The BBC
Midland Orchestra
Leader, Alfred Cave
Conducted by Leslie Heward
Svendsen was the son of a military bandmaster and held such a post himself while only in his teens. He had some experience, too, as an orchestral musician, and when only twenty-one set out on a tour of Sweden and 'Northern Germany. Two years later he obtained a grant from Charles XV to enable him to carry on his studies of the violin. Then misfortune overtook him, and paralysis of one of his hands, brought his career as a violinist to an end, and he was obliged to devote himself entirely to composition and conducting. For many years he was conductor of the musical association in Christiania, and in 1883 he became Court conductor at Copenhagen.
Among Svendsen's works are two symphonies, No. 1 in D and No. 2 in B flat, both of which strongly adhere to the classical design, though showing considerable individuality in melodic invention and orchestration.