Bernstein: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 Arctic Philharmonic & Christian Lindberg

• Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990): Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah":
• 1Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah": I. Prophecy06:32
• 2Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah": II. Profanation07:49
• 3Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah": III. Lamentation09:21
• Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety", Pt. 1:
• 4Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety", Pt. 1: I. The Prologue02:06
• 5Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety", Pt. 1: II. The Seven Ages08:13
• 6Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety", Pt. 1: III. The Seven Stages06:20
• Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety", Pt. 2:
• 7Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety", Pt. 2: IV. The Dirge06:06
• 8Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety", Pt. 2: V. The Masque05:01
• 9Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety", Pt. 2: VI. The Epilogue07:17
• Total Runtime58:45

Info for Bernstein: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

At the age of 21, Leonard Bernstein wrote what he described as a ‘Hebrew song’ using a text from the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Three years later the song became the final movement of his Symphony No. 1 and in January 1944 Bernstein himself conducted the première of the work. What is being lamented is the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, but according to the composer, he primarily wanted to convey the text’s ‘emotional quality’. The first movement thus aims to parallel in feeling the intensity of the prophet’s pleas while the scherzo gives a general sense of the destruction and chaos. Being a setting of the biblical text, the third movement is naturally more literary: the cry of Jeremiah, as he mourns his beloved Jerusalem. During the next few years, Bernstein’s career as a conductor took flight, while the musical On the Town made his name on Broadway. Towards the end of the 1940s he returned to the symphonic genre, however – once more with an extra-musical inspiration. W.H. Auden’s poem The Age of Anxiety is set during the recently concluded war, and falls – like the symphony – into six sections during which four characters express their anxieties, hopes and the quest for meaning and identity. Bernstein chose to portray all four characters via a single instrument, the piano, but he did not want to label the work a piano concerto. The instrument does however come to the fore at various points and in one of the final sections Bernstein supplies what is arguably the most exuberant and rhythmically dazzling display of piano writing in the symphonic literature. For this Christian Lindberg and the Arctic Philharmonic have enlisted the aid of Roland Pöntinen, while Anna Larsson is the soloist in Jeremiah.

Anna Larsson, mezzo-soprano
Roland Pöntinen, piano
Arctic Philharmonic
Christian Lindberg, conductor

Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra
Based well north of the Arctic Circle, the Arctic Philharmonic is the world’s youngest and northernmost orchestra, located in the two Norwegian arctic cities, Bodø and Tromsø – and with the whole northern region as its home.

Daily life at the world’s northernmost professional orchestra is both diverse and fun. We are spread over two cities with locations at the cultural centres in both Bodø and Tromsø. We have orchestra rehearsals there most days between 10am and 2pm. Outside scheduled rehearsals, you are likely to find us in the rehearsal room, round the coffee machine or on route to other duties such as teaching, management of various ensembles and solo performances. We are committed to being a resource for the region, both jointly as an orchestra and individually as musicians.

Of the team at the Arctic Philharmonic, 38 of us are artistic employees and play two to four (or more!) concerts per week. Admission is free of charge to roughly half our concerts, such as our lunch concerts at the concert halls in Tromsø and Bodø every week. We use smaller ensembles for these concerts and we enjoy variation. The fact that these popular concerts provide many with their first taste of classical music provides real inspiration for us. We generally play new material each week so as a consequence we spend a lot of time each week practicing on our own.

The remaining 13 of us are administrative employees, and deal with tasks that you don’t see in the concert hall but which are important to keep orchestral life functioning. Without Frode and Børre there wouldn’t be any sheets on our music stands on a Monday morning. And if Vidar and Nils don’t ensure there are tickets for sale, the concert hall will be sadly empty. If you ring us to find out about something you’re wondering about, chances are that Sigrid will answer the phone. That’s something you should be happy about because she will try her utmost to help you.

Christian Lindberg
is the Principal Conductor of the philharmonic orchestra. Alongside a successful career as a trombone soloist and composer, Lindberg is internationally sought-after as a conductor. He regularly conducts orchestras around the world, including in places such as Prague, Malmo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Aarhus, Helsinki, Rotterdam, Milan, Nuremberg, Iceland, Athens and Taipei. Lindberg has previously been the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Swedish Wind Ensemble and the Nordic Chamber Orchestra.

Together through these years, Christian and the Arctic Philharmonic, have received stunning reviews for their recordings and their performances all over the world and extended recording projects on BIS-records including a box of Tchaikovsky Symphonies as well as Nordic music from the Arctic Region.

Christian and the orchestra, have during few years performed at venues like Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg, Beethovenfest Bonn (2014), Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg (2015) and Musikverein Vienna (2015), in addition to a tour of China in 2011 (Wu Promotion). Future invitations include a European tour organized by Mark Stephan Buhl Management and a Japan tour organized by Genroh Hara, Pro Arte Musicae.

Lindberg was voted “The Greatest Brass Player in History” by the world's largest radio station Classic FM in 2015, and he was awarded "Artist of the Year" by 16 international chief editors of classical music magazines, in International Classical Music Awards 2016.

We are excited to have prolonged the collaboration with the always enthusiastic and inspiring Christian Lindberg! For the future, Lindberg and the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra are planning several national and international tours together, as well as releasing further albums with the renowned BIS Records.

Booklet for Bernstein: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2