Search - Karl-Birger Blomdahl, Leif Segerstam, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra :: Blomdahl: Symphonies 1-3

Karl-Birger Blomdahl (1916-68), one of Sweden's greatest composers, is only now becoming better known--and mostly through these three symphonies. Taken together, these works, composed in the space of a decade, show Blomdahl's growth from a post-Romantic composer (Symphony 1, written in 1943) to a composer willing to take a few risks in tonality (Symphony 2, written in 1947)--and then some. His Symphony 3, written in 1950, leaps all the way into 12-tone techniques with his own dodecaphonic stylings, a reaction to the strict conservatism of Schoenberg's approach. Conductor Leif Segerstam does wonders with this music, especially the hypnotic Third. This is a must for lovers of the symphony form. --Paul Cook