Torbjorn Iwan Lundquist: Symphony Nos. 3 & 4 – Sixten Ehrling

   in Classical Music (Oct, 2018)
Swedish composer Torbjörn Lundquist (1920-2000) represents one of the swarm of 20th-century Scandinavian symphonists that has provided such a powerful corpus of work.

Symphony No 3 was recorded in the 1970s by the Stockholm PO/Maag, a performance no longer available; the present, under the composer, was recorded in 1982. The symphony was written in memory of Lundquist’s wife, Maud. A half- hour, arch-like one-movement piece, the music has an inexorable quality coupled with an impressive monumentalism, especially as Lundquist manages to integrate jazz references. The performance is gritty, involving and supremely sculpted. The symphony returns to its opening, out of which emerges the fourth symphony, composed for the 50th anniversary of …