Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Aarhus Symphony Orchestra conducted by Owain Arwel Hughes.
I - Poco sostenuto (𝅘𝅥 = c. 72) - Allegro espansivo (𝅘𝅥 = c. 120): 0:00
II - Andante affettuoso (𝅘𝅥𝅮 = c. 92) - Più mosso (𝅘𝅥𝅮 = c. 120) - Tempo giusto (𝅘𝅥𝅮 = c. 80) - Allegro passionato (𝅘𝅥𝅮 = c. 120) - Andante tranquillo (𝅘𝅥 = c. 92): 9:18
III - Allegro con forza (𝅘𝅥 = c. 132) - Poco sostenuto - Tempo giusto (𝅘𝅥 = c. 132): 18:49
Holmboe's Symphony No.10 was composed between 1970-1, requested by Swedish conductor Sixten Ehrling, who was then conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. It was premiered on January 27 of 1972, performed by said orchestra and conductor. The score is dedicated to both. After minor revisions, the symphony was performed in Denmark on September 7 of that same year, played by the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra under Herbert Blomstedt. Structured in three movements, the work shows the composer's continued use of the Metamorphosis technique in a more concentrated form.
Holmboe's Metamorphosis is an original structural principle in which the material is continually being transformed from one state to another, gradually reaching a "total change", without losing its identity or its fundamental characteristics. The correspondence with nature's continuous transformation of matter is striking, and the material which Holmboe introduces into the process of change is most usually a musical "embryo", a thematic, motivic or rhythmical idea. Throughout a lifelong development he unwaveringly kept to a modal-diatonic basis (twelve tone music and serialism appealed little to him) but the principle has striking similarities with the constructive principles employed by Schoenberg and his pupils.
According to Helmer Nørgård: "With the 10th Symphony, the tonal fixation has become a compositional principle, and the chamber music and cluster sounds have disappeared. The 10th Symphony can be seen as a fulfilment of the new tendencies in the 9th Symphony." It is music that is at once concentrated and expansive, austere and expressive, intensely concentrated and wildly ecstatic. The symphony's score is preceded by the poem "Eidolons" by Walt Whitman, which embodies Holmboe's principle of metamorphosis:
"Ever the dim beginning,
Ever the growth, the rounding of the circle,
Ever the summit and the merge at last, (to surely start again)
Eidolons! Eidolons!
All space, all time,
(The stars, the terrible perturbations of the suns,
Swelling, collapsing, ending, serving their longer, shorter use)
Fill'd with eidolon sonly.
Ever the mutable,
Ever materials, changing, crumbling, re-cohering."
The first movement is rather free in form. It begins with a substantial introduction that presents the core elements of the ensuing allegro. After a cymbal clash, several motives are presented; low string pedal notes, a melancholic melodic idea on upper strings and suspended woodwind figures. These contribute to an austere and darkly coloured timbre. Low strings then unfold the melodic idea in a flowing counterpoint with upper strings. The allegro espansivo then subjects these elements to the metamorphosis technique, with a remarkable treatment of the build-up and release of tension. A brief central section offers an almost pastoral contrast between wood instruments. The transformations continue as tension gathers in a continuous crescendo, culminating in an imperious climax that serves as the coda.
The second movement is written in form of an arch. It opens with a severe and poignant theme on strings, with brass fanfares soon being added on top. Swirling strings the start the next section of the andante, a metamorphosic development of the previous material. Woodwinds engage in a lyrical counterpoint, before the music turns anxious and dissonant, a brief return to the previous status. A dramatic and sustained climax is reached on full orchestra, as the momentum develops inexorably into heavy rhythmic attacks. After a diminuendo, we hear a kind of recapitulation of the material, before the music serenely dissolves in the silence.
The third movement is also rather free in form. It begins with a short-lived calm introduction with an ostinato figure on woodwinds, quickly leading to the allegro con forza. This ostinato then becomes the subject of a concentred metamorphosic development, rising in a continuous crescendo before being cut off. A lyrical variation of the ostinato then unfolds in contrapuntal woodwinds, offering great contrast while the ostinato is audible throughout. It nobly rises acquiring a radiant colour, leading to a grandiose climax that seems to conciliate the different moods heard through the allegro. A slow, enigmatic coda then ends the symphony with a pedal note on low strings.
Picture: "The Embrace" (2022) by the Danish painter Eva Helene Pade.
Musical analysis written by myself. Sources: tinyurl.com/26lcdeju and tinyurl.com/24lf4dus
To check the score: tinyurl.com/25a4pgnx
Aarhus Symphony Orchestra conducted by Owain Arwel Hughes.
I - Poco sostenuto (𝅘𝅥 = c. 72) - Allegro espansivo (𝅘𝅥 = c. 120): 0:00
II - Andante affettuoso (𝅘𝅥𝅮 = c. 92) - Più mosso (𝅘𝅥𝅮 = c. 120) - Tempo giusto (𝅘𝅥𝅮 = c. 80) - Allegro passionato (𝅘𝅥𝅮 = c. 120) - Andante tranquillo (𝅘𝅥 = c. 92): 9:18
III - Allegro con forza (𝅘𝅥 = c. 132) - Poco sostenuto - Tempo giusto (𝅘𝅥 = c. 132): 18:49
Holmboe's Symphony No.10 was composed between 1970-1, requested by Swedish conductor Sixten Ehrling, who was then conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. It was premiered on January 27 of 1972, performed by said orchestra and conductor. The score is dedicated to both. After minor revisions, the symphony was performed in Denmark on September 7 of that same year, played by the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra under Herbert Blomstedt. Structured in three movements, the work shows the composer's continued use of the Metamorphosis technique in a more concentrated form.
Holmboe's Metamorphosis is an original structural principle in which the material is continually being transformed from one state to another, gradually reaching a "total change", without losing its identity or its fundamental characteristics. The correspondence with nature's continuous transformation of matter is striking, and the material which Holmboe introduces into the process of change is most usually a musical "embryo", a thematic, motivic or rhythmical idea. Throughout a lifelong development he unwaveringly kept to a modal-diatonic basis (twelve tone music and serialism appealed little to him) but the principle has striking similarities with the constructive principles employed by Schoenberg and his pupils.
According to Helmer Nørgård: "With the 10th Symphony, the tonal fixation has become a compositional principle, and the chamber music and cluster sounds have disappeared. The 10th Symphony can be seen as a fulfilment of the new tendencies in the 9th Symphony." It is music that is at once concentrated and expansive, austere and expressive, intensely concentrated and wildly ecstatic. The symphony's score is preceded by the poem "Eidolons" by Walt Whitman, which embodies Holmboe's principle of metamorphosis:
"Ever the dim beginning,
Ever the growth, the rounding of the circle,
Ever the summit and the merge at last, (to surely start again)
Eidolons! Eidolons!
All space, all time,
(The stars, the terrible perturbations of the suns,
Swelling, collapsing, ending, serving their longer, shorter use)
Fill'd with eidolon sonly.
Ever the mutable,
Ever materials, changing, crumbling, re-cohering."
The first movement is rather free in form. It begins with a substantial introduction that presents the core elements of the ensuing allegro. After a cymbal clash, several motives are presented; low string pedal notes, a melancholic melodic idea on upper strings and suspended woodwind figures. These contribute to an austere and darkly coloured timbre. Low strings then unfold the melodic idea in a flowing counterpoint with upper strings. The allegro espansivo then subjects these elements to the metamorphosis technique, with a remarkable treatment of the build-up and release of tension. A brief central section offers an almost pastoral contrast between wood instruments. The transformations continue as tension gathers in a continuous crescendo, culminating in an imperious climax that serves as the coda.
The second movement is written in form of an arch. It opens with a severe and poignant theme on strings, with brass fanfares soon being added on top. Swirling strings the start the next section of the andante, a metamorphosic development of the previous material. Woodwinds engage in a lyrical counterpoint, before the music turns anxious and dissonant, a brief return to the previous status. A dramatic and sustained climax is reached on full orchestra, as the momentum develops inexorably into heavy rhythmic attacks. After a diminuendo, we hear a kind of recapitulation of the material, before the music serenely dissolves in the silence.
The third movement is also rather free in form. It begins with a short-lived calm introduction with an ostinato figure on woodwinds, quickly leading to the allegro con forza. This ostinato then becomes the subject of a concentred metamorphosic development, rising in a continuous crescendo before being cut off. A lyrical variation of the ostinato then unfolds in contrapuntal woodwinds, offering great contrast while the ostinato is audible throughout. It nobly rises acquiring a radiant colour, leading to a grandiose climax that seems to conciliate the different moods heard through the allegro. A slow, enigmatic coda then ends the symphony with a pedal note on low strings.
Picture: "The Embrace" (2022) by the Danish painter Eva Helene Pade.
Musical analysis written by myself. Sources: tinyurl.com/26lcdeju and tinyurl.com/24lf4dus
To check the score: tinyurl.com/25a4pgnx
