LEIF KAYSER (1919-2001): Symphonies, Vol. 2 - No. 1 and No. 4.

Description: Almost two years after the first issue (04I012), we now have this Catholic priest's short (16 min.), youthful (1937-38) and often volatile (Langgaard may come to mind briefly at moments of extreme kinetic activity) first symphony in single-movement form and his largest-scale work, the 52-minute Fourth begun in 1945 but not completed until 1963 and premiered three years after that. Scandinavian symphony collectors may find this to belong among their top ten unknown symphonies. The tradition passing through Sibelius and Nielsen is evident almost throughout and the 21-minute slow movement has the tense anxiety and grimness of Pettersson without quite the pain and anger while the almost equally length finale (17 min.) balances melody and dissonance perfectly in its strikingly colorful orchestration (castanets, harp, tambourine and triangle included among the percussion!). Aalborg Symphony Orchestra; Matthias Aeschbacher.