Carl Wilhelm Eugen Stenhammar (February 7, 1871 – November 20, 1927) was aSwedishcomposer,conductor andpianist. He is considered to be one of Sweden’s most important composers at the turn of the 19th century, and one of the finest Swedish pianists of his time,[1] with a reputation as a fine interpreter of the piano music ofBeethoven.[2]
Wilhelm Stenhammar was born inStockholm toPer Ulrik Stenhammar [sv] andLouise Rudenschöld [sv]. His older brother was the architectErnst Stenhammar. He demonstrated a talent for music at an early age, both as pianist and composer, writing piano sonatas and songs during his teenage years.[1] He received his first musical education in Stockholm, where his teachers includedEmil Sjögren andAndreas Hallén. In the autumn of 1892, he moved toBerlin for seven months to study withKarl Heinrich Barth, where he devoted his time to rigorous piano practice and composition. Barth was satisfied with Stenhammar's progress and gave him increasingly technically challenging pieces to practice, such as theVariations on a Theme of Paganini byJohannes Brahms,[3] a composer he admired.[4]
Stenhammar's breakthrough as both composer and pianist came with the premiere of his Piano Concerto no. 1 in B minor, Op. 1, in Stockholm on 17 March 1894, with the composer himself as soloist. The music scholarBo Wallner has described this concert as a milestone in Swedish music history.[5][6] The resultant critical acclaim led to invitations for concert performances in Denmark, England and Germany, effectively launching Stenhammar's career as an internationally renowned concert pianist. He subsequently recorded fivepiano rolls forWelte-Mignon on 21 September 1905.
As a composer, Stenhammar was initially influenced by German and Austrian music, especially that ofRichard Wagner andAnton Bruckner. Stenhammar himself described the style of his First Symphony in F major as "idyllic Bruckner".[7] He subsequently sought to liberate himself from this influence, with the goal of writing in a more "Nordic" style, looking toCarl Nielsen andJean Sibelius for guidance.[8] The latter'sSymphony No. 2, especially, had a great effect on him, leading him to change his style and withdraw his own First Symphony from performance.[8] Having attended the Swedish premier of Sibelius's Symphony No. 2 inStockholm, Stenhammar wrote to him:
You should know that you are in my thoughts daily ever since I heard the symphony. You magnificent person, it is of course a huge armful of wonder that you brought up out of the unconscious and ineffable depth. That which I felt has been verified: You are in this moment for me as the foremost, the only, the enigmatic one.... I have also just written a symphony. At least it is called a symphony, and only in accordance with the understanding that you perhaps have forgotten should it be dedicated to you. However, nothing came of it. It is quite good, but somewhat superficial. I yearn to reach my inner self. And you can wait until I have arrived there. The great day when this happens, I will print your name in large letters on the title page. It may become a symphony or something else.[8]
A result of his search for a new style was Stenhammar's own Second Symphony in G minor, composed nearly twelve years after the First Symphony, which shows the influence of Nielsen, Sibelius andFranz Berwald among others.[8]
From 1906 to 1922 Stenhammar was Artistic Director and chief conductor of theGothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the first full-time professional orchestra in Sweden. In this capacity, he organized many performances of music by contemporary Scandinavian composers. In 1909, he briefly held the position of director of music atUppsala University, where he was succeeded the following year byHugo Alfvén. After moving back to Stockholm in the early 1920s, he returned to touring despite his declining health.[9]
Wilhelm Stenhammar died of astroke at 56 years of age inJonsered in the historic province ofVästergötland. He is buried in Gothenburg. He had two children with his wifeHelga Stenhammar [sv],Claes Göran Stenhammar [sv] andHillevi Stenhammar [sv], both of whom were singers.
Stenhammar composed in a variety of formats, his output by no means limited to his own instrument, the piano. The list includes two completed symphonies, a substantialSerenade for orchestra, twopiano concertos, fourpiano sonatas, aviolin sonata, sevenstring quartets (one of which was withdrawn), two operas, many songs and a number of other vocal works, including several large-scale works for chorus or voices and orchestra.[1] The latter include the earlyballadFlorez och Blanzeflor, Op. 3, from 1891,Ithaka, Op. 21, from 1904, and thecantatasEtt folk (A people) from 1905 andSången (The song), Op. 44, from 1921. The catalog has been extended in recent years with the discovery of a few previously unknown works. These include thePrélude and Bourrée for orchestra, composed in 1891: the score was discovered in the archives of the Swedish Music Library in Stockholm, and the first recording (and most likely first performance) took place in 2008.[10] Also in 2008, theSwedish Art Music Society published the world premiere edition of theAllegro Brillante forpiano quartet composed in 1891 and theAllegro non tanto forpiano trio composed in 1895.
Stenhammar's string quartets were composed over a 22-year period from 1894 to 1916. Seven such works were completed; however, one of them (in F minor, 1897) was withdrawn by the composer immediately after its first performance, although it has since been revived and recorded.[11] Writing inTheChamber Music Journal, Raymond Silvertrust argues that Stenhammar's cycle of six (numbered) quartets is the most important to be written between those ofJohannes Brahms andBéla Bartók.[12] Silvertrust notes that, tonally, they range from the middle-late Romantics to a style akin to mature Sibelius, exhibiting a fine grasp of instrumentaltimbre and technique, with part writing that is idiomatic and appropriate to the instruments. Stenhammar's interest in chamber music, and his skill as a composer in this genre, may have been influenced by his partnership with theAulin Quartet,[12] the leading Swedish string quartet of his day and one of the best then performing in Europe. Stenhammar worked closely and toured extensively throughout Europe with this quartet for many years, with apiano quintet typically featured in their programs. Stenhammar would also partner with Tor Aulin, first violinist of the eponymous quartet, to perform sonatas for violin and piano.[1] Though not unknown by the Swedishchamber music public, Stenhammar's string quartets have tended to be neglected elsewhere.
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