Customer Reviews

Dag Wirén: Chamber Music

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Dag Wiren's Symphonies 2 & 3 and Concert Overtures have me ordering his Chamber Music.Three of the five short pieces have the cello, which I love. His music reminds me of good film music. I can almost see the romance and action. He is not austere like Sibelius. He is closer to Nielsen. Having tried moderm Scandinavian music, I am going back to the Thirties. The Stockholm Arts Trio do him justice.

First a disclaimer: Dag Wirén (1905-1986) is a composer well worth getting to know, and the two-volume series of his complete extant symphonies (no.1 isn't) on CPO is thoroughly rewarding. Wirén's style is essentially light-hearted (but not insubstantial) "wrong-note" neo-classicism with a firm foundation in melody. It is often somewhat raucous or jocular in character but not without darker moments - a mix between Prokofiev and dried Sibelius with a dash of Les Six might provide a pointer even if it hardly captures it (there is at least a particular Scandinavian character to it as well). It is entirely characteristic and easily recognizable, but like many minor masters Wirén's compositional range is relatively limited; he was apparently always in danger of repeating itself, and when inspiration started to run low (never in the symphonies) its hey-ho buoyancy easily starts getting a little incessant.

To be honest I found the disc at hand somewhat problematic; the music here is not Wirén at his best and although I don't want to blame the performers I suspect that a greater focus on the lyrical aspects and the longer lines (whatever there is) would have benefited the music. Both of the piano trios strike me as ruminative and meandering and - more than anything - short-breathed. Once and again Wirén hits upon a decent tune, but he doesn't seem to know exactly what to do with it and despite the relative brevity of most movements they actually seem overlong. The early sonatina for cello and piano (Wirén's opus 1) is enjoyable but not particularly substantial, whereas the violin sonata remains probably the most rewarding work on the disc (and very well worth hearing it is). In between we get five Ironical Miniatures for piano, and yes - they are humorous and jolly, each making a single point (i.e. functioning as an independent, short joke) and despite their short duration I wonder whether it is recommendable to take them all in one sitting.

The performances are overall pretty good, but as mentioned I wonder whether the lyrical side of Wirén isn't partially sacrificed in terms of something that is just a tad to dark and short-tempered. Nevertheless there are things to enjoy here, and those who have already discovered the composer will surely wish to investigate. If you are unfamiliar with him, however, the safe bet remains the symphonies on CPO. The sound is very good.