Johan Svendsen

An almost exact contemporary of his compatriot Grieg, Svendsen was a hugely important figure in the emergence of a new sense of musical self-confidence in the Nordic nations. Born in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, in 1840, he learned his musical skills first as a military bandsman, then at the Leipzig Conservatory. He went on to become an outstanding conductor and an influential composer. In the latter field he was a crucial model for such significant talents as the Dane Carl Nielsen, the Swede Wilhelm Stenhammar, and the Finn Jean Sibelius. For a while his reputation rivaled that of Grieg, though it is striking that whereas Grieg’s triumphs were mostly in small-scale works, Svendsen’s successes were achieved on much larger canvases, notably in his two symphonies (1867 and 1876) and concertos for cello and violin (both 1870), in his orchestral Norwegian Rhapsodies(1876-77), and in his once-famous Romance for violin and orchestra (1881). Svendsen died in Copenhagen in 1911, after which his reputation suffered a decline. However, interest in his music has grown in recent years.