Atterberg: Concertante Bits 'n Bobs

 

For this entry of my Bits 'n Bobs series, I found a Concerto for Violin and Cello from Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg, plus dug up an older recording of the same composer's Horn Sonata.

Double Concerto

Atterberg's Concerto for Violin and Cello is a short, one-movement affair, coming with a few contrasting sections. The classical music label Danacord divides up the nineteen-minute Double Concerto into five tracks, highlighting the contrasting nature built within the work.

If you enjoy Atterberg's Romanticisms, this should be a lovely listen, although I don't find the music as strongly characterized by the composer as I do some of his other works. The two soloists don't seem as confident at the concerto's start, hesitatingly employing their skills. Later on, they lay on the vibrato more confidently, although I still find the violin sound a bit stark in quality. The reverberant acoustic of the concert hall in Örebro, Sweden is less appealing to me as well.

Yet, for those listeners who want to lap up everything Atterberg, this will be the only place to hear the Double Concerto, here paired with the composer's more famous String Symphony and his Baroque Suite, which I covered on an earlier Bit's 'n Bobs segment.

Horn Sonata

Because I do not traverse all that many solo instrument pieces, I am always amazed at the range of colors a composer can elicit from a solo instrument aside piano. While I could imagine the opening stormy tremolos being effective for an ensemble, Atterberg voices it well for the keyboard.

With the above said, it is unsurprising the first movement of Atterberg's Horn Sonata in B minor is rather moody and stormy; even angular sounding to some degree, particularly in the piano contributions. The second movement is even more moody than the first, digging into some heavy emotional turmoil, even if these emotions are rather inward in nature. While the third movement is more outgoing, I feel Atterberg's music is sturdier and more measured here.

Recorded in 1990, the sound remains very good, perfectly clear and well balanced between solo horn and piano. Even though I don't know the Horn Sonata all that well, it sounds as if the two Hungarian musicians seem allied to Atterberg's vision, producing three well-played movements.

While I did not cover it on this blog post, this Marco Polo recording also comes with Atterberg's Piano Quintet. This chamber piece is a re-voicing of the composer's Symphony no. 6 in C Major, more notoriously known as his 'Dollar' Symphony. So too, the included Orientale Suite is here performed by a string trio with piano, not orchestra.

Summary

Neither of these two pieces from Atterberg are filled with new musical inspiration for this listener. Of course, I am coming upon the last of Atterberg for this blog, so perhaps my wind down on the composer's music in effect. On the other hand, these are not oft recorded works, and there might be a reason for that as well.



Bits 'n Bobs

Double Concerto, op. 57 (18.47)
     Amus Kerstin Andersson, violin
     Mats Levin, cello
  Örebro Chamber Orchestra
  Thord Svedlund, conductor
  Danacord; 2019

Horn Sonata, op. 27 (20.13)
    Imre Magyari, horn
    Ilona Prunyi, piano
  Marco Polo; 1991

Find more Atterberg recordings HERE!