4.0 out of 5 stars
A bleak but impressive work, April 16, 2011
I picked up this symphony when Amazon was offering the MP3 download for an impressive bargain price -- along with
Pettersson's 5th, which is still available at a similar value. I have listened to it several times recently and I find it very impressive.
But it is tough listening -- 47 minutes plus of turmoil and conflict. This is not happy music. In fact, it can be hard to find even the smallest ray of sunshine. But the music is compelling -- and it has its own conflicted beauty as well.
It must also be a challenge for the orchestra -- a single-movement work in which the tension never subsides into a soothing adagio or resolution-filled allegro. I felt the Stockholm Philharmonic under Romanian conductor Sergiu Comissiona did an admirable job, but I'd also be interested in hearing the
version by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Johann Arnell.
Recommended for anyone who wants a challenging but satisfying listen. I felt pretty beaten up after the first hearing, but was able to appreciate it more and more subsequently.
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