Wilhelm Stenhammar: Songs - von Otter; Hagegard

Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927): 

Sanger / Songs

Anne Sofie von Otter

Hakan Hagegar, Bengt Forsberg, Thomas Schuback.

Von Otter & Hagegard Do Stenhammar Proud

By Ronald Gold on August 21, 2013

Wilhelm Stenhammar had a surge of popularity some years ago, but has fallen back to the fringes of the repertory of late. This is really too bad, because Stenhammar may be Sweden's greatest composer, and his combination of lyricism and intellectual rigor is likely to appeal to a wide spectrum of current listeners. Of special note are these extraordinarily attractive songs, related only tangentially to the contemporaneous German lied.

Both Sofie Von Otter and Hakan Hagegard are well-known and classy singers, and this l988 recording captures them at an early stage of their careers. Von Otter is particularly well served; I don't recall her voice sounding clearer or fresher. Hagegard is also in good form, but most of his songs appear to have been written for tenor and haven't been transposed downward to suit his mellow baritone. (Some of them occur on a Stenhammar recital by Nicolai Gedda and are more suited to his range.) There are a few songs in a lower register where Hagegard shines as brightly as Von Otter, and the whole enterprise is highly recommended for re-release.