Essential Stenhammar
J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 03/02/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"These CDs are Järvi's second recordings of most of the orchestral music of Stenhammar. And they are marginally better than the earlier performances. Stenhammar is unjustly neglected outside Sweden and that's a shame. He's a major composer, perhaps the best ever from Sweden. One can hear his style evolve if one hears the music in chronological order, moving from Brucknerian, to Sibelian, to Stenhammarian in a period of a few years. I pull these recordings off the shelf frequently. You will, too."
MOST STENHAMMAR FOR THE DOLLAR
Duane E. Crawford | Rolette, ND USA | 06/25/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I should write a terrible review because on re-listening to Symphony No. 1 in F, I don't really want to part with this fabulous Swede. I have three music sources that praise his symphonies and concertos. Neeme and Paavo Jarvi are conductors I buy. Cristina Ortiz is a very credible Cristina in Piano Concerto No. 2. Reviewers only think of him as influenced by other composers. He has his own musical strengths. There are many smaller CD sets available, but this is a buy. Sure there wasn't much movement in the movements. 1. tempo tranquillo-allergro was pretty much like 4. allegro non tanto, ma con fuoco tranquillo. Allegro Amabile might as well have been called Allegro Amiable. It was all rather soothing and reassuring."