View source for Wilhelm Stenhammar

{{Short description|Swedish musician}}
<!-- please do not add an infobox, per [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes]]-->
[[Image:Stenhammar, Vilhelm i VJ 5 1916.jpg|thumb|Stenhammar, {{circa|1916}}]]
'''Carl Wilhelm Eugen Stenhammar''' (February 7, 1871 – November 20, 1927) was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] [[composer]], [[Conducting|conductor]] and [[pianist]].

==Biography==
Stenhammar was born in [[Stockholm]] and was the brother of architect [[Ernst Stenhammar]]. He received his first musical education in Stockholm. He then went to [[Berlin]] to further his studies in music. He became a glowing admirer of German music, especially [[Richard Wagner]] and [[Anton Bruckner]]. Stenhammar himself described the style of his First Symphony in F major as "idyllic Bruckner".<ref>{{cite web | title=Programme Notes Archive: Stenhammar, Symphony 2 | url=http://web.ukonline.co.uk/nso/Stenhammar.htm | publisher=Norfolk Symphony Orchestra | access-date=2007-08-14}}</ref> He subsequently sought to emancipate himself and write in a more "Nordic" style, looking to [[Carl Nielsen]] and [[Jean Sibelius]] for guidance.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Quist|first=Robert|date=2008|title=Stenhammar's Symphony in G Minor and the Quest for a Pure Nordic Style|journal=Scandinavian Studies|volume=80|issue=3|pages=363–374|jstor=40920817|issn=0036-5637}}</ref> The latter's [[Symphony No. 2 (Sibelius)|Symphony No. 2]], especially, had a great effect on him, leading him to change his style and withdraw his own First Symphony from performance.<ref name=":0" /> Having seen Sibelius's symphony performed in [[Stockholm]], Stenhammar wrote to him:<blockquote>You should know that you are in my thoughts daily ever since I heard the symphony. You magnificent person, it is of course a huge armful of wonder that you brought up out of the unconscious and ineffable depth. That which I felt has been verified: You are in this moment for me as the foremost, the only, the enigmatic one.... I have also just written a symphony. At least it is called a symphony, and only in accordance with the understanding that you perhaps have forgotten should it be dedicated to you. However, nothing came of it. It is quite good, but somewhat superficial. I yearn to reach my inner self. And you can wait until I have arrived there. The great day when this happens, I will print your name in large letters on the title page. It may become a symphony or something else.<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>The result of his search for a new style was the Second Symphony in G minor, composed nearly twelve years after the First Symphony, which shows the influence of Nielsen, Sibelius and [[Franz Berwald]] among others.<ref name=":0" />

In autumn of 1892, Stenhammar moved to Berlin for seven months to study with Heinrich Barth, where he devoted his time to rigorous piano practice and composition. Barth was satisfied with Stenhammar's performances and gave him increasingly technically challenging pieces to practice, such as the ''[[Variations on a Theme of Paganini]]'' by [[Johannes Brahms]],{{sfn|Haglund|2019|pp=55–57}} a composer he admired.{{sfn|Horton|1963|p=[https://archive.org/details/scandinavianmusi0000hort/page/154/mode/2up 154]}}

From 1906 to 1922 Stenhammar was Artistic Director and chief conductor of the [[Gothenburg Symphony]], the first full-time professional orchestra in Sweden. In this capacity, he organised many performances of music by contemporary Scandinavian composers. In 1909, he briefly held the position of director of music at [[Uppsala University]], where he was succeeded the following year by [[Hugo Alfvén]]. After moving back to Stockholm in the early 1920s, he returned to touring despite his declining health.{{sfn|Jonsson|1994|p=[https://archive.org/details/musikenisverige0000unse_t7w9/page/470/mode/2up 470]}}

Wilhelm Stenhammar died of a [[stroke]] at 56 years of age in [[Jonsered]] in the historic province of [[Västergötland]]. He is buried in Gothenburg.

==Work==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2022}}
{{Original research section|date=January 2022}}
His works were quite varied and included two completed symphonies, a substantial ''[[Serenade]] for Orchestra'', two [[piano concerto]]s, four [[piano sonata]]s, a [[violin sonata]], seven [[string quartet]]s (one of which was withdrawn), many songs and other vocal works, including several large-scale works for chorus or voices and orchestra: the early [[ballad]] ''Florez och Blanzeflor'', Op. 3, written around 1891, ''Ithaka'', Op. 21, from 1904, the [[cantata]]s ''Ett folk'' (''A people'') from 1905 and ''Sången'' (''The song''), Op. 44, from 1921.

Writing in ''The [[Chamber Music Journal]]'', R.H.R. Silvertrust opines that Stenhammar's six string quartets are the most important written between those of [[Johannes Brahms]] and [[Béla Bartók]]. Whether or not this is so, there is no denying that Stenhammar's quartets represent a very important development during the twenty-five years he was writing chamber music. Tonally, they range from the middle late Romantics to a style akin to mature Sibelius. Though not unknown by the Swedish [[chamber music]] public, his string quartets have been neglected elsewhere. In 2008 Musikaliska konstföreningen published the world premiere edition of his ''Allegro Brillante'' for [[piano quartet]] composed in 1891 and his ''Allegro non tanto'' for [[piano trio]] composed in 1895.

Stenhammar was considered the finest Swedish [[pianist]] of his time. Pianists who venture into the realm of the string quartet often wind up writing compositions that sound as though they were composed at, and are perhaps better played on, the piano.{{cn|date=March 2023}} That Stenhammar's works show no such trait is because, for nearly half of his life, he worked intimately with the [[Tor Aulin|Aulin Quartet]], the top Swedish string quartet of his day and one of the best then performing in Europe. In fact, he toured throughout Europe with them for many years and a [[piano quintet]] was nearly always featured on their programmes. Thus it is no accident that his quartets show a fine grasp of instrumental [[timbre]] and technique. The part writing is sure, always idiomatic and evenly distributed.

Stenhammar recorded five [[piano roll]]s for [[Welte-Mignon]] on 21 September 1905.

===List of compositions ===
;Opera
* ''[[Gillet på Solhaug|The Feast at Solhaug]]'' ({{lang|sv|Gillet på Solhaug}}), opera in three acts for soloists, [[SATB|mixed chorus]], and orchestra; [[libretto]] by [[Henrik Ibsen]] (Op.&nbsp;6; 1892–1896)
* ''[[Tirfing (opera)|Tirfing]]'', "[[Norsemen|Norse]] mythological music drama" in two acts (plus a prelude and postlude) for soloists, mixed chorus, [[Women's choir|female chorus]], and orchestra; libretto by [[Anna Boberg]] (1897–1898)

;Symphonies
* [[Symphony No. 1 (Stenhammar)|Symphony No.&nbsp;1]] in F&nbsp;major, for orchestra (1902–1903, withdrawn)
* [[Symphony No. 2 (Stenhammar)|Symphony No.&nbsp;2]] in [[G&nbsp;minor]], for orchestra (Op.&nbsp;34, 1911–1915)
* Symphony No.&nbsp;3 in [[C&nbsp;major]] (1918–1919, fragmentary)

;Concertante
* [[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Stenhammar)|Piano Concerto No.&nbsp;1]] in [[B-flat minor]], for piano and orchestra (Op.&nbsp;1; 1893)
* [[Piano Concerto No. 2 (Stenhammar)|Piano Concerto No.&nbsp;2]] in [[D&nbsp;minor]], for piano and orchestra (Op.&nbsp;23; 1904–1907)
* ''Two Sentimental Romances'', for violin and orchestra (Op.&nbsp;28; 1910)

;Other orchestral works
* ''Excelsior!'', concert overture for orchestra (Op.&nbsp;13; 1896)
* ''[[Serenade (Stenhammar)|Serenade]]'' in [[F&nbsp;major]], for orchestra (Op.&nbsp;31; 1908–1913, {{abbr|rev.|revised}} 1919)

;Vocal works
* ''Florez and Blanzeflor'' ({{lang|sv|Florez och Blanzeflor}}), [[ballad]] for [[baritone]] and orchestra; text by [[Oscar Levertin]] (Op.&nbsp;3; 1891)
* {{lang|sv|Snöfrid}}, for [[soprano]], [[mezzo-soprano]], [[tenor]], mixed chorus, and orchestra; text by [[Viktor Rydberg]] (Op.&nbsp;5; 1891)
* ''Ithaca'' ({{lang|sv|Ithaka}}), ballad for baritone and orchestra; text by Oscar Levertin (Op.&nbsp;21; 1904) 
* ''One People'' ({{lang|sv|Ett Folk}}), [[cantata]] for baritone, mixed chorus, and orchestra; text by [[Verner von Heidenstam]] (Op.&nbsp;22; 1904–1905)
* ''Midwinter'' ({{lang|sv|Midvinter}}), [[rhapsody (music)|rhapsody]] for mixed chorus and orchestra (Op.&nbsp;24; 1907)
* ''The Song'' ({{lang|sv|Sången}}), symphonic cantata for soprano, [[contralto]], tenor, baritone, mixed chorus, children's chorus, and orchestra (Op.&nbsp;44; 1921)
* Around 60 songs

;Chamber music
* ''Allegro brillante'' in [[E-flat major]], for [[piano quartet]] (1891)
* String Quartet No.&nbsp;1 in C&nbsp;major, Op.&nbsp;2 (1894)
* ''Allegro ma non tanto'' in [[A&nbsp;major]], for [[piano trio]] (1895)
* String Quartet No.&nbsp;2 in [[C&nbsp;minor]] (Op.&nbsp;14; 1896)
* String Quartet in F&nbsp;minor (1897; Withdrawn)
* String Quartet No.&nbsp;3 in [[F&nbsp;major]] (Op.&nbsp;18; 1897–1900)
* Violin Sonata in [[A&nbsp;minor]], for violin and piano (Op.&nbsp;19; 1899–1900)
* String Quartet No.&nbsp;4 in A&nbsp;minor (Op.&nbsp;25; 1904–1909)
* String Quartet No.&nbsp;5 in C&nbsp;major (Op.&nbsp;29; 1910)
* String Quartet No.&nbsp;6 in D&nbsp;minor (Op.&nbsp;35; 1916)

;Piano music
* Piano Sonata No.&nbsp;1 in C&nbsp;major (1880)
* Piano Sonata No.&nbsp;2 in C&nbsp;minor (1881)
* Piano Sonata No.&nbsp;3 in [[A-flat major]] (1885)
* Piano Sonata No.&nbsp;4 in G&nbsp;minor (1890)
* ''Three Fantasies'' (Op.&nbsp;11; 1895)
* Piano Sonata in A-flat major (Op.&nbsp;12; 1895)
* ''Late Summer'' ({{lang|sv|Sensommarnätter}}), five piano pieces (Op.&nbsp;33; 1914)

;Stage
* ''A Dream Play'' ({{lang|sv|Ett drömspel}}), a [[A Dream Play|drama]] by [[August Strindberg]] (1916)
* ''Lodolezzi Sings'' ({{lang|sv|Lodolezzi sjunger}}), a drama by [[Hjalmar Bergman]]; directed by [[Per Lindberg]], Op.&nbsp;39 (1919)
* ''As You Like It'' ({{lang|sv|Som ni behagar}}), a [[As You Like It|drama]] by [[William Shakespeare]]; directed by Lindberg (1920)
* ''Hamlet'', a [[Hamlet|drama]] by Shakespeare; directed by Lindberg (1920)
* ''Turandot'', incidental music for chamber ensemble to a [[Turandot (Gozzi)|drama]] by [[Carlo Gozzi]]; directed by Lindberg (Op.&nbsp;42; 1920)
* ''Chitra'', a [[Chitra (play)|drama]] by [[Rabindranath Tagore]]; directed by Lindberg (1921)
*''Romeo and Juliet'', a [[Romeo and Juliet|drama]] by Shakespeare; directed by Lindberg (1922)

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book |last1=Haglund |first1=Magnus |title=Wilhelm Stenhammar |year=2019 |publisher=Gidlunds förlag |location=Möklinta |isbn=978-91-7844-400-7 |language=sv}}
*{{cite book |last1=Horton |first1=John |title=Scandinavian music; a short history |date=1963 |publisher=London, Faber and Faber }}
*{{cite book |last1=Jonsson |first1=Leif |editor1-last=Tegen |editor1-first=Martin |title=Musiken i Sverige |date=1994 |publisher=Fischer & Co |location=Stockholm |isbn=91-7054-685-1 |edition=3 |language=sv}}
*The Chamber Music Journal (1994), '''V''' (2): 1,4. Riverwoods, IL: Cobbett Association. {{ISSN|1535-1726}}.
*Some information in the above article appears on the website of Edition Silvertrust. Permission to use, copy, alter and distribute has been given to Wikipedia under the GNU License and GFDL.

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Wilhelm Stenhammar}}
*[http://www.editionsilvertrust.com/music-s.htm Wilhelm Stenhammar Complete String Quartets (Nos.1-6), Violin Sonata Op.19 & Allegro Brillante for Piano Quartet Soundbites & Information]
*[http://www.mic.se/avd/mic/prod/micv6eng.nsf/AllDocuments/DE4E1A11C60848C9C1257228003385F6 Biography] on the site of the Swedish Music Information Centre
* Listen to ''Tre Körvisor'' - free MP3 recordings of : [http://www.acc.umu.se/~akadkor/cgi-bin/acc_download.cgi/3mp3/September%208.mp3 September], [http://www.acc.umu.se/~akadkor/cgi-bin/acc_download.cgi/3mp3/I%20Seraillets%20Have%201.mp3 I Seraillets Have] och [http://www.acc.umu.se/~akadkor/cgi-bin/acc_download.cgi/3mp3/Havde%20jeg%20en%20dattersoen%201.mp3 Havde jeg en Dattersøn] with  [http://www.acc.umu.se/~akadkor/indexENG.html Umeå Akademiska Kör].
* Listen to a free MP3 recording of [http://www.acc.umu.se/~akadkor/cgi-bin/acc_download.cgi/HE6mp3/Vaarnatt_2.mp3 Vårnatt] with  [http://www.acc.umu.se/~akadkor/Hemavan2006.html Hemavans Sommarkör 2006].
* {{IMSLP|id=Stenhammar%2C_Wilhelm|cname=Stenhammar}}

{{Wilhelm Stenhammar}}
{{Gothenburg Symphony conductors}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stenhammar, Wilhelm}}
[[Category:1871 births]]
[[Category:1927 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Swedish classical composers]]
[[Category:19th-century conductors (music)]]
[[Category:20th-century Swedish classical composers]]
[[Category:20th-century conductors (music)]]
[[Category:20th-century Swedish male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Swedish musicians]]
[[Category:Swedish male opera composers]]
[[Category:Musicians from Stockholm]]
[[Category:Romantic composers]]
[[Category:Swedish conductors (music)]]
[[Category:Swedish male conductors (music)]]
[[Category:Swedish opera composers]]
[[Category:Uppsala University alumni]]