Halvorsen from Chandos

[Alan Howe]

Looks like Chandos will be soon be embarking on a 4-volume series of recordings of Halvorsen...

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Chandos/CHAN10584

[edurban]

This is good news!  I bought the "Fossegrimen" Incidental music a few years back on the Simax label and it's lovely stuff, with a great part for Hardanger fiddle.  I always meant to move on to the symphonies, but got side tracked...so much music....

Glad to see Jarvi pere back in the studio.

David

[Mark Thomas]

I have the three (I think) symphonies on old CDs from various Scandinavian labels. They're all pretty solid fare, colourfully orchestrated and thoroughly romantic in spirit if a little lacking in melodic memorability. But if Chandos are turning their attention to Halvorsen then we can hope for some more inspiring and persuasive interpretations of them. Good news.

[Marcus]

I have the Halvorsen Symphonies on the Simax label. Very interesting works, if a little bland in places, but I am happy to listen to them from time to time. Another Norwegian whom you never hear about, is Alf Hurum(1882-1972). He ceased composing around 1930, and pursued a career in painting. (oriental chinese)He married an American lady and moved to Hawaii, where he lived out his life.His music is said to inhabit the tonal impressionistic world of Debussy. He spent time in Germany, France, (where he came under Debussy's spell), and Russia. (M.Steinberg)
His Symphony in D minor + String Quartet in A op6,is on Simax PSC3110,Piano works on Thema 2CD,TH201-2, and Violin Sonatas in D minor op2 & A minor op8 + Exotic Suite, Violin & piano op9 is on Thema TH199-2. Another unsung definately worth exploring.
It will be intersting to see how Chandos fill the 4CDs of Halvorsen, and looking forward to their release.
Marcus.

[Syrelius]

Another Norwegian whom you never hear about, is Alf Hurum(1882-1972). He ceased composing around 1930, and pursued a career in painting. (oriental chinese)He married an American lady and moved to Hawaii, where he lived out his life.His music is said to inhabit the tonal impressionistic world of Debussy. He spent time in Germany, France, (where he came under Debussy's spell), and Russia. (M.Steinberg)
His Symphony in D minor + String Quartet in A op6,is on Simax PSC3110,Piano works on Thema 2CD,TH201-2, and Violin Sonatas in D minor op2 & A minor op8 + Exotic Suite, Violin & piano op9 is on Thema TH199-2. Another unsung definately worth exploring.

Several years ago I was at a conference in Oslo, where a number of classical pieces of music were performed as interludes. One of them was a very beautiful song by Hurum. I then went to one of Oslos record stores to see if they had any music by Hurum and managed to find the Simax CD. Especially the first movement of the symphony is a truly beautiful piece (though the symphony itself would probably be better described as a symphonic suite...).

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for the heads-up about Hurum whom I had never heard of before. CD duly ordered because it sounds irresistible!

[oldman]

The two Simax CD's of the Halvorsen Symphonies and the Hurum Simax CD are all available from Amazon.com  both as Physical CD's and as MP3 downloads.

For those who like to follow in score, the full score of the Halvorsen Symphony #1 is available for download from the IMSLP at:

http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.1_%28Halvorsen,_Johan%29

I'm listening to the Halvorsen first as I type this and I find the performance quite good. Recommended for those who cant wait for the chandos set to be completed.

[Alan Howe]

The Simax CDs are very good, I agree, but rare. Chandos' higher profile and wider distribution should ensure more of a hearing for this attractive repertoire. And who better to conduct it than that great friend of unsung music, Neeme Järvi?

[oldman]

The Chandos recordings once out will indeed make these works more widely available and Halvorsen could have no better champion than Jarvi.  I simply couldn't wait to hear the music!

P.S. You are in for a treat when your copy of the  Alf Hurum Simax CD arrives!

[DennisS]

Received my Hurum Simax cd yesterday and have since played it through 2 times. I must say I really like his music. Yes, I was frequently reminded of the sound world of Debussy but Hurum still finds his own voice. The music is indeed beautiful but as I am a great admirer of Debussy, this comes as no great surprise! Although the liner notes suggest strong Debussy touches in all 3 works on the cd, I felt that the String Quartet was the more individualistic of the 3 works. Listening to the SQ, I was surprised that it was so easy to get to grips with, even on a first listening, light and joyous, I just sat back, listened and enjoyed! The other 2 works, both very beautiful, felt more like Debussy in places but overall, this was Hurum I was listening to, not Debussy! For beautiful music, I strongly recommend this cd. Thank you "Unsungs". (Perhaps Hurum should be a new thread?). I am now on the lookout for more music from this composer.

Dennis

[Alan Howe]

The new Halvorsen/Chandos CD is an outstanding success. Symphony No.1 is given a tremendous performance of real brio and conviction. No lover of, say, Noskowski, Olsen, Alnaes, Svendsen, etc. will be able to resist, I'm sure...

[Syrelius]

Thanks for the heads-up about Hurum whom I had never heard of before. CD duly ordered because it sounds irresistible!

Hello Alan,

I forgot to ask you how you liked the Hurum CD.

[Alan Howe]

The Symphony in D minor by Hurum is a really lovely work, very redolent of the landscape of the Nordic countries and quite original too - the style is a kind of Norwegian impressionism. I am very glad you drew it to my attention.

[Syrelius]

The Symphony in D minor by Hurum is a really lovely work, very redolent of the landscape of the Nordic countries and quite original too - the style is a kind of Norwegian impressionism. I am very glad you drew it to my attention.

Glad you liked it!

[jerfilm]

I searched Amazon for the Hurum and found one copy available for about USD30 including postage.  The good news is that for US customers, the Mp3 download of the entire cd is only USD8.99.  Heck, make your own CD......and it is lovely although I can always do without string quartets.....