Allan Pettersson - Symphony No. 7 and No. 16

These are the world premiere recordings of Symphony No. 7, conducted by Antál Doráti (1969) and Symphony No. 16, conducted by Yuri Ahronovitch (1984). This CD is not part of the ongoing upload of Allan Pettersson's Complete Symphonies here on Avax, so another version of Symphony No. 7 will hopefully appear soon (see more here - and thanks for your uploads, jkavouras, we are really grateful for them). No. 7 is perhaps the most popular of Pettersson's symphonies and this version by Doráti has conquered many hearts.

Allan Pettersson (1911-1980) was raised in the slums of Stockholm, at an early age interested in philosophy, religion and music. He studied the violin and the viola at the Royal Academy of Music, Stockholm, played the viola in the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra between 1939 - 1951, and made a late debut as composer in 1949 with a fiery and much criticised concerto for violin and string quartet. He went to Paris to study for Honegger and René Leibowitz, returned to Stockholm and devoted himself to composing music: symphonies, string concertos, sonatas for two violins - just to mention the more important works.

He was a lone figure, outside every group, every generation. His music speaks its own language. He didn't regard himself as a subjective composer: "When I work I forget Pettersson whom I am sincerely tired of. But there, inside my ribs, is a square, the heart's red square, where I meet all mankind, where everybody always lives and where everybody is one."

Tracks:
01 Symphony No. 7 (40'20)
02 Symphony No.16 (22'22)