Allan PetterssonA Composer Forgotten?

By Christopher Brakel
(Originally published in the Society of Composers, Inc. Newsletter, January/February 2001, xxxi: 1)

Throughout history, countless numbers of superior artists have been overshadowed by the so-called giants in their respective fields. In the symphonic music tradition, this is certainly true of Allan Pettersson (1911-1980), the Swedish composer of massive, emotionally expressive, yet disturbing symphonies. Not only is his great achievement dwarfed by composers of large symphonies like Mahler, Sibelius and Shostakovich, who are well-known and performed often, but also by the composers who abandoned traditionalism during the mid to late Twentieth Century. These are two major factors which have inhibited the acceptance or even knowledge of Petterssons music. This article seeks to provide a brief biographical timeline and explanation of Petterssons life and work and also seeks to encourage the exploration, performance, and discussion of his music in order to challenge American composers and musicologists to study his work and provide a solid body of research in the English language, of which there exists virtually nothing to this day. Gustav Allan Pettersson was born in Uppland, Sweden on 19 September 1911 to an alcoholic and violent father and a pietistic and weak mother. He was raised in the slums of Stockholm and struggled even to get his first instrument, a violin. After several failed attempts, he was finally admitted into the Royal Conservatory of Music in Stockholm, where he studied violin, viola, harmony, and counterpoint between 1930 and 1939. In 1939, he was awarded a stipend which allowed him to continue his study of viola with Maurice Vieux in Paris. He then became a violist in the Stockholm Concert Society Orchestra (now the Stockholm Philharmonic) and remained there until 1952. He also studied composition privately with Karl-Birger Blomdahl and Otto Olson during this time. From 1951 to 1953 he studied with Rene Leibowitz and Arthur Honegger in Paris, where he would master and eventually abandon the twelve-tone technique. During the course of his career he developed rheumatoid arthritis which would eventually cripple him completely. But, miraculously he was able to compose seventeen symphonies, three concertos for string orchestra, three concertos for solo string instruments, two song cycles, and chamber music before his death on 20 June, 1980. Petterssons music gained some popularity in Sweden during the late 1960s and 1970s, but has almost never been performed abroad.

Brakel, Christopher Allan Pettersson A Composer Forgotten?

Musically, Petterssons approach is quite traditional, his symphonies being largescale, tonal, and expressionistic. This has led many to dismiss his music as being oldfashioned. But, the uniqueness of his music lies in the revolutionary way he assembled these materials. Characteristics of his music, especially the symphonies, include conflicting pedal-point key areas, sharp and shrill writing for the strings and woodwinds, brooding brass ostinati, and narrative percussion lines. The pieces that illustrate this style most clearly are his middle symphonies (Symphonies Nos. 5-9). Nearly all of his symphonies are in a single movement ranging from forty to almost ninety minutes in length. His concertos are exceptionally demanding on the soloist, notably the Second Violin Concerto, even to the point where live performances are almost impossible. What, then, led Pettersson to adopt such an approach? During his studies with Leibowitz, he worked almost entirely in the twelve-tone technique, as many composers were doing during the middle part of the century. But, perhaps he needed a different musical language to express what he needed to say. Pettersson has been quoted many times saying, The music forming my work is my own life, its blessings, its curses: in order to rediscover the song once sung by the soul. This statement helps explain why Pettersson continued to write in the traditional forms (symphony, concerto, cantata, song) even when composers had come into the postserial era. His childhood experiences and austere life, perhaps, forced him to adopt a musical language that would help him accept and deal with his extremely difficult and unsettling existence. He said, My music is the only thing that allows me to bear my hellish fate. But if I can serve as an example for someone who shares in the same fate, then that is very good. Paul Rapoport in his book Opus Est, states that, Spiritually there is a connection to late Mahler and Sibelius[but] his music transcends whatever he learned from them; his musical world is both more restricted and more disturbing. Petterssons musical world is also a very dark one, Symphony No. 6, for instance, is an hour-long haunting piece which has a gloomy coda in Bb minor which comprises nearly forty-five percent of the entire work. But there are also moments of apparent resolution or even redemption in his music, as in the finale of Symphony No. 7 where, after intense orchestral battling, the strings play an extended song-like passage ending the piece in a somewhat reconciling manner. His music most certainly functions on an existential level and the way he treats dissonance sets up the more song-like tonal areas in such a way that they become rewards for the listener. These tonal areas have been termed lyrical islands by several writers about Pettersson. The interaction of these lyrical

Brakel, Christopher Allan Pettersson A Composer Forgotten?

moments with dissonance on a macro-level is one of the elements in his music which produces a convincing narrative. Sergiu Commissiona, conductor and champion of Petterssons music asserts that, He breaks down the barriers around structures that may seem to be rigid. His treatment of the material is primarily musical; he keeps a plastically flowing tempo. He does not hesitate to expose the archetypes of death to lifes warm currents of air and translucent lyricism. Why does one need to consider Pettersson in these times then? Where does he fit into the history of symphonic music? It is true that musical development progressed immensely during the time in which he was writing, but on the other hand Pettersson continued and developed the symphonic tradition, which some have said ended with Mahler. The term symphony has come to mean different things during the course of the Twentieth Century, and even Pettersson was not a complete traditionalist, since his symphonies do not adhere to the original forms and his is a highly individual voice. But, it is at least true that he made a significant contribution to the traditional genres of symphony, concerto, sonata, and song, and for that reason he should not be overlooked. Also, Pettersson was one of the few prolific Swedish composers to shine, if even dimly, during the Twentieth Century. There are a few resources available in the English language concerning Petterssons music. His music has faired well in the recorded medium, nearly all of his music is available now on compact disc. Below is a partial list of recommended recordings, books, and websites which can offer further information. Considering the brevity of this introduction to Pettersson, it is hoped that many will be curious enough to explore on their own the resources that are now available. The intent of this article is to not only promote interest in his music, but to encourage further scholarship and research on Pettersson and his music, for his is a voice crying, the voice of a crier (not to be forgotten) threatened with drowning in the din of passing time

Brakel, Christopher Allan Pettersson A Composer Forgotten? Recommended Recordings, Readings, and Websites: Rapoport, Paul. Opus Est: Six Composers from Northern Europe. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company, 1978. Pettersson, Allan. Symphony 6 / Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Trojahn / CPO Records #999 124-2 Pettersson, Allan. Symphony 7 / Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Commissiona / Caprice Records #21411 Pettersson, Allan. Violin Concerto No. 2 / Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Blomstedt / Caprice Records #21359 The Allan Pettersson Society in Sweden: http://www.allanpettersson.org/ The International Allan Pettersson Society: http://www.iapg.de/ Classical Net Allan Pettersson Page: http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/acc/pettersson.html The Allan Pettersson Page: http://homepages.uc.edu/~cauthep/allan.html