Peterson-Berger - Lonnlada Music CD

When Swedish composer Wilhelm Peterson-Berger's secret compartment was opened in connection to his 150th birthday in 2017, several unknown and forgotten recordings were discovered. These were of P.B. himself as narrator, pianist and conductor, as well as contemporary recordings of two complete acts of his opera Arnljot from the Royal Swedish Opera, and several shellac discs with his favorite singers. This release aims to bring those recordings into the light. Esteemed during his lifetime but relegated to the tertiary ranks of music figures thereafter, Wilhelm Peterson-Berger was a significant Swedish composer and critic in the early decades of the twentieth century. He studied organ and composition at the Stockholm Conservatory (1886-1889), then traveled to Dresden for further instruction in composition and orchestration. As a composer, he was a Romantic nationalist. He wrote many large works - his quasi-Wagnerian Arnljot is considered to be the Swedish national opera, and his third symphony and violin concerto are still highly regarded in his homeland - but Peterson-Berger is best remembered for his miniatures, particularly the piano pieces Frösöblomster, and perhaps the song collection Swedish Lyrics.