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The Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 4 (JSV 38), is a four-movement orchestral work written from 1866 to 1867 by the Norwegian composer Johan Svendsen. Notwithstanding earlier partial performances, the symphony—in its entirety—received its premiere in Oslo on 12 October 1967, with Svendsen conducting. The First Symphony particularly is admired for its energy and "sparking" orchestration; the composer's friend and countryman, the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg was so moved by Svendson's First Symphony that he withdrew his own work in the genre, the Symphony in C minor (EG 119; 1864). Along with Svendsen's Second Symphony (Op. 15; c. 1974), the D major symphony is credited with having given "Norway a strong local symphonic tradition".

Composition
From 1863 to 1867, Svendsen was enrolled as a music student at the Leipzig Conservatory.


 * Composed in 1866 while he was a music student at the Leipzig Conservatory.
 * "It is an astonishingly inspired, well-integrated, unified, and powerful work".
 * The orchestration shows that Svendsen was "moving in the French direction, producing a sound full of contrasts ... often placing them [the woodwinds] in their high registers, which contributed strongly to the work's sparkling character".
 * Movement I is "overwhelmingly energetic", before being "balanced by a serious and expansive Andante.
 * Movement III's opening "seems to foreshadow the Overture to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker (1892) ... the scherzando is remarkably nimble, brilliantly orchestrated, and so skillfully constructed that it deserves a place among the very best orchestra scherzos written".
 * Movement IV reprises the opening theme of the first movement.
 * The symphony is dedicated to the Swedish-Norwegian consul in Lübeck, Carl F. Leche, who had in 1863 aided the young composer to secure a scholarship from the Swedish-Norwegian king.


 * It was Svendsen, not Grieg, "who gave Norway a strong local symphonic tradition. They orchestra was Svendsen's speciality".
 * It was in his final year at the Leipzig Conservatory that Svendsen "was able to surprise his composition teacher", Carl Reinecke, by producing a symphony.

Premiere

 * The first movement premiered in Leipzig on 9 May 1866 at the Gewandhaus, with Svendsen conducting; a year later in the same location, Svendsen conducted Movements II–IV for the first time.
 * The first complete performance was on 12 October 1967 in Oslo, with Svendsen conducting.
 * The score was published by Ernst Wilhelm Fritzsch in 1868.


 * In autumn 1867, Svendsen conducted his debut concert in Oslo, with the symphony on the program. Grieg, in a review, praised "the perfect balance between ideas and technique", and called the orchestration among "the best in existence" ... "God alone knows where Svendsen got it all from", Grieg wrote in a post-concert letter. And he guessed at Berlioz as inspiration. "I was deeply moved. Everything, just sever thing had my fullest sympathy and impressed me in an irrepressible manner".
 * In his review, Grieg advised Svendsen to leave Norway: "for if the public carries on as it has started here, when presented with the best we have, Norwegian music will soon become nothing but a fiasco, whereas abroad, and especially in enlightened Germany, it will receive the recognition which it deserves". Svendsen subsequently returned to Leipzig and then travelled to Paris.

Instrumentation
The First Symphony is scored for the following instruments, organized by family (woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):


 * 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in A), and 2 bassoons
 * 4 horns (in E♭), 2 trumpets (in E♭), 1 alto trombone, 1 trombone, and 1 bass trombone
 * Timpani
 * Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, and double basses

Structure
The Symphony No. 1 is in four movements: 1. Molto allegro

2. Andante

3. Allegretto scherzando

4. Finale. Maestoso – Allegro assai con fuoco

Discography
The sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of Svendsen's First Symphony:

Notes, references, and sources

 * Notes


 * References


 * Sources