The composer Dag Wirén assembled a personal style, dipping into various Scandinavian streams and bringing them together in new ways. This collection of pieces nicely turned out by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra under Rumon Gamba touches on several phases of his career (although not on his occasional popular songs) and can be recommended as an introduction to this Swedish figure, experiencing a revival in recent years. He has been classed as a Sibelius follower in his five symphonies, of which the third, heard here, also ...
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The composer Dag Wirén assembled a personal style, dipping into various Scandinavian streams and bringing them together in new ways. This collection of pieces nicely turned out by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra under Rumon Gamba touches on several phases of his career (although not on his occasional popular songs) and can be recommended as an introduction to this Swedish figure, experiencing a revival in recent years. He has been classed as a Sibelius follower in his five symphonies, of which the third, heard here, also incorporates a Nielsen-like but quite compact development of a motivic cell throughout the work. The Sibelius influence is also apparent in the Divertimento, Op. 29, whose conventional four-movement structure also reflects Wirén's Parisian neoclassic training. He followed that style early in his career, producing sparkling works that deserve wider exposure; these are exemplified here by the Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 11, and above all by the Sinfonietta in C major, Op. 7a, which...
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