For a hundred years, performances of Fartein Valen’s music have been impaired by flaws and omissions in the scores. Stavanger Symphony Orchestra’s three new CDs will at last do justice to this mystical, iconic composer.

The history behind the publication of these recordings goes back several decades. SSO have long felt a sense of responsibility for Fartein Valen, who was a native of Stavanger. The orchestra has performed his works repeatedly: both in Stavanger and elsewhere. Since the 1970s, this has given rise to speculation that plans have been afoot to publish all of them together.

Recording all of Valen’s orchestral music entailed a number of considerable challenges. Among these was the need to revise his scores, since his own notation was not always thorough. Earlier performances and recordings have been marred by errors and omissions in the available scores.

Fartein Valen is one of Norway’s most distinctive composers. His polyphonic works have ensured his reputation as a pioneer of modern music in Norway. Valen studied for several years at the Berlin Music Conservatory, where he was taught by Max Bruch and  Karl Wolf. Valen’s music is both transparent and complex, and his consummate polyphony calls for extreme clarity and precision.

Four years of endeavour have gone into the launch of this series. Musician and conductor, Christian Eggen, has invested immense effort in a complete revision of Valen’s draft scores and has reconstructed the scores in the light of Valen’s painstakingly executed notebooks.

The recordings were made in the Stavanger Concert Hall, in close collaboration with BIS Records and with the support of The Norwegian Cultural Fund, The Inge Steensland Foundation and The City of Stavanger. All three CD records were published in the course of 2008.

Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and BIS Records have previously carried out similar revisions and recordings of the complete orchestral works of Harald Sæverud and Geirr Tveitt.