Scandinavian Composers

Dynamic, dramatic, breathtakingly beautiful — the work of Scandinavian composers reflects a deep and personal connection with their homelands. Finnish composer Jean Sibelius' symphonic poem Finlandia for Orchestra, Op. 26 has even become a sort of second national anthem, while "1. Morning Mood" from Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's famous Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 — composed to accompany a play by countryman Henrik Ibsen — paints a rich, lyrical portrait of a pastoral daybreak. It's just the start of our journey through Scandinavian classical music — next stop, Next Steps.

Bold pageantry, lyrical young love, and comic mistaken identity all make a musical appearance in the "Overture" to beloved Danish maestro Carl Nielsen's opera Maskarade (Masquerade). Meanwhile, Swedish soprano Anne Sofie von Otto and accompanist Bengt Forsberg strike a more wistful note in "Så tag mit Hjerte (So Takes My Heart)," by von Otto's compatriot, composer Hugo Alfvén; and the Empire Brass Quintet take a decidedly modern approach to an ancient "Scandinavian Chant." Continue your own approach into Scandinavian composers with our Deep Cuts.

We've traveled far and wide through Scandinavian lands to gather the best in deep classical cuts, from Edvard Grieg's "No. 6 Norwegian Melody" from his Op. 12 (Book 1) — played on the composer's own piano — to a soothing "II. Sestetto" from Swedish organ virtuoso Otto Olsson's 3 Etudes, Op. 45. Modern Finland is represented by composer Joonas Kokkonen's haunting '81 Requiem: In Paradisum, while the Scandinavian Wind Quintet performs the second movement from contemporary Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen's gorgeous Walden.

From the fierce national pride of legendary Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, whose "I. Intermezzo (Moderato)" from the famed Karelia Suite, Op. 11 evokes homegrown patriotic pride, to the delirious evocations of mythical creatures in Norwegian genius Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (from Peer Gynt, No.1, Op. 46), our Scandinavian Composers Essentials brings you the best of classical music from epic Northern lands. We make it easy to explore it all, whether you're new to the sounds and strains of, say, Danish composer Carl Nielsen's solar portrait Helios Overture, Op. 17, FS 32 or just want to go deeper into the works of Swedish national treasure Lars-Erik Larsson ("I. Prelude: Allegroso pomposo" from the Trombone Concertino, Op. 45, No. 7).