Johan Svendsen had the distinct misfortune of being born only three years before the guy who would become Norway’s famous composer, Edvard Grieg. But when Grieg heard Svendsen’s first symphony, he thought it was so good that he withdrew his own recently-written symphony and wrote on the cover “MUST NEVER BE PERFORMED”. Grieg would never write another symphony, and Grieg and Svendsen would become close friends.
Today you can hear the delightfully Norwegian Symphony No. 1 of Johan Svendsen as we celebrate his birthday, your Midday Masterpiece here at 2pm.