Otto Olsson (1879 - 1964) was a renowned organist and a composer born in Stockholm, Sweden and he composed this, his only symphony, in 1902. The recording I listened to on Youtube was played by The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stig Westerberg.
Olsson was a virtuoso organist and was in much demand throughout his life. He was interested in all music and believed that contemporary music only existed because of what had gone before it, and his expansive knowledge of musical history and his love of Gregorian Chant, Baroque Counterpoint, and his extensive knowledge of and writing for choir, organ and church, was brought to bear in all of his works. You can hear all of these influences in this symphony, as well as the debt he owed to the music of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Wagner, and especially Beethoven.
The writing is clear, crisp, with a defined line and unfussy orchestration. It is pure 'Romantic' music with obvious and clear associations with 'Classical' and before, but it is extremely tuneful and lyrical, making his style, for the occasional listener, very approachable. He writes with many swift dynamic changes, especially in volume. There are great motifs, harmonic progressions and there's always that feeling that the melody is almost (but not quite) familiar, despite never having heard the piece before.
The symphony is in four movements, and despite the first movement being marked allegro molto, it starts with stark strident chords followed by a slow, melancholy and long introduction section before bringing us out of the woods into the warm sunlit meadows. The second movement is a delightful 'scherzo'. A bright fugue which is more of a dance than anything. The third movement takes us back into reflective territory, a thoughful, hymn-like melody, before the fourth movement; which is one long choral hymn flowing inexorably to the dramatic and fortissimo final chords.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 10/5/20
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