music http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/main.jsp

BIS Records http://www.bis.se/index.php

Chandos Records http://www.chandos.net

CPO Records http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/home

Crotchet http://www.crotchet.co.uk

Dutton Vocalion Records http://www.duttonvocalion.com

EMI/Virgin Classics http://www.emiclassics.com

Gramophone Archive http://www.gramophone.net

Hyperion Records http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk

Lyrita Recorded Edition http://www.lyrita.co.uk

MDT http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/pages/home/default.asp

MusicWeb International http://www.musicweb-international.com

MuziekWeb (Centrale Discotheek Rotterdam) http://www.muziekweb.nl/menu/shared/cat/pica/index.php

Naxos Records http://www.naxos.com

Sterling Records http://www.sterlingcd.com/

 

COMPOSER AND CONDUCTOR SITES

Many contemporary composers have their own websites and others can be found on the websites of their publishers. There are also websites for earlier composers and conductors that are maintained by societies that promote their music and recordings. These can be found by typing the composer's name into any search engine.