Classical Music

This is the second release featuring the Copenhagen Piano Duo, the two female pianists Tonya Lemoh and Cathrine Penderup, in exiting music for four hands. Their first release on Danacord featured music by Satie, Brahms, Granados and Barber and was very well received all over the world. Here they turn to the so- called Golden Age with music from the early romantics. At the centre is the Danish composer Niels W. Gade who assisted Mendelssohn in Leipzig and here his complete music for four hands is recorded for the first time. Also recorded is the rare Schumann Bilder as Osten (Pictures from the East which is receiving a ravishing interpretations. Tonya Lemoh and Cathrine Penderup have each recorded solo albums for Danacord to critical acclaim.

This new release comes from the world famous Copenhagen Tivoli Gardens. This album consists of music largely written for the Tivoli Youth Guard, hence the title “Dedicated”. Playing it also takes a considerable amount of dedication, especially considering that the average age of the Concert band is 13 1/2 years. The first part of the album presents concert pieces as you can hear them in the Tivoli Gardens. The second part is a parade through Tivoli with the almost 100 youths of the entire guard. And finally you will find two bonus tracks with the 8-piece Band. Today the Tivoli Youth Guard is a year-round music school for boys and girls aged 8-16 who have passed the entrance exams. The Drums and Fifes and the Tivoli Youth Guard Band are elite youth ensembles in their fields, while the Colour Guard specialises in the military tradition surrounding the Tivoli Youth Guard. At the same time, all sections are the foundation stones of the schooling and upbringing that the boys receive during their time in the Tivoli Youth Guard.

Ida Henriette Fonseca was born in Copenhagen in 1806. Her father was Abraham Fonseca, a first generation immigrant and a German-Portuguese Jew from Hamburg, who at the beginning of the 19th century settles down in Copenhagen as a broker. Here, he marries a local woman, Maria Louise Kiaerschou. The Danish theatrical historian Poul Hansen describes Abraham Fonseca at the end of the 19th century quite derogatively as "an immigrated Portuguese from the newly arrived banker aristocracy." Ida has three sisters and two brothers. The finance sector is by no means a big business in Copenhagen in the years following the national bankruptcy of 1813. So the Fonseca Family have to struggle to feed their children. The children grow up and must contribute to the household as soon as possible. Several of them are talented singers, and if one wants to progress as a singer in Copenhagen in the 1820s, there is one man to turn to: the choirmaster Giuseppe Siboni at the Royal Theater, which is where Ida honed her craft. She went on to become the leading singer in Scandinavia, and was a skilled composer as well. This is the first ever complete recording of the 18 beautiful songs by the singer and composer. The songs are original, melodic, and utterly charming.

Classical Music

This fifth and final volume of the Scandinavian Classics is released in the memory of Lyndon Jenkins, who produced all of the previous volumes and wrote the extensive booklet notes. “I was most impressed with the sound restoration on this [release.] Perhaps it just goes to prove how relatively good recording technology was, especially in the post-war years. Danacord have presented a packed programme which is exceptionally varied in its musical explorations. The liner notes by Claus Byrith are excellent and informative.” (John France, MusicWeb International) “Intelligent performances…a fascinating double-pack.” (Gramophone)

The young Danish pianist Emil Gryesten Jensen is rapidly gaining reputation as one of the most talented and successful classical musicians of the Nordic region. At the age of 15 he won the first prize at the Hamburg Steinway Klavierwettbewerb, and the following year he won the Danish Steinway Competition. In 2006 he won the first prize, a Blüthner grand piano, at the Malmö-Blüthner Piano Competition in Sweden. While a student at the Sibelius Academy he won the first prize at the Finnish National Piano Competition in Jyväskylä in March 2010. Many music critics, classical music professionals, and music lovers consider him the leading Danish pianist of the younger generation. On this highly anticipated new release from Danacord, he performs works by Franz Schubert.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Being undoubtedly the most popular Danish violinist ever, Wandy Tworek (1913-1990) was just as at home in the standard classical repertoire as he was in the fiery violinistic acrobatics he entertained his adoring audiences with all over Denmark. From the remarkable authoritative recording of the Bartok solo violin sonata to lollipops of the lighter vein, Wandy, as the Danes knew him, never failed to impress. This is the first comprehensive anthology of his finest and rarest recordings. The present volume features works by Bartok, Wieniawski, Riisager, Franck, and more.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Danacord continues it's tribute to the Danish cellist Erling Blondal Bengtsson. For this third volume of recordings emanating from Danish Radio Bengtsson plays a selection of solo sonatas and is also heard collaborating with friends and relations in a diverse choice of chamber pieces, from Schumann to Thybo. By complete contrast there is also Bloch's mighty Schelomo, his Hebraic Rhapsody for cello and large orchestra. This 2-disc set offers a further feast of Bengtsson's resourcefulness and sterling musicianship.