Bournemouth

As usual with first symphonies (think of Gade, Berwald, Alfven, Atterberg, Glazunov, Dohnanyi, Kalinnikov), Svendsen’s is of abundances of freshness, confidence in expression and form (or structure), a certain level of innocence, and surefootedness in orchestral resourcefulness, even if the ideas remains fledging as far as personality is concerned (Mendelssohn’s influence looms quite a bit here). After all, his symphony is a student work, written while he was still studying at the Leipzig Conservatory). His music is highly engaging and sparkling, the ideas nicely tight, controlled, and memorable. Its premiere on October 12, 1867 was such a success that Edvard Grieg unfortunately withdrew his symphony he had written in 1864 & forbade it from ever being performed. It gained a foothold in the repertoire of Scandinavian countries, but not well played elsewhere.

Commissioned in 1965 by the Dean of Chichester, Bernstein’s colourful Chichester Psalms is one of the composer’s most successful and accessible works on religious texts, contrasting spiritual austerity with impulsive rhythms in a contemplation of peace. The composer fashioned his Oscar-nominated score to the 1954 movie On the Waterfront into a symphonic suite, skilfully capturing the oppression of the New York dockyards in the ’50s. The Three Dance Episodes were extracted from the popular On The Town, Bernstein's first successful foray into musical theatre.