Johan Svendsen (1840–1911) was a Norwegian composer who turned to conducting and moved to Copenhagen, Denmark. Since he did most of his composing before leaving the country, Svendsen – along with Grieg – helped shape the national romantic genre of Norwegian music in the late 1800s.
Romance for violin and orchestra is Svendsen’s most famous work. His skillful orchestration is evident in two symphonies, four Norwegian Rhapsodies, and tone poems such as Norwegian Artists’ Carnival, Zorahayda and Romeo and Juliet.
All of Svendsen’s chamber music – a string quartet, quintet and octet – was written while he studied at the Leipzig conservatory, yet these works hardly count as student works. In fact, Svendsen was regarded as one of the most talented students at the conservatory 1863–1867.
Unlike Grieg, Svendsen is not performed very often, although Neeme Järvi with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra produced three CDs of Svendsen’s orchestral works some years ago, and Urtext editions of his works have appeared in print.
Romeo and Juliet was composed as a tone poem for orchestra in 1876 but did not receive much attention, mainly because Svendsen strayed away from nationalistic musicmaking on this occasion.
Indeed, Svendsen was expected to turn out more pieces such as the immensely popular Norwegian Rhapsodies, which he published around the same time.
Moreover, there were no Leitmotifs in the style of Richard Wagner, serving as recurring musical phrases to associate with the characters of Shakespeare’s play. Instead, Svendsen had opted for a quite stormy characterization of passionate youthful love in general.
This is the first time that Svendsen’s Romeo and Juliet has been transcribed for modern concert wind band.
Please note that a lengthy section at the end of the piece requiring string phrasing has been cut.
Set contains one score and one copy of each part, as download or on paper. Copying allowed by acquiring band for their performances only. Additional copies may be obtained from the J. W. Pepper webshop.
Johan Svendsen (1840–1911) was a Norwegian composer who turned to conducting and moved to Copenhagen, Denmark. Since he did most of his composing before leaving the country, Svendsen – along with Grieg – helped shape the national romantic genre of Norwegian music in the late 1800s.
