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Symphony No. 9 (Pettersson)

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Symphony No. 9
by Allan Pettersson
Composed1970 (1970): Stockholm
Dedication"For the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and its chief conductor Sergiu Comissiona"
Duration69:00 – 85:00
Movements1
Premiere
Date18 February 1971 (1971-02-18):
LocationGothenburg
ConductorSergiu Comissiona
PerformersGothenburg Symphony Orchestra

Allan Pettersson wrote his Symphony No. 9 in 1970.

History

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The symphony is his last composition preceding a nine-month stay in Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm (starting September 1970);[1][2] Pettersson composed the symphony in less than half a year.[3]

Structure

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It is Pettersson's longest symphony with a duration of ca. 70–85 minutes (score: 65–70 minutes).[4][a] There is one movement, though it divides into a number of smaller sections that follow each other with at most nominal pause but usually none.[5][b][c]

Music

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Much though not all of the material in the symphony is based on the ascending (and later descending) chromatic[6] scale motif heard at the very beginning, played by bassoons, violas and cellos.[5] Additional material is a repeated-note figure.[6] Pettersson juxtaposes innocent, diatonic melodies with passages of great contrapuntal ferocity.[6] There are sections of tango and canon and also a quotation of Song No. 10 "Jungfrun och Ljugarpust" (The Maiden and the Lying Wind) from his Barefoot Songs.[3] The Ninth can be described as an extended struggle in which harmony is the ultimate winner.[3] The concluding bars of the symphony[d] consist of a long final melody (in Peter Ruzicka's terms: a "Canto") played by violins and cellos and later by the violas in unison, and ends in a slow peaceful plagal cadence[6] into F major.[3][5]

Paul Rapoport uses adjectives like vast, nightmarish and delirious to characterize the symphony.[6] The symphony is a natural, organic unity and demanding for musicians and listeners.[3]

Performances

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Pettersson dedicated the symphony to Sergiu Comissiona and the Gothenburg Symphony, who premiered it on 18 February 1971[5][6] and had commissioned it for the 350th Anniversary of the Founding of the City of Gothenburg.[5] It was played again in December 1974, and the first Stockholm performances were given on 25 and 26 May 1976.[6] Comissiona described later the Ninth as "Jupiter" among Pettersson's symphonies.[7]

Score

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The miniature score was published in 1989 by Nordiska Musikforlaget of Stockholm and runs to 385 pages and 2146 bars.[4][3]

Recordings

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  • Sergiu Comissiona, conductor, Gothenburg Symphony; on Philips 2-LP set 6767 951, 1978. OCLC 604049544
  • Alun Francis, conductor, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; on cpo 999 231–2, 1994. OCLC 1011485081
  • Christian Lindberg, conductor, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra; on BIS 2038, 2013. OCLC 883802421

Notes

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  1. ^ the average length in the commercial recordings so far is around 70 minutes. Exception is the Comissiona recording with ca. 84 minutes (Comissiona: 83'58, Francis: 69'52, Lindberg: 70'11).
  2. ^ The notes to the cpo recording identify 17 such sections, partially for analysis. Meyer: "The tracks are in no way to be understood as separate movements but do represent attempts to identify breaks or turning points in the score."
  3. ^ The BIS recording is divided in 9 sections.[3]
  4. ^ cpo recording, track 17, from three measures before rehearsal 208 in the score to the end – about 5 minutes

References

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  1. ^ Ollefs, Christian (1989). "Epilog (Subjektive Begegnung mit einem Phänomen)". In Im Auftrag der Internationalen Allan-Pettersson-Gesellschaft von Michael Kube (ed.). Allan Pettersson Jahrbuch. 1989 (in German). Saarbrücken: Pfau Verlag. pp. 49–51. ISBN 978-3-89727-195-1.
  2. ^ Kube, Michael (2013). "Då behöver man distansen [Da braucht man Distanz]. Biografie und Werk zwischen Selbstinszenierung und Reflexion". In Tadday, Ulrich (ed.). Allan Pettersson, Musik-Konzepte (edition text+kritik) (in German). München: Richard Boorberg Verlag. pp. 5–22. ISBN 978-3-86916-275-1.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Olsson, Per-Henning (2013). Pettersson: Symphony No. 9 (PDF) (booklet). Christian Lindberg and Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. Åkersberga: BIS-2038. pp. 2–7. OCLC 995556946.
  4. ^ a b "Pettersson, Allan: SINFONIE NR. 9 | Sikorski Music Publishers". www.sikorski.de.
  5. ^ a b c d e Meyer, Andreas K.W. (1994). Pettersson: Symphony No. 9 (booklet). Alun Francis and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Georgsmarienhütte, Germany: cpo 999 231–2. OCLC 1011485081.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Rapoport, Paul (September 1976). "Allan Pettersson's 9th Symphony". Tempo. New Series (118): 47–9. JSTOR 944238.
  7. ^ Comissiona, Sergiu; Ollefs, Christian (1986). "Die Fragen kommen wieder". In Im Auftrag der Internationalen Allan-Pettersson-Gesellschaft von Michael Kube (ed.). Allan Pettersson Jahrbuch. 1986 (in German). Saarbrücken: Pfau Verlag. pp. 37–42. ISBN 978-3-89727-192-0.

Further reading

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  • Gülke, Peter (2001). "Protest, Vergeblichkeit, verweigerte Resignation: Gedanken beim Studium von Allan Petterssons Neunter Sinfonie.". Die Sprache der Musik. Essays zur Musik von Bach bis Holliger (in German). Kassel: Bärenreiter. pp. 445–451. ISBN 978-3-7618-2025-4.
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