Berwald: Piano Trios, Vol.1 Nos 1-3

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Franz Berwald(1796-1868): Piano Trios Nos. 1-3The Swedish composer Franz Berwald was the most distinguished of amusical dynasty of German origin. He was born in 1796 in, Stockholm, the son ofChristian Friedrich Georg Berwald, a former pupil of Franz Benda in Berlin, whohad first moved to Stockholm in 1772. Franz Berwald's younger brother ChristianAugust served as a violinist in the Swedish court orchestra from 1815 and asits leader from 1834 to 1861. He himself had followed family tradition as a violinist,taught by his father, and was a member of the court orchestra from 1812 until1828. He also appeared as a soloist and in 1819 toured Finland and Russia on aconcert tour with his brother. Meanwhile he was winning something of areputation as a composer, in particular with a symphony, now partly lost, and aviolin concerto that followed earlier works for violin and orchestra.In 1829 Berwald at last found the necessary patronage for study abroadand moved to Berlin, where he took lessons in counterpoint, but at the sametime developed an interest in medicine. The early 1830s found him occupiedabortively with operatic composition, but in 1835 he opened his own orthopedicinstitute, an enterprise that enjoyed some success over the next six years, untilhe decided in 1841 to sell the institute and move to Vienna. There he continuedto pursue his medical interests, while turning his attention to a new opera,his tenth attempt at the form Estrella de Soria. In 1842 there was asuccessful concert of his music, after which he returned once more toStockholm, where he hoped for similar success. Now devoting his fuller attention to composition, Berwald completed hisfour surviving symphonies, but failed to achieve a favourable hearing eitherfor the first of these or for two operettas that he had staged. In 1846 hereturned to Vienna, where critics valued his gifts, as elsewhere in Austria andGermany and in 1847 he was elected a member of the Salzburg Mozarteum, arecognition of his distinction. Three years later financial pressure brought areturn to provincial Stockholm once more, but his unsuccessful attempts to findmusical employment either as a conductor of the court orchestra or at theUniversity of Uppsala now led to a further change of direction and in 1850 hebecame manager of a glass factory at Sando, in the north of the country, laterextending his commercial interests to include a sawmill. Winter visits toStockholm were still possible and he was able to continue his association withmusic in particular with the composition of chamber music. By 1859 he hadsettled again in Stockholm, returning to a musical career. In 1862 his opera Estrellade soria was staged with some success and two years later he completed hislast opera, Drottningen av Golconda ('The Queen of Golconda'). Atlast he had begun to earn a measure of public recognition, with membership ofthe Swedish Royal Academy and the eventual, if at first disputed, appointmentto a professorship He died in Stockholm