The Swedish composer Hilding Rosenberg has not had a strong showing on commercial records. He has always teetered on the periphery of the catalogue and when one of his symphonies did make an entry its tenure was brief. After the Second World War his music enjoyed something of a mini-vogue in much the same way as did that of his almost exact contemporary Frank Martin. Then, in the late-1950s through much of the 1960s, he fell into disfavour. However the Third and Sixth Symphonies were recorded at that time and reappear at long last on CD. The Third (1939) originally bore the subtitle The Four Ages of Man and drew on Romain Rolland’s Jean Christophe for its inspiration. Indeed at its first performance it was given with narration between each of the four movements. There is a Swedish Radio recording of the original made in 1948 with the composer conducting and reading the links, albeit recorded later in 1977 (Caprice, 5/93). Rosenberg subsequently had second thoughts about the piece, withdrew the title and made some revisions, excising a fugal section in the scherzo. The first movement opens purposefully with a motive that makes use of all 12 notes of the chromatic scale in much the same way as does Frank Martin in the Petite symphonie concertante. It generates writing of great expressive power and the second group, with its muted colours and transparent scoring, is one of Rosenberg’s most delicately wrought and imaginative ideas.
While the Revelation of St John the Divine (his Fourth Symphony) has appeared on CD (Caprice 5/93), Nos. 3 and 6 have not been recorded since these LP versions first came out. The Sinfonia semplice has a strong feeling for and awareness of nature. There is that sense of the poetry and melancholy that infuse the Swedish summer nights. Both the symphonies recorded here show Rosenberg as a very considerable master whose neglect should be repaired. His imagination is richly stocked and his music possesses a distinctive stamp. The transfers produce cleaner details and more sharply defined textures than the LP originals (it was difficult to get a click-free copy of No. 3) though there is a very slight loss of warmth in the Third. Recommended.'