Considering that five years ago Christian Lindberg
was considered to be only a very fine performer on trombone,
this album is a landmark event for him. It marks his coming
of age in many ways, as it is his first CD as a conductor. The
liner notes reflect his wry humor; he describes himself as more
of a “windmill than anything else”. I have not yet seen him
conduct, but considering both the speed with which he has become
the chief conductor of the Swedish Wind Ensemble and the rather
remarkable sounds that the group produces under his baton, he
has clearly found a way to convey his vast musical knowledge
and understanding.
Appropriately the album begins
with a native Swedish work. The Mountain King was originally
commissioned by the Royal Swedish Opera from Swedish composer
Hugo Alfvén. Despite mixed reviews the composer considered this
to be one of his greatest works. Although it is not particularly
well known, it is easy to find agreement with that judgment.
It is an intense and varied work of seven short movements and
a great deal of recurring thematic material, potentially used
as Wagnerian leitmotifs. Harmonically and melodically, however,
it more closely resembles one of the ballet works by Ravel or
Debussy. Structurally it is episodic much as Mussorgsky’s Pictures
at an Exhibition. Each movement creates a particular scene
then ends as quickly as it began, moving on to the next. The
arranging by Anders Högstedt translates the work to wind ensemble
particularly well, and the result is wonderfully theatrical.
Following on the heels of The
Mountain King comes Edgard Varèse’s Intégrales. While
Varèse was not a particularly prolific composer, his works are
widely considered to be among the best of art music, built around
studies in experimental instrumentation and intense rhythmic
and metrical complexity. This work is written for eleven wind
instruments and four percussionists, all of which are combined
in various ways to create a montage of sound tapestries. It
is a pared down, extremely expressive piece that pushes against
the self-imposed boundaries in ways forecasting the later electronic
works for which Varèse would eventually become famous. It was
originally performed in 1925 under Stokowski’s baton in New York City, and again hearkens to Stravinsky
or Ravel. It is well chosen on the program following The
Mountain King, and is equally well performed and conducted.
Next is a work totally unfamiliar
to me, but again specifically selected complement the program
both in character and performance. The insert booklet details
the friendship of Mr. Lindberg and the composer, Mats Larsson
Gothe. His Prelude and Dance is, predictably, a two movement
work: the first a slow, brooding prelude followed by a rhythmically
intense energetic dance section. It must be considered a neo-Romantic
ballet work, and taken as such fits very neatly.
Following is another work by the
Swedish composer Hugo Alfvén. Fest-Overture is a much
more traditional sounding work than any of others here. The
composer wrote it for ‘large military band’, and based it on
the works of the Italian music corps. The original used a large
number of instruments no longer readily available, however,
and again Anders Högstedt lends his skill and knowledge of this
specific ensemble to render a very solid transcription. This
work is in many ways the weakest of the collection. The composition
is not particularly strong and feels somewhat out of place with
the more complex and expressive works placed before it. Even
so, the wind ensemble performs capably under Mr. Lindberg’s
direction, presenting the work to its best advantage.
Concluding the main portion of
the album is a new composition written by the conductor on commission
from The World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles
conference in Jönköping in 2003: Concerto for Winds and Percussion.
Again, the liner notes are useful and informative in coming
to a better understanding of the less familiar pieces. This
one was composed for the Swedish Wind Ensemble, and each individual
part tailored and dedicated to a specific player. That type
of care coupled with the loving attention that a composer gives
his own work comes through. It is an excellent conclusion to
a generally good program.
After the Concerto for Winds
and Percussion there are two bonus tracks. The first is
from Michael Haydn’s Concert in D major for Alto Trombone
with Christian Lindberg on alto trombone with the Australian
Chamber Orchestra. It was released in April 2004 under the title
Classical Trombone Concertos (BIS-CD-1248) and, while
totally out of place with the rest of the CD, is an outstanding
piece from the baroque era. Finally there is one other work
by Christian Lindberg, Dream of Arkandia, from The
World of Montuagretta (BIS-CD-1428) which in stylistic
terms hearkens to the early part of the twentieth century and
would fit well into the rest of this album both in high quality
and in character.
In summation, it would be difficult
to conceive of a better debut work for Christian Lindberg, the
conductor. Having already enjoyed more than two decades of accomplishment
as a performer and composer, it is a delight to see this versatile
and talented man so capably move into yet another role with
such success. One can only hope that he is able to sustain this
excellence to the benefit of us all.
Patrick Gary
Christian Lindberg (alto
trombone), Australian Chamber Orchestra/Richard Tognetti
