Allan Pettersson: Complete Symphonies [Box Set] [Box set]

BBC Scottish Sym Orch (Artist), Dso Berlin (Artist), Pettersson (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 30, 2007)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 12
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Cpo Records
• ASIN: B000L42J7C
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #234,567 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If this is the sort of thing you love, you'll love it, September 8, 2007

By 

R. Lieblich (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Allan Pettersson: Complete Symphonies [Box Set] (Audio CD)

It's possible to go on at great length about this composer and his however-many symphonies (the first is apparently lost, the 16th is more like a concerto, and there are those who would disallow the twelfth). You can find discussions of some of the individual symphonies in the reviews of their respective recordings. What I'd like to do here is try to give you an overview of Pettersson the symphonist and the recordings in this collection.

I'll start by saying that this set is one of the treasures of my CD collection. I also have pretty close to a complete set of all analog LP versions of Pettersson's works, along with a few CDs of individual symphonies. And "individual" really is the word for those symphonies. Pettersson occasionally drops hints of other composers, but he's entirely his own man. An outsider for just about his entire life, he started gaining some proponents in the last few years of his life -- Dorati, Commissiona, Paul Rapoport (critic for Fanfare Magazine). But he is still very much out of the mainstream, and concert performances of his symphonies are exceedingly rare. I've never found one I could attend.

Pettersson did not lead a happy life. He was an orchestral musician until a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis incapacitated him. His temperament was pessimistic, and calling his personality "gruff" or "blunt" is putting a good face on things. His music depicts predominantly struggle and pain. Even so, it's not a downer. I suspect that his pessimism was tempered by the feeling that no matter how bad a hand life might deal him, he would find a way to prevail. Stylistically, the music is quite free. I can't recall a sonata form in any of the symphonies. Its coherence is emotional, rather than structural.

But what does it sound like? It sounds like Pettersson. What else? He uses the orchestra masterfully and frequently masses many instruments into a really powerful sound. Mahler wrote for a huge orchestra but tended to isolate individual instruments or small groups. Pettersson's textures are much thicker, but no less interesting. There is comparatively little forward movement, as such, and much of the time you can't tell where the music is going until after it's arrived. But it's not aleatory or serial; it's just heavily chromatic and loosely structured. Often you'll find the music repeating obsessively or slowly varying, not quite like minimalism but with strong hints of it. You can't fully grasp any of these symphonies in one or two hearings -- or maybe even ten. But you can *feel* them instantly.

What differentiates Pettersson is how emotional his music is. He makes Mahler and Bruckner sound like introverts. If you really focus on the music as it goes by, you may find yourself emotionally shaken long before the symphony ends. If I mak risk a couple of similes, it's like *King Lear* or a Breughel painting. Whether you appreciate this sort of music is up to you. If you do, Pettersson's your man. If you're still unsure, try to find a way to listen to the Seventh or Eighth. They're about as "easy" as Pettersson gets. If you like what you hear, this set's the next step. Then you can consider whether to get other performances of individual symphonies.

As for this set, it doesn't always have the best performances. I won't go into detail, because you can find discussions in posted review of the individual symphonies. I myself prefer Dorati in the Seventh and Commissiona in the Eighth, and there are some others where you really ought to check out the competition. But I'd still get this set first. The price is right, there are no outright failures among the performances, the sound is more than adequate (no easy feat in this music), and several of the symphonies are available only in the versions on this set.

As I said before, I treasure this set. I hope I've helped you a little bit in deciding whether you will, too. Now it's up to you.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pettersson is better than Stravinsky, November 3, 2011

By 

John Calvin Errickson II - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Allan Pettersson: Complete Symphonies [Box Set] (Audio CD)

Allan Pettersson is a more successful composer than
Stravinsky because Mr. Pettersson liked what he was doing
and without trying to be imporant either academically or
in being famous. Stravinsky was always working hard at being
the 'leader' of a musical revolution which now seems less
musical than the current craze of Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber or
even of a few years ago, Hannah Montana. Petterson's works
were a joy to discover and the way to end this post is
"I like it."

24 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Great Unknown Composer, March 25, 2007

By 

paul best "Eyes that see the *dark things*" (new orleans) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Allan Pettersson: Complete Symphonies [Box Set] (Audio CD)

EDIT MAY 6,2009: SYSM 3 and 4 ARE PART OF THE SYMPHONIC CYCLE...I have reconsidered my previous assessment that the cycle begins at sym 6,,but now realize syms 3,4,5 ARE INDEED PART of the cycle...UNREAL..3-15..lets see thats a 13 sym cycle..13 syms in as part of one cycle...name any other composer to do such a task?...Pettersson, the greatest symphonic composer in the 20th century, and the greatest other than Mozart.. (Beethoven..good grief, I hate LVB's music, yucckkk!)

EDIT
Hi Richard I just now read your comment , in June, you wrote concerning my review and your criticisms are fair and well taken, Thus time for a revision, completely different from the previous. As you mention, everyday more folks are making "the Pettersson discovery". As I predicted that discovery would take place. This I spoke about 4 yrs ago on the classical discussion forum Good Music Guide, a forum I no longer frequent, due to differing of opinions on too many issues, and neither side willing to budge on their position. Least of all am I willing to make compromise SINCE THEIR SIDE HAS ALL THE POWER. THAT IS CONCERT PROGRAMMING AROUND THE WORLD SPECIFICALLY EXCULDES ALL PETTERSSON. END OF DISCUSSION.
But this is the norm for me, I'm at odds with instuitions of all sorts. The church, the med INDUSTRY, the insurance INDUSTRY, the Gov INDUSTRY, etc. So I'm on my usual to be at odds with The Classical Music Industry.
Now I will rewrite much of my cramped style phrasing and word choice in my review.
In fact I'll work on it at length over the course of this yr, so what you read now, may be different 6 months from now. "a work in progress".
I will draw from the notes of the CPO and BIS releases.

Notes to sym 2/CPO : ""And yet the radical emotionality of Allan P 's music creates the impression of something new and literally unheard of"
This same feelings and impressions may be said about Debussy's first major work Twilight Of a Afternoon of a fawn", also of Richard Wagner's 3 great operas, The Ring, Parsifal, Tristan, and of course the 3 great second viennese composers Schonberg, Berg, Webern. All these composers established new forms and images, though obviously even to this day some will not accept these musical styles. One other composer I should mention is Pettersson's contemporary, Alfred Schnitkke, who also produced powerful creations which stike the listner as "totally different, unheard of before".
These "break through composers" are not something for everyone, as is say the music of the romantic tradition, which everyone is fully acquainted, due to mild themeatic tonality and thus "listener friendly".
Pettersson's music is really dedicated to a select few( though by no means excluding others), who like himself have found life to be crushing. This is not to say that others are not allowed entrance....

The notes in this booklet go on to say "most of Pettersson's syms are colossal one movement canvasses...mighty songs of anger and accusations...they would have been unthinkable without the heritage of late romanticism but also bear the stamp of the harsher expressive mode of music of the 20th century".
One can hear influences from Mahler and of course from P's neighboring great composer, Jean Sibelius, primarily in syms 2-5.
At sym 6, Pettersson walks away from the Mahlerian and Sibelian 'shadows" and embrarks ona remarkable Grand Symphonic Cycle. I noticed in the notes ona BIS or CPO recording where the author states somewhat what i believe, that these syms have some underlying connective theme. (this comment may be on the BIS 8/10, which I somehow lost and will have to replace, only 3 sellers of this hard to find cd).
This cycle begins at sym 6, then onto what has now become "The Great 7th"..a subtitle that betrays the 7th's place within the cycle. As if the 7th can be separated from the 6th and 8th.
The 7th is one part within this great 9 symphonic cycle. No other composer has managed to bring about such a project. Mozqart's great last 6 syms are each complete within themselves. But here with Pettersson, each sym leads on to the next, starting with the 6th, each following is as if a chapter ina story about the soul in modern times, , like unto a song once sung by the soul. This is how Pettersson describes the emotional aspect of his music..

The cycle begins at sym 6, continues to the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, the 12th is a choral work and not a part of the cycle, we now move to the 13th, 14th, and the 15th closes out this masterwork of 9 syms. The 16th is a "sax concerto sym" and like the 12th does not take part in the feeling , emotive message that we hear in the other 9 syms.
I am aware that like all great genius, Pettersson's syms will not be embraced by any majority of the classical community.
Let me close with some of the notes in the CPO series, this from sym 2

"And Pettersson could describe his life as blessed because he succeeded MORE SO THAN PROBABLY ANY OTHER COMPOSER OF OUR CENTURY, in rendering audible his involvement in the cause of humanity and the humane. In his eyes, artistic IDENTIFICATION WITH THE OPPRESED was a (necessary) form of SELF SACRIFICE .
The following line of the notes is a quote from the composer:
"The Identification with the small, unsightly, anonymous with the eternally immutable but ever new and fresh. It is in this way that one saves one's own life".

Matthew 16:25 "Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose their life for my sake will find it"
Save in this case meaning greedly selfishly only considering your life without any thought for the other guy.
Pettersson's life has all the hallmarks of the heroic journey. Since birth the "monsters" were all around him, alcoholic very abusive father, extreme poverty in a slum life, had no true friends who could understand him...and this oppressive atmosphere continued all his life.
The turmoils in Pettersson;'s life did not stop even later on in life. There is a incident which I feel should be told and well kept in mind.
It was in 1975, 20 yrs after establishing himself as a mojor composer in Sweden, seems the Stockholm PO had a USA concert tour that was to include a sym from Pettersson. At the last minute the Stockholm altered the program to not include the Pettersson work. This cause much agitation and hurt to Petterson's spirit, as now even his country's main orch failed to give due respect and honor to their country's finest composer.
I for one can never forgive the Stockholm for doing such a obnoxious and no other way than to say evil deed. The Stockholm has never recorded a pettersson sym, and I have my doubts that this mediocre (judgeing by their Sibelius and other recordings) second rate orch has the necessary talents to match Pettersson's enormous challenges. Not even the Swedish national radio has recorded any Pettersson's syms. The fact that either major swede orch has yet to record a Pettersson sym, may reveal some underlying breakdown in the social fabric of the swede culture.
btw i also had the all the Swedish RSO recordings in Sibelius, none possess a certain standard of excellence which would lead me to believe this orch could be up to the task of a Pettersson sym.

Pettersson wrote on June 13, 1975 after his crushing blow dealt by the Stockholm in denying his right to a place on the program {a "unforgivable sin" IMHO]
"I have been incurably ill ever since the 1960's. My creativity is a miracle. A miracle like love in my lifehas kept me alive...taht I have experienced to the outermost extreme ...life as a downtrodden human being, but in spite of it all, PEOPLE HAVE CONTINUED TO TRAMPLE ALL OVER ME, that is too far from the world present in my music, therefore I want to keep this music for and to myself"

What the swedes did to Petttersson on that date, is difficult to overlook and excuse such behavior.
Pettersson's music is not for the mainstream musical community. His music is for those who are in touch with the dimensions of existence upon which his life partook. If your life has not taken some of the difficulities , sufferings which Pettersson experienced and expresses in his syms, its unlikely that you will hear his music in the way music is meant to be heard. That is with one's depth, one's soul. Which is why i realize that Pettersson , though gaining slight recognition, is yet for another distant time, a future generation. The psyche has yet not been recognized as the basis to a conscious human life. Pettersson speaks to man's psyche, the greek term for soul.

And if a major USA orch ever does decide to perform a Pettersson sym, I still will become enthused, neither excited nor over-joyed. . Why? Because no doubt the sym chosen will be the 7th. "Absolutely , must be the 7th...its the most accessible"...I plead my petition to the USA orch's and request the 7th not be performed UNTIL all others of the great cycle are first performed. PERFORM THE 7th LAST. ...No doubt my words will not be heard and the 7th will be performed and, then "thats that'.
You'll not hear another Pettersson sym from that particular orch , most likely never again in your lifetime. ...so do us all us Pettersson fans, and stay away from the 7th, its off limits, until you perform all the other sysm that make up "the great cycle".
..I know Comissiona recorded the 8th with the Baltimore. I have no interest. The BIS 8th is stunning and seriously doubt the Comissiona/DG 8th on vinyl surpasses the Segerstam. The Segerstam 8th is just that great. "definitive" may be used in this case.

Lastly if music does not speak to the soul in the present, I for one do not consider this to be great music. What meant much to past generations, may not always mean much to a new... Read more ›