Carl Wilhelm Eugen Stenhammar (February 7, 1871 – November 20, 1927) was a Swedish

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, conductor and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

Biography

Stenhammar was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

to and . His brother was the architect Ernst Stenhammar. He received his first musical education in Stockholm. He then went to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

to further his studies in music. He became a glowing admirer of German music, especially

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

and

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

. Stenhammar himself described the style of his First Symphony in F major as "idyllic Bruckner". He subsequently sought to emancipate himself and write in a more "Nordic" style, looking to

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he d ...

and

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...

for guidance. The latter's Symphony No. 2, especially, had a great effect on him, leading him to change his style and withdraw his own First Symphony from performance. Having seen Sibelius's symphony performed in

, Stenhammar wrote to him:

You should know that you are in my thoughts daily ever since I heard the symphony. You magnificent person, it is of course a huge armful of wonder that you brought up out of the unconscious and ineffable depth. That which I felt has been verified: You are in this moment for me as the foremost, the only, the enigmatic one.... I have also just written a symphony. At least it is called a symphony, and only in accordance with the understanding that you perhaps have forgotten should it be dedicated to you. However, nothing came of it. It is quite good, but somewhat superficial. I yearn to reach my inner self. And you can wait until I have arrived there. The great day when this happens, I will print your name in large letters on the title page. It may become a symphony or something else.

The result of his search for a new style was the Second Symphony in G minor, composed nearly twelve years after the First Symphony, which shows the influence of Nielsen, Sibelius and Franz Berwald among others. In autumn of 1892, Stenhammar moved to Berlin for seven months to study with Heinrich Barth, where he devoted his time to rigorous piano practice and composition. Barth was satisfied with Stenhammar's performances and gave him increasingly technically challenging pieces to practice, such as the '' Variations on a Theme of Paganini'' by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

, a composer he admired. From 1906 to 1922 Stenhammar was Artistic Director and chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony, the first full-time professional orchestra in Sweden. In this capacity, he organised many performances of music by contemporary Scandinavian composers. In 1909, he briefly held the position of director of music at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

, where he was succeeded the following year by Hugo Alfvén. After moving back to Stockholm in the early 1920s, he returned to touring despite his declining health. Wilhelm Stenhammar died of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

at 56 years of age in Jonsered in the historic province of

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

. He is buried in Gothenburg. He had two children with his wife , and , both of whom were singers.

Work

His works were quite varied and included two completed symphonies, a substantial ''

Serenade In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honour of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Ital ...

for Orchestra'', two

piano concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

s, four

piano sonata A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement (Liszt, Scriabin, Medtner, Berg), others with two movemen ...

s, a

violin sonata A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple Baroque music, baroque form wi ...

, seven

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

s (one of which was withdrawn), many songs and other vocal works, including several large-scale works for chorus or voices and orchestra: the early

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

''Florez och Blanzeflor'', Op. 3, written around 1891, ''Ithaka'', Op. 21, from 1904, the

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

s ''Ett folk'' (''A people'') from 1905 and ''Sången'' (''The song''), Op. 44, from 1921. Writing in ''The Chamber Music Journal'', R.H.R. Silvertrust opines that Stenhammar's six string quartets are the most important written between those of

and

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

. Whether or not this is so, there is no denying that Stenhammar's quartets represent a very important development during the twenty-five years he was writing chamber music. Tonally, they range from the middle late Romantics to a style akin to mature Sibelius. Though not unknown by the Swedish

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

public, his string quartets have been neglected elsewhere. In 2008 Musikaliska konstföreningen published the world premiere edition of his ''Allegro Brillante'' for

piano quartet A piano quartet is a chamber music composition for piano and three other instruments, or a musical ensemble comprising such instruments. Those other instruments are usually a string trio consisting of a violin, viola and cello. Piano quartets for ...

composed in 1891 and his ''Allegro non tanto'' for

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

composed in 1895. Stenhammar was considered the finest Swedish

of his time. Pianists who venture into the realm of the string quartet often wind up writing compositions that sound as though they were composed at, and are perhaps better played on, the piano. That Stenhammar's works show no such trait is because, for nearly half of his life, he worked intimately with the Aulin Quartet, the top Swedish string quartet of his day and one of the best then performing in Europe. In fact, he toured throughout Europe with them for many years and a

piano quintet In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly (since 1842) a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that ...

was nearly always featured on their programmes. Thus it is no accident that his quartets show a fine grasp of instrumental

timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...

and technique. The part writing is sure, always idiomatic and evenly distributed. Stenhammar recorded five

piano roll A piano roll is a music storage medium used to operate a player piano, piano player or reproducing piano. Piano rolls, like other music rolls, are continuous rolls of paper with holes punched into them. These perforations represent note contro ...

s for

Welte-Mignon M. Welte & Sons, Freiburg and New York was a manufacturer of orchestrions, organs and reproducing pianos, established in Vöhrenbach by Michael Welte (1807–1880) in 1832. Overview From 1832 until 1932, the firm produced mechanical mu ...

on 21 September 1905.

List of compositions

;Opera * '' The Feast at Solhaug'' (), opera in three acts for soloists,

mixed chorus A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, and orchestra;

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

(Op. 6; 1892–1896) * '' Tirfing'', " Norse mythological music drama" in two acts (plus a prelude and postlude) for soloists, mixed chorus, female chorus, and orchestra; libretto by Anna Boberg (1897–1898) ;Symphonies * Symphony No. 1 in F major, for orchestra (1902–1903, withdrawn) * Symphony No. 2 in G minor, for orchestra (Op. 34, 1911–1915) * Symphony No. 3 in C major (1918–1919, fragmentary) ;Concertante * Piano Concerto No. 1 in

B-flat minor B-flat minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has five flats. Its relative major is D-flat major and its parallel major is B-flat major. Its enharmonic equivalent, A-s ...

, for piano and orchestra (Op. 1; 1893) * Piano Concerto No. 2 in

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B♭ (musical note), B, and C (musical note), C. Its key signature has one Fla ...

, for piano and orchestra (Op. 23; 1904–1907) * ''Two Sentimental Romances'', for violin and orchestra (Op. 28; 1910) ;Other orchestral works * ''Excelsior!'', concert overture for orchestra (Op. 13; 1896) * ''

'' in F major, for orchestra (Op. 31; 1908–1913, 1919) ;Vocal works * ''Florez and Blanzeflor'' (),

for

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

and orchestra; text by Oscar Levertin (Op. 3; 1891) * , for

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

, mixed chorus, and orchestra; text by

Viktor Rydberg Abraham Viktor Rydberg (; 18 December 182821 September 1895) was a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy, 1877–1895. "Primarily a classical idealist", Viktor Rydberg has been described as "Sweden's last Romantic" and by 1859 wa ...

(Op. 5; 1891) * ''Ithaca'' (), ballad for baritone and orchestra; text by Oscar Levertin (Op. 21; 1904) * ''One People'' (),

for baritone, mixed chorus, and orchestra; text by

Verner von Heidenstam Carl Gustaf Verner von Heidenstam (6 July 1859 – 20 May 1940) was a Swedish poet, novelist and laureate of the 1916 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1912. His poems and prose work are filled with a great j ...

(Op. 22; 1904–1905) * ''Midwinter'' (), rhapsody for mixed chorus and orchestra (Op. 24; 1907) * ''The Song'' (), symphonic cantata for soprano,

contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

, tenor, baritone, mixed chorus, children's chorus, and orchestra (Op. 44; 1921) * Around 60 songs ;Chamber music * ''Allegro brillante'' in

E-flat major E-flat major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically D minor). The E-fla ...

, for

(1891) * String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 2 (1894) * ''Allegro ma non tanto'' in A major, for

(1895) * String Quartet No. 2 in C minor (Op. 14; 1896) * String Quartet in F minor (1897; Withdrawn) * String Quartet No. 3 in F major (Op. 18; 1897–1900) * Violin Sonata in

A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic and ...

, for violin and piano (Op. 19; 1899–1900) * String Quartet No. 4 in A minor (Op. 25; 1904–1909) * String Quartet No. 5 in C major (Op. 29; 1910) * String Quartet No. 6 in D minor (Op. 35; 1916) ;Piano music * Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major (1880) * Piano Sonata No. 2 in C minor (1881) * Piano Sonata No. 3 in

A-flat major A-flat major is a major scale based on A♭ (musical note), A, with the pitches A, B♭ (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D♭ (musical note), D, E♭ (musical note), E, F (musical note), F, and G (musical note), G. Its key signature has fou ...

(1885) * Piano Sonata No. 4 in G minor (1890) * ''Three Fantasies'' (Op. 11; 1895) * Piano Sonata in A-flat major (Op. 12; 1895) * ''Late Summer'' (), five piano pieces (Op. 33; 1914) ;Stage * ''A Dream Play'' (), a

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

(1916) * ''Lodolezzi Sings'' (), a drama by Hjalmar Bergman; directed by Per Lindberg, Op. 39 (1919) * ''As You Like It'' (), a

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

; directed by Lindberg (1920) * ''Hamlet'', a

by Shakespeare; directed by Lindberg (1920) * ''Turandot'', incidental music for chamber ensemble to a

by Carlo Gozzi; directed by Lindberg (Op. 42; 1920) * ''Chitra'', a

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

; directed by Lindberg (1921) *''Romeo and Juliet'', a

by Shakespeare; directed by Lindberg (1922)

References

Citations

Sources

* * * *The Chamber Music Journal (1994), V (2): 1,4. Riverwoods, IL: Cobbett Association. . *Some information in the above article appears on the website of Edition Silvertrust. Permission to use, copy, alter and distribute has been given to Wikipedia under the GNU License and GFDL.

External links

*
Wilhelm Stenhammar Complete String Quartets (Nos.1-6), Violin Sonata Op.19 & Allegro Brillante for Piano Quartet Soundbites & InformationBiography
on the site of the Swedish Music Information Centre * Listen to ''Tre Körvisor'' - free MP3 recordings of
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stenhammar, Wilhelm 1871 births 1927 deaths 19th-century Swedish classical composers 19th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Swedish classical composers 20th-century Swedish conductors (music) 20th-century Swedish male musicians Swedish male opera composers Musicians from Stockholm Swedish Romantic composers Swedish male conductors (music) Swedish opera composers Uppsala University alumni