Allan Pettersson, Symphony no 14

Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, under Sergiu Comissiona (1981)

Here we find Pettersson in a mood of optimism. This magnificent work was premiered in the Stockholm Concert Hall on 3 December 1981, less than a month before I arrived in Sweden on vacation. But I was fortunate enough to purchase an LP direct from the concert hall . Regrettably, Pettersson himself never heard the work performed because of his untimely death the previous year.

The symphony was completed in 1978. At this time, life had taken a pleasant turn for Pettersson when he took up residence in "state living quarters" which consisted of a comfortable house with a private garden. For the first time in his life, he enjoyed more space than he was accustomed to, and enjoyed the garden immensely.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the symphony no. 14 comes as a "breath of fresh air" compared to the frustration and torments of its predecessor. There is far less of the darkness and menace, the sense of catastrophe, of teetering on the edge of a frightful abyss. Pettersson left no program notes, but there are certainly the same conflicts that occur in all the other symphonies. Storms of desperate conflicts still arise, but there are frequent respites to lyrical songs of compassion and great yearning. This makes the music far more accessible to the average listener.

Near the end, we have a build up to a magnificent climax - almost a dance of pure joy. This optimism is rare in Pettersson's oeuvre, and is a hard won reward. But oddly, at the very conclusion, this climax suddenly descends into a dark abyss - a gloomy cold place which is chilling and unsettling. Things are not as well as we thought after all. One is reminded of the ending of Tchaikovsky's "pathetique" Symphony no. 6.