Despite its “Solitudo” subtitle, Wilhlem Peterson-Berger’s Symphony No. 5 has a mostly public, out-of-doors character. The work’s folk-music underpinnings, genial demeanor, and suite-like progression of movements bring to mind Goldmark’s Rustic Wedding Symphony, though the musical language is closer to Grieg. After a sunny, bucolic first movement and rustically dancing scherzo, the Andante beguiles with its disarmingly simple melodies dovetailed by lushly chromatic passages. The volatile finale has the feel of a tarantella (though, Berlioz-style), and ends the work in frothy high spirits. Throughout it all Peterson-Berger enchants the ear with his colorful orchestration and delightful tunes.
Peterson-Berger would seem to have taken fellow Scandinavian Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto as a model for his own. Both works feature stirring, rhapsodic first movements (including far-flung, virtuoso cadenzas), poignantly lyrical slow movements, and robustly dancing finales. In Peterson-Berger’s case the four violent chords that launch the attacca finale initially sound as if borrowed from Verdi’s Dies irae. But it’s soon clear he’s emulating another Italian composer, namely Puccini, as the music’s pentatonic harmonies and Chinese-style melodic contours unavoidably bring Turandot to mind.
Even so, the concerto is marked by its originality, clearly the work of a composer who writes brilliantly for the violin–a point confirmed by Ulf Wallin’s powerful and persuasive rendition of the solo part. Michail Jurowski and the Norrköping Symphony do much the same for the concerto’s orchestral accompaniment as well as for the symphony. CPO’s spacious recording relays the full dynamic range of the orchestra (including the well-captured bass drum) with impressive impact. If you’ve been looking to sample Peterson-Berger’s music, here’s a great place to start.
