Up until very recently, the Symphony
No. 1 was one of the great mysteries of this amazing composer. Pettersson
left the score incomplete at his death but was apparently tinkering with it
throughout his lifetime. He forbade performance of the sketches during his
lifetime, but did not disown the work like other composers who reject their
early efforts. His next symphony was a bona fide Symphony No. 2, thus
suggesting that Pettersson found enough merit in these sketches to leave them
as his Symphony No. 1.
Pettersson began work on the Symphony
No. 1 in 1951, which puts it the in the period of his Seven Sonatas,
Concerto No. 1 for String Orchestra, and his studies in Paris with Leibowitz.
A number of theories have been put forth as to why Pettersson never completed
the work: it may be possible that at the time Pettersson’s compositional
abilities were not quite at the level to fully realize the ideas he had, or he
just wanted to get around to his Symphony No. 2, which the Swedish Radio
commissioned from him in 1952. You can learn more about this from the excellent
liner notes and, even better, the DVD documentary which is included in the BIS
recording.
Throughout this survey I have always
tried to make my opinions clear on each work in question, but as with every
unfinished work, personal opinions in such a context must be taken with a grain
of salt. We have no idea how close or far Pettersson was in achieving his final
thoughts, and there is certainly a degree of wandering, of fragmentedness, to
this work. When listening, we know pretty much right away that this is a
Pettersson work; the obsessive usage of just a handful of ideas, the neurotic
and twisted images which are found in the Symphony No. 2, the brief
glimpses of sunshine through a dark sky. We hear him doing things which
foreshadow much later works, as well as things which he seems to do only once
in this symphony and never again.
For about the first 60% of this symphony,
it really does feel like it is part of a finished work. In my opinion there is
a clear sense of direction and purpose, ideas flow into each other “logically,”
if not jarringly (by early Pettersson standards, of course). I would even make
the argument that Pettersson sounds confident here, if not as a symphonic
composer certainly as an orchestrator.
At around 17 minutes (the sketches
last around 30 minutes) Pettersson quotes his Barefoot Song, Min
Längtan (My Longing), a tragic oasis of calm. From this point onwards, the
work starts to lose direction, and the degree of completion clearly begins to
thin out. You can hear Pettersson struggling with what to do next and how to
tie it together.
Nevertheless, a huge thanks to
Christian Lindberg and his assistants (watch the DVD!) for putting together a
performing version from Pettersson’s sketches. While this is definitely not the
final product, what we do have is certainly compelling and quite effective,
sometimes emotionally devastating, and another (albeit incomplete) piece to the
Pettersson puzzle. Let’s get to the music then.
Similar to his mature efforts, almost
immediately Pettersson gives us most, if not all of the material he will work
with. A slow half-step fall (F-E) from lower strings sets up a chamber music
trio between bassoon, flute, and oboe. The bassoon enters on E-G, the flute
F-Ab. Immediately, a tension is established with minor seconds and the
ambiguity of major-minor, which was already explored in the Barefoot Songs. Our
woodwind guides lead us briefly through a meandering forest, before the
entrance of violins, climbing tentatively and chromatically upwards.
Bassoon, oboe, and flute return,
accompanying a viola solo. Violins return and the music becomes agitated. A
percussion-led build-up, foreshadowing the Symphony No. 7, doesn’t quite
reach a climax, but gives way to an oboe solo. A sense of expectancy comes
over, suggesting that the first build-up was just a glimpse of what to come.
Another percussion buildup, a slackening of tempo, leads to an arrival point,
revealing bassoon, oboe, and flute, reminding us of the chamber music heard at
the beginning.
A bridging passage sets up a rather
nervous section marked by stabbing strings, somewhat sardonic oboes, and snare
drum. Careening downward string glissandi, pushing the music forward in section
which sounds like it is getting frustrated with itself (listen to the obsessive
C-Eb in the lower register), lead to a brief but truly eruptive climax.
However, the sense of expectation continues; soon we hear another eruptive,
brass-lead climax, featuring sounds which I don’t think Pettersson ever really
gives us again in the rest of his career.
A timpani swell leads to a nervous,
neurotic passage for woodwinds, featuring large leaps. Low brass enter, along
with grinding minor seconds from the violins. The music fades away, led by a
confused horn solo, but is roused immediately with a timpani roll. More chamber
music for woodwinds follows. Violins and snare drum enter, trying to agitate the
music. Brief trumpet calls punctuate the landscape.
The music arrives at a strained eb
minor, but D and C naturals in the violins quickly destabilize the tonality.
Some very jagged violin writing highlight Pettersson’s major/minor ambiguity. A
nocturnal passage follows, woodwinds guiding, with shuddering sounds from muted
brass. A brief burst of activity, then the music moves into another direction.
Angular writing and downward
slithering string glissandi are featured prominently in the following section.
The music builds to a brief climax, with timpani foreshadowing the opening
storm heard in the Symphony No. 14. Pettersson builds up to what seems
to be another climax, but backs off before going over the edge. The third
time’s a charm here; pounding timpani and fluttering brass, sliding downward,
make up the climax here. However, Pettersson moves right on, a trombone
glissando leads to the next section.
Fragments from of the opening are
heard, briefly led by solo viola, but Pettersson cuts it off with rude muted
brass chords. Pettersson hints back to the opening woodwind chamber music, but
there is a clear sense of expectation in the background. Trumpet and snare drum
along with downward string glissandi, the slightest shudder from ponticello strings,
transition to a twisted, writhing dance, led by violas.
As the dance music disappears into the
shadows, solo strings take up the reigns to guide us through the next section.
More woodwind chamber music follows, leading to a transitional solo horn passage.
Tremolo strings accompanying solo horn and trombone sets up a strained eb minor
cadence, but Pettersson throws in major/minor ambiguity with the solo clarinet
which follows.
A virtuosic solo violin, accompanied
by viola, transition to high woodwinds. Glassandi string pizzicati lead to the
next passage, featuring a solo clarinet and flute lightly accompanied by violin
pizzicati. Suddenly a demented circus appears: snarling, muted brass accompany
an unhinged, piercing clarinet solo. The circus disappears in a sea of
ponticello strings.
The clouds break as the music calms
down. Lower strings suggest c minor tonality, but as the upper strings make
their shimmering, tiered entrances, the tonality shifts to major. However, the
lower strings bring in Db and Eb, and a stabbing entrance from violins on B/Cb
push the tonality to eb minor. A beautiful clarinet solo follows, but a G
natural keeps the major/minor ambiguity in place.
We have now reached the tragic oasis
of this work. Accompanied only by a solo cello, playing held open strings, a
solo horn quotes the Barefoot Song, Min Längtan. From this point
on, the music begins to sound increasingly fragmented and incomplete.
Leaving this oasis the music sounds as
if it is slowing waking up, but this being Pettersson some rude-sounding muted
brass help the process along. We move into a forest of some pretty busy
contrapuntal writing featuring largely strings and woodwinds. A brief downward
run from a solo violin, answered by a solo trumpet introduces a
quasi-fugal section for strings which sounds like it could have been a lost
fragment from one of the string concertos. Virtuosic passages abound for solo
violin and viola are found throughout, sometimes in dialogue with each other.
Quasi bell-like woodwinds accompany a
brief line for violas. By now the music has clearly thinned out in texture, and
one gets the clear feeling that here Pettersson had only sketched a fraction of
the lines he intended to have in the finished product. Some very busy
contrapuntal writing is introduced by cellos, which is then spread to other
sections of the orchestra. Listen to the solo trumpet buried in the
texture.
The busy contrapuntal writing for
cellos returns, leading to bass pizzacati. Horns and woodwinds enter, but this
seems more like an accompanimental figure for something else Pettersson planned
on putting in. More busywork for cellos (and basses) serves as a bridging
passage to the next section, where the tritone and fifth are key intervals.
We’re down to fragments now: a solo oboe, then arpeggios in violins.
Contrapuntal violins accompany a solo bassoon, with punctuations from oboes. A
short progression by horns and the piece (or at least the sketches) come to an
end.
