Swedish composer and musicologist Sven-David Sandström (1942 - ) is a leading name in modern Scandinavian classical music. Holding extreme influences – ranging from the choral works of J.S. Bach to minimalist, jazz and popular music - Sandström composes in a large spectrum of genres. His works include operas, series of motets, cantatas, oratorios, ballets, church music, choral works (including pieces for double-choir), piano morceaux and piano ensembles, orchestral works and introspective chamber pieces, as well as film scores. A master in the craft of composition, his catalogue of works comprise over three hundred compositions.
Sandström studied Art History and Musicology at Stockholm University. Later (from 1967 to 1972) he would study composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm (Stockholm Musikhögskolan) with Ingvar Lidholm. He would also attend courses in advanced techniques of composition with Gyorgy Ligeti and Per Norgard.
In Sandström’s early works – like
the orchestral piece Through and through (1972), which became internationally
acclaimed after being performed by the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam - the composer made use of quarter-tone tuning[1].
Those were works of terrifying technical difficulty for interpreters.
The year 1980 saw a turning point in Sandström’s composing career, as he
began composing in tonal and modal tone language. However more emotional his
style became, this shift has not made his compositions any less demanding for
performers. The years that followed witnessed the production of many choral
works, “all of them eagerly sought after by Sweden's many elite choirs”[2].
His most renowned works include, apart from his orchestral works, The High Mass, Requiem Mute the
Bereaved Memories, the Requiem De
ur alla minnen fallna (a fresco on
the infanticide of the Holocaust) and his
many choral works, in the idiom of Bach and other religious music composers of
the Baroque era, such Henry Purcell and Dietrich Buxtehude – yet reinterpreted in his very personal
style.
Sandström’s pianistic oeuvres cover a
vast variety of genres, including works for soloist and orchestra - the Agitato (1978) and the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
(1990) – , instrumental pieces for piano and other instruments, vocal works, many
piano morceaux, and much chamber music -
comprising unusual instrumental combinations, as in the piece In the Shadow of (1974) for piano, crotales,
glock, bells, wind chimes and violoncello.
A comprehensive list of Sandström’s works for piano
follows.
ORCHESTRAL:
Agitato
(1978)
Concerto
for Piano and Orchestra
(1990)
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Chained (1986) - for 4 pianos and 12 percussion players
Concentration
2 (1972) - for
two pianos
Dialog(er)
för 2 x människor + piano
(1971) - for piano 4 hands
Fantasia
II (1989) - for
pianotrio (vln, vlc, pf)
Free
Music II (1990) - for
piano and percussion
In
the Shadow of (1974) - for
piano, crotales, glock, bells, wind chimes, violoncello
INSTRUMENTAL:
Blinded (1982) - for piano
Cello
Sonata (1992) - for
violoncello and piano
Close
to (1972) - for
clarinet and piano
Fantasia
I (1989) - for piano
Fem
pianoaforismer (1964/79)
- for
piano
Five
Duets (1973) - for
piano 4 hands
High
Above (1972) - for
piano
Inside (1974) - for bass trombone and piano
Introduction;
Out of Memories; Finish
(1981) - for 2 pianos
Pieces (1989) - for violin and piano
The Fallen Light (1984) - for piano
VOCAL:
From
Mölna Elegy
(1999-2000) - for soprano and piano trio
Nu
dricker jag dig till
(1981) - for mezzo soprano and piano
The
Lost Song (1974) - for
soprano and piano
Tre
sånger (1989) - for
mezzo soprano, violin and piano
Two
Love Songs for Kerstin and Kristine (1975) - for mezzo soprano, violoncello and piano
Today we shall make a brief appreciation of Sandström’s
Six Pieces for
Piano Trio and Orchestra. This set of pieces belongs to his most recent
phase – revealing his shift towards
tonal music. Observe the composer’s
genious on how finely romantic and
lyrical elements mingle with the harsher modernist tinges. While discussing this work, Sandström himself would state: “Stylistically I am very keen on the idea of
modernism contradiction. The polarity inspires me a lot. The triple concerto is
a mixture of the whole thing”[3].
Performed by the Trio con Brio Copenhagen and the Royal Stockholm
Philarmonic Orchestra.
Enjoy!
References:
Websites:
www.gehrmans.se http://www.gehrmans.se/en/composers/sandstrom_sven-david
www.music.indiana.edu http://music.indiana.edu/departments/academic/composition/faculty/sandstrom/index.shtml
www.sudbrackmusic.de
http://www.sudbrackmusik.de/uploads/Trio%20con%20Brio/Sandstr%C3%B6m;%20Tripelkonzert.pdf?PHPSESSID=0rskun2cuq63e1qmiknjkviiv4
Svendavidsandstrom.com
http://svendavidsandstrom.com/
[1] 24 tone equal temperament (24-TET) is a tuning
system which consists of using intervals, in a chromatic scale, equal to half a
semitone.
[3] Sven-David Sandström, “Six
Pieces for Piano Trio and Orchestra (UA 2011, Trio Con Brio Copenhagen)”. Künstlersekretariat
Rolf Sudbrack http://www.sudbrackmusik.de/uploads/Trio%20con%20Brio/Sandstr%C3%B6m;%20Tripelkonzert.pdf?PHPSESSID=0rskun2cuq63e1qmiknjkviiv4
