Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Christian Lindberg - Pettersson: Symphony No.9 (2013) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Allan Pettersson composed his Ninth Symphony in 1970, two years after the Seventh had been given a triumphant première conducted by Antal Dorati. This had brought him greater recognition than ever before, but at the same time his health was deteriorating even further, and shortly after completing the Ninth Pettersson was hospitalized for a period of nine months. It is striking that he at such a time should have chosen to compose what is the longest of all his works – in the score Pettersson himself estimated the duration to ‘65–70 minutes’, and the first recording of the work actually lasted for more than 80 minutes. As so many of the symphonies, the work is in one single movement which may be described as an extended struggle in which harmony is the ultimate winner. As Pettersson himself had said about an earlier work: ‘If one fights one’s way through a symphony one needs to achieve consonance and harmony even if it takes twenty hours to do so.’ In the case of the Ninth, this harmony is summed up more concisely than ever before or after, in the final two chords which form a plagal or ‘Amen’ cadence in F major. Completing a cycle for BIS of Pettersson’s symphonies, Christian Lindberg and the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra have been receiving great critical acclaim for previous instalments – most recently a Sixth described in International Record Review as ‘a release that could well be the ideal introduction to Pettersson’s singular musical vision’. About the same disc, the reviewer in Gramophone wrote: ‘Lindberg’s empathy for Pettersson’s music is once again shown in the Sixth, where he catches its dark atmosphere to perfection, pacing its progress through the succession of climaxes superbly well.’

'Lindberg and his orchestra drill straight to the core of these symphonies…Balances are entirely natural and there's a pleasing tactility to the sound that will surely please the audiophiles; just sample the dark, menacing conclusion to the Ninth, with its march-to-the-scaffold-like taunt of brass and fright of drums.' –MusicWeb International

'The multi-talented Christian Lindberg here continues his cycle of Pettersson symphonies for BIS. A review of an earlier issue in the series quoted in the booklet remarked that his "affinity with Pettersson's idiom is manifest". One can only agree…As a recording of Pettersson's Ninth Symphony this is now clearly the version of choice.' –MusicWeb International

'Petterson's longest symphony becomes a focused 70-minute rollercoaster in Lindberg's hands. Comes with a fascinating DVD bonus of a 1970s Swedish documentary on the composer.' –BBC Music Magazine, April 2014

'This disc is a revelation…with BIS's fabulous sound, [this] is not just Lindberg's finest Pettersson recording but one of the finest anyone has committed to disc…The Swedish master has found his champion at last.' –Gramophone, May 2014

Critics Choice –Gramophone, Dec'14

TRACKLIST

Symphony No.9 (1970)
01. Beginning 7'38
02. 3 bars after Fig.27 8'58
03. 3 bars before Fig.58 7'56
04. 2 bars before Fig.88 6'45
05. 3 bars after Fig.111 8'13
06. Fig.139 4'52
07. 5 bars after Fig.153 12'43
08. 4 bars after Fig.189 5'33
09. Fig.203 6'58