Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Saga Symphony

Liking the Viking on “The Lost Chord”

This week on “The Lost Chord,” brace yourself for Icelandic composer Jon Leif’s “Saga Symphony.” Scored for tuned anvils, stones, whip, shields of iron, leather, and wood, great wooden casks played by large hammers, and six ancient long horns, or lurs, the work is an intriguing blend of extravagance and austerity.

Leifs studied in Leipzig and wound up stranded in Nazi Germany for much of World War II. You’d think the National Socialists would have gone ape for this musical advocate of Norse heroism, but two things worked against him: the modernist language of much of his output, and the fact that his wife and children were Jewish. Also, he found Wagner repellent, asserting that Wagner completely misunderstood the essence and artistic tradition of the North. Public performances of Leif’s works were discouraged (and would have been impractical anyway). Under the circumstances, he preferred to attract as little attention to himself as possible. He found escape in rereading the Icelandic sagas, even as he was used for propaganda purposes to strengthen Germany’s relations with Scandinavia.

Leifs finally managed to obtain permission to leave Germany in 1944. Unfortunately, suspicion of Nazi associations further hindered acceptance of his music abroad. It was only with a series of compact disc recordings released on the Swedish label BIS, beginning in the 1990s, that Leifs – who died in 1968 – was revealed to be Iceland’s most important composer, with a voice as distinctive as any of his time.

Iceland of a hundred years ago was a very different place than it is now. Leifs didn’t hear his first orchestra until he traveled to Leipzig. The “Saga Symphony” is a direct response to Franz Liszt’s “A Faust Symphony,” a performance of which sent the young composer into ecstasies. He went home and immediately began work on the piece we’ll hear tonight. However, his own approach is quite different from Liszt’s. In terms of symphonic development, there is none to speak of. In its place are evocative fields of static harmonies.

Each of the work’s five movements is a character portrait of a hero from the Norse sagas: the vitriolic warrior Skarphéðinn Njálsson (Njál’s Saga), who hacks and hews with his battle axe; the strong-willed Guðrún Ósvífsdóttir (Saga of the Laxardals), who avenges herself against her husband’s killer; the latently heroic comic braggart and coward Björn of Mörk, who takes shelter behind the swashbuckler Kári Sölmundarson, as Kári avenges the deaths of Njál and his sons; Grettir Ásmundarson, who vanquishes the ghost of Glámr in a wrestling match, only to be haunted ever after; and the warrior-poet Tormod Kolbrunarskald (The Foster Brother’s Saga), who pulls an arrow from his heart and even in the throes of death formulates an intricate poem.

Greet your fate with courage and stoicism. Join me for “Liking the Viking,” on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!

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Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

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January 24, 2026
Leifs Saga Symphony Viking Weekend on WWFM

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” Viking Weekend continues! Brace yourself for Icelandic composer Jon Leif’s “Saga Symphony.” Scored for tuned anvils, stones, whip, shields of iron, leather, and wood, great wooden casks played by large hammers, and six ancient long horns, or lurs, the work is an intriguing blend of extravagance and austerity.

Leifs studied in Leipzig and wound up stranded in Nazi Germany for much of World War II. You’d think the National Socialists would have gone ape for this musical advocate of Norse heroism, but two things worked against him: the modernist language of much of his output, and the fact that his wife and children were Jewish. Also, he found Wagner repellent, asserting that Wagner completely misunderstood the essence and artistic tradition of the North. Public performances of Leif’s works were discouraged (and would have been impractical anyway). Under the circumstances, he preferred to attract as little attention to himself as possible. He found escape in rereading the Icelandic sagas, even as he was used for propaganda purposes to strengthen Germany’s relations with Scandinavia.

Leifs finally managed to obtain permission to leave Germany in 1944. Unfortunately, suspicion of Nazi associations further hindered acceptance of his music abroad. It was only with a series of compact disc recordings released on the Swedish label BIS, beginning in the 1990s, that Leifs – who died in 1968 – was revealed to be Iceland’s most important composer, with a voice as distinctive as any of his time.

Iceland of a hundred years ago was a very different place than it is now. Leifs didn’t hear his first orchestra until he traveled to Leipzig. The “Saga Symphony” is a direct response to Franz Liszt’s “A Faust Symphony,” a performance of which sent the young composer into ecstasies. He went home and immediately began work on the piece we’ll hear tonight. However, his own approach to the symphony is quite different from Liszt’s. In terms of symphonic development, there is none to speak of. In its place are evocative fields of static harmonies.

Each of the work’s five movements is a character portrait of a hero from the Norse sagas: the vitriolic warrior Skarphéðinn Njálsson (Njál’s Saga), who hacks and hews with his battle axe; the strong-willed Guðrún Ósvífsdóttir (Saga of the Laxardals), who avenges herself against her husband’s killer; the latently heroic comic braggart and coward Björn of Mörk, who takes shelter behind the swashbuckler Kári Sölmundarson, as Kári avenges the deaths of Njál and his sons; Grettir Ásmundarson, who vanquishes the ghost of Glámr in a wrestling match, only to be haunted ever after; and the warrior-poet Tormod Kolbrunarskald (The Foster Brother’s Saga), who pulls an arrow from his heart and even in the throes of death formulates an intricate poem.

Greet your fate with courage and stoicism. Join me for “Liking the Viking,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org

January 9, 2022
Jón Leifs Icelandic Composer Rediscovered

No one scores natural phenomena quite like Jón Leifs.

Leifs, who was born on a farm in northwestern Iceland, traveled to Germany to study music at the Leipzig Conservatory in 1916. Soon after graduation, he married the pianist Annie Reithof, a decision that necessitated some careful maneuvering in the perilous years to come.

Leifs remained in Nazi Germany through much of World War II. On the surface, his celebration of Norse heroism should have been just the thing to endear him to the National Socialists. However, two things worked against him: the modernistic language of his music, and the fact that his wife and children were Jewish.

Performances of Leifs’ music were derided or discouraged. This, apparently, he took in his stride, finding solace in re-reading the Icelandic Sagas and finding strength in the exploits of their heroes. Above all, on account of his family, Leifs tried not to attract a lot of unwanted attention. He was still useful for propaganda purposes in Germany’s relations with Scandinavia.

Leifs finally managed to obtain permission to leave Germany in 1944, his family temporarily settling in Sweden. He and his wife divorced, and Leifs returned to Iceland. There, he was regarded with suspicion due to his Nazi “associations.”

Also, much of his music was conceived on such a gargantuan scale, and scored for such outlandish instruments, there was no way they could be practically performed. Therefore much of it went unheard in his lifetime.

In particular, “Hekla,” his evocation of a volcano in eruption, has been called the loudest piece of classical music ever written, requiring 19 percussionists hammering away at a most unconventional arsenal: anvils, stones, sirens, plate bells, chains, shotguns, cannons, and a large wooden stump. For their own well-being, the performers are instructed to wear earplugs.

His “Saga Symphony,” inspired by prose accounts of battles, feuds, and power struggles of early Viking settlers, is enlivened by tuned anvils, stones, whip, shields of iron, leather, and wood, great wooden containers (played by large hammers), and six lurs – copies of ancient long horns.

Leifs’ music can be austere to the Nth degree. The severity of his art is reflective of the unforgiving-yet-sublime Icelandic landscape and the stoicism of the heroes of the sagas. His is a wholly unique voice in 20th century music that deserves to be much better known. `

Join me this afternoon, as we remember Leifs on the 50th anniversary of his death. I’ll go easy on you by vaulting over the volcanoes and geysers and presenting instead the elemental “Iceland Overture” and the “Variazioni pastorale” – his variations on a theme by Beethoven.

The Viking longboat will be well-provisioned. Be ready to row, from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

PHOTOS: Jón Leifs and Hekla

July 30, 2018
Jon Leifs Saga Symphony Viking Sounds

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” brace yourself for Icelandic composer Jon Leif’s “Saga Symphony.” Scored for tuned anvils; stones; whip; shields of iron, leather, and wood; great wooden containers played by large hammers; and six ancient long horns, or lurs, the work is an intriguing blend of extravagance and austerity.

Leifs studied in Leipzig and wound up stranded in Nazi Germany for much of World War II. You’d think the National Socialists would have gone ape for this musical advocate of Norse heroism, but two things worked against him: the modernistic language of much of his output, and the fact that his wife and children were Jewish. Also, he found Wagner repellent, asserting that Wagner completely misunderstood the essence and artistic tradition of the North. Public performances of Leif’s works were discouraged (and would have been impractical anyway). Under the circumstances, he preferred to attract as little attention to himself as possible. He found escape in rereading the Icelandic sagas, even as he was used for propaganda purposes to strengthen Germany’s relations with Scandinavia.

Leifs finally managed to obtain permission to leave Germany in 1944. Unfortunately, suspicion of Nazi associations further hindered acceptance of his music abroad. It was only with a series of compact disc recordings released on the Swedish label BIS, beginning in the 1990s, that Leifs – who died in 1968 – was revealed to be Iceland’s most important composer, with a voice as distinctive as any of his time.

Iceland of a hundred years ago was a very different place than it is now. Leifs didn’t hear his first orchestra until he traveled to Leipzig. The “Saga Symphony” is a direct response to Franz Liszt’s “A Faust Symphony,” a performance of which sent the young composer into ecstasies. He went home and immediately began work on the piece we’re about to hear. However, his own approach to the symphony is quite different from Liszt’s. In terms of symphonic development, there is none to speak of. In its place are evocative fields of static harmonies.

Each of the work’s five movements is a character portrait of a hero from the Norse sagas: the vitriolic warrior Skarphedinn (Njal’s Saga), who hacks and hews with his battle axe; the strong-willed Gudrun Osvifrsdottir (Saga of the Laxardals), who avenges herself against her husband’s killer; the latently heroic comic braggart and coward Bjorn of Mork, who takes shelter behind the swashbuckler Kari Solmundarson, as Kari avenges the deaths of Njal and his sons; Grettir Asmundarson, who vanquishes the ghost of Glamr in a wrestling match, only to be haunted ever after; and the warrior-poet Tormod Kolbrunarskald (The Foster Brother’s Saga), who pulls an arrow from his heart and even in the throes of death formulates an intricate poem.

Greet your fate with courage and stoicism. Join me for “Liking the Viking,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

January 21, 2018

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