Stenhammar: Serenade for Orchestra
In this recording from Gothenburg Concert Hall in June 2014, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Herbert Blomstedt perform Wilhelm Stenhammar’s “Serenade for Orchestra”.
Wilhelm Stenhammar was one of Sweden’s finest composers of the decades around the turn of the 20th century, an artist of exquisite sensitivity and refinement. Is there another Swedish work that captures the shimmering freshness of spring quite like Stenhammar’s “Serenade for Orchestra”?
The composer was still in Florence when the idea for the work came to him in March 1907. “I want to write something as beautiful and tender about the South as only a Northerner can,” he wrote in a letter.
The Serenade is an exceptionally accomplished orchestral work, rich in craftsmanship, finesse and musical mastery. Yet it also feels light, spontaneous and playfully improvised – one of the truly indispensable masterpieces of the Swedish orchestral repertoire.
About Herbert Blomstedt
Herbert Blomstedt holds a very special place in the history of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. He grew up in Gothenburg and became a faithful visitor to the Concert Hall as a teenager. In 1954 he conducted his first concert with the orchestra.
He conducted more than 60 concerts with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra over seven decades, characterized by musical integrity, curiosity and a deep love for music. In 2006, he was named an Honorary Member of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra by its musicians.
