Franz Berwald
July 23, 1796 - April 3, 1868born in Stockholm, Sweden, composed during the Romantic period
Biography
Franz Berwald was one of the seminal composers of the first half of the nineteenth century, a precursor of the Scandinavian symphonic school which would come to fruition a half century later. Yet as a musician in his native Sweden he labored in obscurity and was forced to make a living in such nonmusical fields as glassblowing, lumbering, orthopedics, and physical therapy.
Berwald was born in Stockholm. His father, a German orchestral violinist, imparted some training on his son, but Franz was largely self-taught. At 16 he joined the Royal Opera Orchestra and began to compose. His Grand Septet for Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn and String Quartet was premiered in 1828; already a pattern was set, for that idiosyncratic work met with indifference from Swedish audiences.
Berwald spent some time in Norway, then went to Berlin to study music further. From there he went to Vienna where he found an audience for his work. There his opera Estrella di Soria was performed to acclaim. In 1841, he married in that city and the following year produced his First Symphony, "La Serieuse." That same year he returned to Sweden only to find that his reputation had not preceded him. Nonetheless he continued to compose, turning out operas and three more symphonies: No.
Selected Discography
I'm surprised by the comment in the bio above, "Here would seem to be a rarity among creative artists, one to put the inner urge and ego on hold sublimating these in tending to the external needs of humankind." If the author of the bio believes that art is a matter of a selfish "inner urge and ego," and that art such as Berwald's is less valuable to humanity than tending (equally valuably) to its "external" needs, I wonder that he or she can be bothered writing about it.
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.......just guessing.... . . t h e portrait above was made the day before he bought it with pneumonia... . . . B U T . . . . . . t h a n k - y o u pandora for giving this musician some attention... . . . . d a n g ! !
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Thanks for including Berwald in your selections. To me, he sounds somewhat Beethovenesq u e (a good thing, I should think). It's good to see the "forgotten" masters finally get some credit, albeit some 150 years later.
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He is undeservedly a neglected composer. The excerpt demonstrates his skill. At times he sounds like Berlioz.
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