The Swedish composer Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (1867-1942) already managed to gain considerable popularity during his lifetime, albeit unfortunately with music that he himself described as 'shavings from a composer's workbench', namely piano miniatures. He himself was particularly interested in his larger-scale works, such as music dramas based on Wagner and monumental orchestral works. Two of the
… latter category have now been recorded for the first time by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera of Sweden under conductor Leif Segerstam. The "Symphony No. 1 'Flags'" dates from 1890, the "Symphony No. 5 'Solitudo'" was completed in 1933. Peterson-Berger was one of the more traditionally minded Wagner followers and this results in a beautiful , mild late romantic idiom. In a sense he was an exception among his Scandinavian contemporaries, because he did not, like most of them, take the path of national music orientated towards folk music. It has not made Peterson's music any less attractive, as is evident in these good performances. (JvG) _more
