Stig Westerberg
As one of the leading Swedish conductors of his day, Stig Westerberg was best known for his decades-long work with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and as chief conductor of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, where he served for eight seasons. Not surprisingly, he was regarded as one of the finest interpreters and champions of Swedish orchestral music from the last half of the 20th century. Westerberg was quite active, in particular, in promoting the music of Stenhammar, Alfvén, Atterberg, Pettersson, and Karl-Birger Blomdahl. In fact, Westerberg was instrumental in making their music known beyond Swedish borders. That said, he was not single-minded in his choice of repertory: Westerberg conducted an array of works, from Dvorák and Saint-Saëns to Fauré and Milhaud. And he was unafraid to take chances: during his busy career he premiered more than 80 compositions, many of which he went on to record. Westerberg was music director of several Swedish orchestras and also guest-conducted numerous others both at home and abroad, including the Munich Philharmonic and the Ekaterinburg Philharmonic (Russia). Westerberg made countless recordings, with many still appearing from radio broadcasts. They are available from a variety of labels, including BIS, Danacord, EMI, Genesis Records, and Sterling.
Stig Westerberg was born in Malmö, Sweden, on November 26, 1918. From 1937-1942 he studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. Among his conducting teachers there was Tor Mann, and later teachers included Paul Kletzki.
Westerberg launched his career in opera, serving as repetiteur at the Royal Swedish Opera (1943-1946), where he would return as a conductor from 1953-1957. Westerberg held two minor conducting posts in the postwar era, the first at Stockholm's Oscarsteatern (1947-1948) and the next with the Gävle Symfoniorkester (1949-1953).
The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1965, and from around that time Westerberg, who never was music director of the SRSO, regularly conducted the ensemble over the next couple of decades, producing some of that orchestra's finest performances and recordings. Not surprisingly, most of Westerberg's recordings were made with the SRSO, including the highly praised 1985 Caprice recording of Blomdahl's outer space opera Aniara. Westerberg's last major post, held while he still worked regularly with the SRSO, was as chief conductor of the Malmö Symphony (1978-1985). Westerberg continued to guest-conduct in the latter years of his career and died in Lidingö, Sweden, on July 1, 1999.
© TiVo
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Till Havs (1957-1959)
Jussi Björling, Royal Orchestra, The, Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Nils Grevillius, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Jan 1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stenhammar: Symphony No. 2 (Wilhelm Stenhammar)
Classical - Released by Caprice on 1 Jan 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Koch: Saxophone Concerto & Other Works
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, Sigurd Rascher, Andreas Rohn, Stig Westerberg, Kerstin Hindart
Classical - Released by Phono Suecia on 1 May 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Swedish Highlights
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Chorus, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Caprice on 1 Jan 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alfvén: Festspel - Midsommarvaka - Bergakungen - Den förlorade sonen
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Stockholm Royal Orchestra, Stig Westerberg, Hugo Alfven
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Musical Settings Of The Poetry Of Carl Michael Bellman
Drottningholm Chamber Orchestra, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Atterberg, Kallstenius, Lindberg
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Stig Westerberg
Symphonic Music - Released by Musica Sveciae on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alfvén: Symphony No. 4
Elisabeth Söderström, Gösta Winbergh, Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Bluebell on 1 Jan 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alfvén Edition, Vol. 1: Symphony No. 1 & Gustav II Adolf
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alfvén: Festspel, Op. 25, Midsommarvaka, Op. 19 & Dalarapsodi, Op. 48
Kungliga Stockholms Filharmoniska Orkester, Kungliga Hovkapellet, Stig Westerberg, Hugo Alfven
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Sep 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rosenberg / Söderlundh: Violin Concertos
Leon Spierer, Leo Berlin, Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Arvīds Jansons, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Caprice on 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alfvén: Gustav Adolf II, Op. 49
Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Sep 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alfvén: En skärgårdssägen, Op. 20 - Symphony No. 5 in A Minor, Op. 54
Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Sep 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cello Favourites
Classical - Released by Danacord Records on 3 May 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alfvén Edition, Vol. 3: Symphony No. 3 & Dalarapsodi
Nils Grevillius, Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Koch: Lapland Metamorphoses & Impulsi Trilogy
Stockholms Filharmoniska Orkester, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Sep 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pettersson: Mesto & Symphony No. 2
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Allan Pettersson, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Frumerie: Johannesnatten (Saint John's Eve)
Malmö Symfoniorkester, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Big Ben Phonogram on 1 Dec 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gunnar de Frumerie: Pastoral Suite, Songs, Chaconne, Trio No. 2
Gunnar de Frumerie, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nystroem: Sinfonia del mare & Sinfonia concertante (Recorded 1958-1971)
Elisabeth Söderström, Stockholm Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stig Westerberg, Erling Blondal-Bengtsson
Classical - Released by Swedish Society on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Leygraf Archives, Vol. 1: Brahms — Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor
Hans Leygraf, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Released by dB Productions on 12 Jan 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo