Orchestral Works

Conductor Neeme Jarvi and the Bergen Philharmonic have lifted the lid on one of Norways best-kept musical secrets with their series devoted to the orchestral works of Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935); this four-disc set brings their recordings together for the first time. Johan Halvorsen was among the most prominent Norwegian musical figures of his day, not only as one of his generations leading composers but also as violinist and conductor. His compositions further the national Norwegian romantic tradition of his friends Grieg and Svendsen, but his was a distinctive style marked by brilliant orchestration that the French romantic composers of the time found inspiration in. Many of the works in the series reflect Halvorsens long association with the theatre, which also includes his output in more traditional genres. Halvorsen composed his three symphonies late in his career, the first coming at age fifty-nine (!); they are strongly in the mould of late romantic composers such as Tchaikovsky, Dvorak and Svendsen.