Berwald’s septet and Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings

The Danish composer Carl Nielsen wrote 1911 in a letter to his Swedish colleague Wilhelm Stenhammar: “Neither pressure, money nor power can harm or benefit good art. There will always be some simple, decent artists who persist, produce and stand up for their works. In Sweden you have the finest example of this: Berwald.”

Franz Berwald began playing the violin when he was five years old, and at the age of 16 he received a position in the Royal Court Orchestra in Stockholm. The multi-talented Franz had high-flying composer ambitions, and alongside his work in the orchestra pit, he composed resolutely. However, his musical experimentation made it difficult to fit into the Swedish establishment. In March 1824, Berwald responded to an anonymous critical review in the newspaper Argus:

“… the reviewer should remember that any attempt to establish an uncommon system, a new handling of the instrumentation and its use, will always begin with many difficulties.”

In 1828 Berwald left the Royal Orchestra and traveled to Berlin. He was going to write opera! As an opera composer, one could become internationally famous and financially successful. But it turned out that the German metropolis was even less receptive to Berwald’s radical musical vision than Stockholm, and in the end he was close to giving up composing altogether. Instead, he founded and led an orthopedic institute for many years that became very successful – some of the mechanical devices he designed were in fact used right up until the 20th century.

In 1849 Berwald returned to Sweden for good. For a number of years to come, he worked as a manager at the Sandö glassworks north of Härnösand. He spent the winter months composing in Stockholm. In 1862, the Stockholm Opera premiered his Estrella de Soria, and the seasoned composer finally experienced relatively great success.

Berwald, whose music was neither played nor appreciated much during his lifetime, is now celebrated, even internationally, as a significant composer. His conscious experiments in form, his idiosyncratic melodic and rhythmic whims – always with fresh and exuberant elegance – make him a solitaire in Swedish music history.

Grand Septour in B-flat major

At a concert in Börshuset in December 1828, his Grand Septuor in B-flat major was premiered. The work is original, with often unexpected harmonic progressions and an experimental musical structure. The composer’s deep familiarity with and love of musical drama is palpable – when you listen, it is like stepping straight into an opera performance. The short Adagio of the first movement leads into a sonata-format Allegro molto. The slow, seemingly conventional second movement, Poco adagio — Prestissimo — Adagio is suddenly interrupted by a cheerful scherzo. Allegro con spirito, the lively and humorous finale, perfectly embodies the motto that Berwald formulated on August 17, 1838: “Art only goes well with a good mood. The meek should never get involved in it. All sighing artists become, for the listener or spectator, interesting even for a moment, but in the long run boring to death. Therefore: life and strength – feeling and reason.”

Dvořák and Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22

In the 1860s, Prague was the hub of a seething musical life. The city had several concert and opera houses and was regularly visited by renowned artists from all over Europe. The young Antonín Dvořák, who made a living as an orchestra musician and organist, found himself at this epicenter. Like Berwald, he wanted to compose, and he drew his inspiration from several different sources: Viennese classicism, more modern German movements with composers like as Liszt and Wagner, Italian opera, and the Czech folk music tradition.

When Dvořák was awarded the Austrian state composition scholarship in 1875, his life changed dramatically. Now he was considered a “real” composer and could devote himself to composing full time. He was also newly married, and the young couple had just had their first child. Life seemed bright and hopeful when, in May of that year, he wrote his Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22.

After a rousing Moderato cantabile, the melancholic Tempo di valse follows. A spiritual Scherzo vivace has the scent of Felix Mendelssohn. The yearning Larghetto connects to the waltz melody of the second movement. Finally, the Allegro vivace, with traces of Bohemian peasant dances and reminiscences of the first movement’s theme, ties the work together, which ends with an exhilarating coda. Dvořák’s deep-rooted love for the rolling Czech landscape shimmers throughout the serenade, which has become one of the composer’s most beloved pieces. It was premiered in December 1876 by musicians from both Prague opera houses. This concert will also feature musicians from two orchestras, namely the Czech Philharmonic – honoured guests at this year’s Baltic Sea Festival – and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Text: Hedvig Ljungar (translated from Swedish)