"It’s always fascinating to see how non-classical musicians respond to classical fare. Who would have guessed—as Ben Ratliff reveals, in his book 'The Jazz Ear'—that Wayne Shorter has a thing for Vaughan Williams? Or that Branford Marsalis, during his time as bandleader on 'The Tonight Show,' used to come home from the gig, lie down on the floor, and listen to 'Götterdämmerung'? Phil Lesh, a Luciano Berio student turned Grateful Dead bassist, admires Elliott Carter, and has interviewed him for Counterstream Radio. Björk takes inspiration from Messiaen, Cage, Stockhausen, and Meredith Monk.
"Mark Stryker, who covers both classical music and jazz for the Detroit Free Press, recently spoke to Stephen Sondheim about his classical inclinations. Some of the composer’s choices come as no surprise: Ravel, Stravinsky, and Britten, masters at building large structures from brief motifs, are all plausible models for Sondheim’s fiercely economical style. But 'Sinfonia del mare' by Gösta Nystroem, a mid-century Swedish composer known to a smattering of record collectors? Who knew? In fact, a Google search discloses that Sondheim has often mentioned his fondness for Nystroem, who wrote in a hotly atmospheric late-Romantic idiom. Steve Swayne, in 'How Sondheim Found His Sound,' identifies Nystroem as a primary source for the songs 'Too Many Mornings' and 'Boca Raton.'”
Stryker’s interview led me to pull out the old Swedish Society LP of the “Sinfonia del mare,” which I don’t think I’ve played since the fall of Communism. (You can also find a more recent recording on the Phono Suecia label, with Evgeny Svetlanov conducting the Swedish Radio Symphony.) It’s a striking if somewhat undisciplined piece—an integrated four-movement structure built around a soprano setting of Ebba Lindqvist’s poem “Det enda” (“Like one who flees from his true love … so have I fled from the sea”). One other vamping figure in the work reminds me of Sondheim, although I can’t quite place it. In any case, there’s something wonderful in Sondheim’s loyal remembrance of the neglected Swede.
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