Wilhelm Stenhammar
Stenhammar was a Swedish pianist and self-taught composer and conductor. His compositions began as typically late Romantic fare but evolved through three periods. In the first, his primary influences were Liszt, Brahms, and Wagner, but the music is imbued with a Nordic sound without specifically quoting Swedish folk song. His early operas Gildet på Solhaug (1892-1893) and Tirfing (1897-1898), although unsuccessful, were the pinnacles of this period. Stenhammar's second period began as he attempted to create a more concentrated and motivically oriented style, modeled on the great classicists Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart. In spite of this, the music of this period loses none of its Nordic color. His brilliant cantata Ett folk (1904-1905) and the frequently played Second Piano Concerto are the most representative. Beginning in 1909, perhaps feeling his lack of training was detrimental to further development, Stenhammar engaged upon a nine-year course in strict counterpoint. The fruit of this study resulted in his last period, where the music becomes more contrapuntally and modally oriented, particularly in the last two of his six string quartets. Yet at the same time, his larger works, such as the orchestral Serenade and the Second Symphony, lose nothing of the earlier freshness and inspiration that make Stenhammar's music so attractive.
Stenhammar's early years were spent surrounded by culture, although he never undertook formal training except in piano. By 1900, he had established himself as a pianist, eventually giving over 1,000 concerts all over Sweden. He had also debuted as a conductor in 1897 with his own overture Excelsior!, and eventually went on to direct the Stockholm Philharmonic Society, the Royal Opera, the New Philharmonic Society, and the Göttesborgs Orkesterförening. Stenhammar eventually became one of the most important Scandinavian musicians of his era, and his compositions, including many songs, choral works, chamber and solo pieces, and theater and orchestral works represent the best music out of turn-of-the-century Sweden.
© TiVo
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Discography
16 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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The Swedish Violin
Classical - Released by Naxos Sweden - Caprice on 31 Mar 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Essential Roland Pöntinen
Roland Pöntinen, Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski, Claude Debussy, Wilhelm Stenhammar
Classical - Released by EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE on 31 Jan 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Late Summer Nights: Staffan Scheja Plays Stenhammar
Classical - Released by Altara on 1 Jan 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stenhammar - Great Recordings
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 30 Jan 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stenhammar: Piano Concerto No.1
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Classical - Released by Sterling Records on 25 Apr 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stenhammar: Music for the Theatre
Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sterling Records on 25 Apr 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stenhammar: Tirfing (Excerpts)
Ingrid Tobiasson, Jesper Taube, Carina Morling
Opera - Released by Sterling Records on 25 Apr 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stemning
Uppsala University Chamber Choir, Wilhelm Peterson-berger, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Hugo Alfven, Stefan Parkman
Classical - Released by Musica Sveciae on 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stenhammar: Fantasy in B Minor
Wilhelm Stenhammar, Roland Pöntinen
Classical - Released by EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE on 10 Jan 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stenhammar: Symphony No. 2 & Serenade
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Tor Mann, Rafael Kubelik
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Emil Sjögren: Piano Music, Vol. 6
Ingrid Lindgren, Wilhelm Stenhammar
Classical - Released by Bluebell on 1 Apr 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stenhammar: One People - Stockholm Exhibition Cantata
Classical - Released by Sterling Records on 26 May 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Novelletter
Mats Widlund, Wilhelm Peterson-berger, Emil Sjogren, Wilhelm Stenhammar
Classical - Released by Musica Sveciae on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Swedish Violin
Classical - Released by Caprice on 31 Mar 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wilhelm Stenhammar: Sensommarnätter
Hilda Waldeland, Borodin Quartet, Wilhelm Stenhammar
Chamber Music - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wilhelm Stenhammar: Serenad, Midvinter & Chitra
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Esa-Pekka Salonen
Classical - Released by Musica Sveciae on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo