Uploaded April 2024 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo-soprano
Swedish Radio Symphony conducted by Yevgeny Svetlanov
Gösta Nystroem (1890-1966) was a Swedish composer. Also a notable painter with tendencies toward expressionism and cubism, Nystroem gave up his painting career around the age of thirty to focus exclusively on composing.
At the time, Nystroem's music was considered just as modernistic in his native Sweden as his art. It may not appear quite so radical today but nevertheless occupies a unique place among Western art music of the 20th century, with elements of Neoclassical style allied to a "typically Nordic" melancholy and seriousness. Nystroem's taste in orchestration also reflects his studies in Paris with Vincent d'Indy and Leonid Sabaneyev.
The "Sinfonia del mare" of 1948 is often considered Nystroem's most famous work. Having spent much of his life near the sea - primarily in Stockholm and Gothenburg - the composer was strongly drawn to it as a source of both musical and personal inspiration. This piece, dedicated "to all sailors on the Seven Seas", was written between the Italian island of Capri and the Swedish seaside town of Marstrand. In it, Nystroem also sets the poem "Det enda" by the Swedish poet Ebba Lindqvist, who - like himself - felt an innate connection to the sea.
Of course, many famous works have been written about the sea, from Debussy's "La mer" to Vaughan Williams' "A Sea Symphony"; in my opinion, this is the most complete and all-encompassing of them. Nystroem masterfully depicts the lifelike qualities of the sea: its vast tempestuousness, the occasional moments of serenity, and a deep longing to return toward it.
While Nystroem's place in the Swedish orchestral repertoire is secure, he remains quite unknown outside the Nordic countries, and scores of his works can be difficult to come by elsewhere. I hope this video will encourage more musicians around the world to take up his stirring and evocative music!
Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo-soprano
Swedish Radio Symphony conducted by Yevgeny Svetlanov
Gösta Nystroem (1890-1966) was a Swedish composer. Also a notable painter with tendencies toward expressionism and cubism, Nystroem gave up his painting career around the age of thirty to focus exclusively on composing.
At the time, Nystroem's music was considered just as modernistic in his native Sweden as his art. It may not appear quite so radical today but nevertheless occupies a unique place among Western art music of the 20th century, with elements of Neoclassical style allied to a "typically Nordic" melancholy and seriousness. Nystroem's taste in orchestration also reflects his studies in Paris with Vincent d'Indy and Leonid Sabaneyev.
The "Sinfonia del mare" of 1948 is often considered Nystroem's most famous work. Having spent much of his life near the sea - primarily in Stockholm and Gothenburg - the composer was strongly drawn to it as a source of both musical and personal inspiration. This piece, dedicated "to all sailors on the Seven Seas", was written between the Italian island of Capri and the Swedish seaside town of Marstrand. In it, Nystroem also sets the poem "Det enda" by the Swedish poet Ebba Lindqvist, who - like himself - felt an innate connection to the sea.
Of course, many famous works have been written about the sea, from Debussy's "La mer" to Vaughan Williams' "A Sea Symphony"; in my opinion, this is the most complete and all-encompassing of them. Nystroem masterfully depicts the lifelike qualities of the sea: its vast tempestuousness, the occasional moments of serenity, and a deep longing to return toward it.
While Nystroem's place in the Swedish orchestral repertoire is secure, he remains quite unknown outside the Nordic countries, and scores of his works can be difficult to come by elsewhere. I hope this video will encourage more musicians around the world to take up his stirring and evocative music!
