Johan Svendsen

Grieg regarded Svendsen as his perfect counterpart, since the latter commanded all the musical resources Grieg himself lacked. Although Svendsen launched his performing career on the clarinet, he soon established himself as a virtuoso violinist and received an invitation to perform at the ceremony for the Bayreuth theater’s foundation stone. Wagner led that occasion, directing Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony.” At the Leipzig Conservatory Svendsen trained under David, Hauptmann, Reinecke, and Richter; during those years his focus shifted from violin performance to composition. The first work of his to reach the public, “String Quintet, Opus 3,” earned strong approval, as did the early pieces that followed—“Symphony No. 1,” opus 4, and “String Quintet,” opus 5. Time spent in Italy left him unmoved, whereas Paris proved stimulating; still, the strongest impressions came from his collaboration with Wagner and from his eventual return to Norway. Between 1871 and 1877 he directed the Christiania Musical Society, introducing Norway to Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” for the first time. While leading that ensemble he produced his best-known scores: “Zorahayda,” “Romeo og Julie,” “Symphony No. 2,” and “Romance for Violin and Orchestra.” In 1883 he took the podium at Copenhagen’s Royal Opera. His compositions demonstrated complete mastery of both the orchestra and classical forms. Fellow musicians valued his conducting for its deep musical understanding, well-judged tempos, and crisp, exact gestures. The two symphonies continue to hold a firm place in the Norwegian repertory.