Johan Svendsen - Andante funèbre, for orchestra

Johan Svendsen

Johan Severin Svendsen (30 September 1840 – 14 June 1911) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, he lived most his life in Copenhagen, Denmark. Svendsen's output includes two symphonies, a violin concerto, a cello concerto, and the Romance for violin, as well as a number of Norwegian Rhapsodies for orchestra. At one time Svendsen was an intimate friend of the German composer Richard Wagner.

     Andante funèbre, for orchestra 

Andante funèbre (1894)

A late orchestral piece by Norwegian composer Johan Svendsen (1840-1911), one of the few works he

composed after his wife Sarah Levett Schmidt burned the manuscript of his Third Symphony in a fit of jealous rage in 1883. Following this devastating experience, Svendsen and his wife separated and he retired as a composer. Svendsen composed only a handful of short works during the twenty-five years between the loss of his Third Symphony and his death, including this piece, the Andante funèbre.

Conductor: Ole Kristian Ruud
Trondheim Symphony Orchestra