Talk:Johan Svendsen

Untitled
This is a detailed explanation of why I removed the following sentence.

"Probably we have to go back to Schubert to find a composer whose Opus 1 has attained the wide popularity of Svendsen's, his A minor string quartet"

For at least 50 years, and probably for a lot longer, Schubert's works have been known their "D" number, short for Otto Deutsch, Schubert's cataloguer, who did for Schubert what Ritter von Koechl did for Mozart. All of the opus numbers referring to Schubert's works have always been spurious. A few works, were during the 19th and early 20th century known by their spurious opus numbers such as his String Quintet D.956 which was known as Op.163. However, I have been unable to find no reference to any Op.1 of Schubert's, let alone that it was famous or brought Schubert acclaim. Schubert, unlike Beethoven or Mozart, did not achieve fame during his lifetime. He was relatively unknown, most of his works were unpublished and it took his friends contributing to put on a public concert while he was alive. D.1--Schubert's first work, is a Fantasy for piano written in 1811 and achieved no fame. Until such time as someone can produce an Op.1 of Schubert's which was published to and received great acclaim, that earlier version makes no sense.

Schubert & Svendsen
Schubert's opus 1 is the very very famous Erlkönig song. You can check it even here: Schubert_compositions_D_number_1-504, under the D number 328 or here: Der_Erlk%C3%B6nig. So now, You can revert Your own edit ;)) Szpawq 22:58, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Its a spurious opus number. The Erlondig Lied was his 328th!! work not his first. It may have been his first published work which is why it travelled under that spurious opus number. People know it by its name, not its opus number. Nonetheless, I will make a revision which expresses the idea that was in the earlier version.---Santo Neuenwelt

Yes, I agree that especially in case of Schubert opus numbers are totally misleading when considering them as meaning which work was composed before/after which one. But then, it is still his first published work, and so, the first with an opus number.

Different thing is that composers not necessarily attributed opus numbers according to the order of publication. F.e., Prokofiev assigned op.numbers even before composing a piece! And - maybe from the half of XIX century - giving the work opus number meant saying: this is my first work I consider important.

So the question is, if the String Quartet was really his first published work (as in case of Schubert), or was his first work deemed important. Unfortunately, that - I don't know. Szpawq 16:30, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Wagner & Svendsen
I moved a remark in the article that Wagner "does not seem to have influenced [Svendsen's] music" to this page, since it is unsourced, and in my opinion, patently false. Try paying close attention to the harmonic idiom and orchestral texture in Svendsen's Second Symphony (Op. 15), Romeo and Juliet Fantasy (Op. 18) and Zorahayda (Op. 11), and this comment will become untenable. Svendsen's use of heavy, low brass below a falling figure in the high strings in the final movement of his Second Symphony seems to be quite reminiscent of Wagner's musical language in Tannhäuser. The faster sections of the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy have strong Wagnerian overtones as well. I would never suggest that Wagner was the only or main influence on Svendsen's music, but some influence is undeniable. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.35.240.166 (talk) 03:10, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

His Grave
So, he died in Copenhagen? I was quite surprised to find his grave in the graveyard just next to where I live (in Oslo). Unlike Munch and several other "famous" Norwegians, he was not listed on the graveyard map.

I took some pictures... ought I to upload them here? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.236.208.22 (talk) 12:37, 18 January 2008 (UTC)