Hugo ALFVÉN (1872-1960)

 

Symphony No.2 in D major, Op.11

The Prodigal Son        

 

National Symphony Orchestra of

Ireland, Willen

 

• Naxos continues to explore the music of Hugo Alfvén in this third disc, which contrasts two very different sides of his musical style.

 

• The ballet The Prodigal Son was produced by the choreographer Ivo Cramer in honour of Alfvén’s eighty-fifth birthday. Alfvén was too old to compose the music, but agreed to choose folk music tunes that would suit the plot. The suite includes several lively Swedish polkas, typical of Alfvén’s lighter style. By contrast the massive Second Symphony, an epic, late-romantic work first performed in 1899, takes its inspiration from the sea and all its various facets – from tranquillity to turbulence.

 

• Niklas Willén returns to conduct his third disc of Alfvén’s music for Naxos. One of the foremost Swedish conductors of his generation, he conducts regularly all over the UK, Europe and the USA. He is joined in this issue by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, whose Naxos discography is self-recommending.

 

Naxos 8555072