Bent Sørensen’s distinctive music thrives on the intangible, from atmospheres and feelings to memories and dreams. This recording assembles three recent concertos from the Grawemeyer Award-winning composer performed by distinguished Nordic soloists, beginning with a second piano concerto played by its dedicatee and inspiration, Leif Ove Andsnes. Sørensen’s clarinet concerto for Martin Frost is inspired by the scents of Spanish poetry, while his trumpet concerto for Tine Thing Helseth feeds of his constant obsession with the beauty and vulnerability of Venice. Each is highly evocative and filled with Sørensen’s etched beauty.

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REVIEWS:

The Second Piano Concerto, obviously a difficult work to perform, is played by the Norwegian pianist, Leif Ove Andsnes, who proves a highly persuasive exponent. Serenidad (Serenade), for clarinet and orchestra, is sparsely scored. The soloist, Martin Frost, produces a beautifully refined and creamy tone. The Trumpet Concerto was composed with the young charismatic Norwegian, Tine Thing Helseth in mind. She is capable of producing a multitude of colours. The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra adds a transparent accompaniment. The recordings are to Dacapo’s immaculate quality, the release much commended to those looking for cutting-edge contemporary sounds.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

Three recent concertos by Bent Sørensen, which are full of attractive, vivid instrumental effects, are brought together by Dacapo Records, all with their dedicatees as the soloists. It may be fundamentally undemanding music, but it is beautifully made.

– The Guardian (UK)

Duo Åstrand/Salo follow up their first installment of sonatas by Friedrich Kuhlau with a selection of some of the composer’s most impressive works for violin and piano. Friedrich Kuhlau fled to Denmark as a young man and with his strong cosmopolitan personality became a loner- and at the same time a key figure- in the Danish Golden Age. In 1813 Kuhlau was granted Danish citizenship and the honorary title of Royal Court Musician. Included on this release is what some consider the first Danish violin sonata in the Romantic style, a work that glances towards the composer’s idol Beethoven but contains plenty of individual spice and allure. It is followed by sonatas in all but name, the Trois Duos brillants from late in Kuhlau’s career. They are brilliant, as the title suggests – three varied, evocative snapshots of the great cosmopolitan of Denmark’s Golden Age.

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REVIEW:

Kuhlau’s music sounds thoroughly Germanic, and he makes no attempt to develop a Danish national style. He is definitely one of the best composers of his era, though; and it wouldn’t be until Schumann in the early 1850s that anyone would write better for violin and piano.

– American Record Guide

Danish composer John Frandsen (b. 1956) is well known for his interpretation of texts. This new release collects some of his most evocative solo song cycles with a myriad of poems set to this music. Four of Scandinavia’s most promising young vocalists are featured on this album, including Lise Davidsen and the composer’s own son, Morten Grove Frandsen.

The Danish String Quartet's love of traditional Scandinavian folk music is almost as well known as the Quartet's performances of the classical repertoire. The album "Wood Works," presents four favorite tunes from Nordic folk history, including a 400 year old fragment from Fano, also heard within a movie seen by over 50,000 viewings. - Dacapo, (translated from Danish)

Friedrich Kuhlau is known as Beethoven’s strongest advocate in Denmark and the man who wrote Elverhøj. But Kuhlau was first and foremost a pianist, one whose works for the instrument have a depth and character of their own. In the first of a new series, Marie-Luise Bodendorff reassesses Kuhlau’s contribution to the piano literature with fresh, muscular performances of music including the previously unrecorded Divertissement, Op. 37. Marie-Luise Bodendorff took her first piano lessons at the age of five and was admitted to the Hochschule fur Musik in Karlsruhe at the age of 10. From 2002 to 2007 she studied with Russian piano authority Vladimir Krainev at the Hannover University of Music, Drama, and Media. She currently resides in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has been a part time professor of piano at the Royal Danish Academy of Music since 2016.

After award-winning Langgaard recordings, the Nightingale String Quartet turns to one of the great unsung quartet cycles of the last century, that of Vagn Holmboe (1909-1996). Volume 1 in this new cycle takes in the composer’s first published quartet, his momentum-fueled Quartet No. 3 and his taut Quartet No. 15 with its pathos-imbued funeral march. These are fresh new performances that support the idea that the deeper you dig into Holmboe’s music, the more you find. Nightingale String Quartet is based in Copenhagen and is made up of Gunvor Sihm and Josefine Dalsgaard, violins, Marie Louise Broholt Jensen, viola, and Louisa Schwab, cello. All the members of Nightingale String Quartet studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where Professor Tim Frederiksen has been their faithful mentor ever since the Quartet was founded in 2007.

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REVIEW:

Vagn Holmboe’s 20 numbered string quartets constitute one of the 20th century’s most substantial and rewarding bodies of work in the genre. Collectors have come to know these compositions largely through the Kontra Quartet’s complete recorded cycle on Dacapo. The label now launches a new Holmboe project with the young Nightingale Quartet, whose Rued Langgaard quartet cycle set reference standards. In every way they match the Kontra’s technical polish, ensemble discipline, and textual integrity. Yet their interpretations sometimes differ.

For example, the Nightingale’s leaner spelling out of the gorgeously dense chords in the third-movement introduction of the First quartet contrasts to the Kontra’s massive and fuller-bodied impact. On the other hand, the second movement’s slithery Presto passages gain from the Nightingale’s faster tempo and lighter articulation.

Although the Third quartet’s five-movement “arch” form (slow-fast-moderate-fast-slow) owes an obvious debt to Bartók’s own Third quartet, Holmboe’s somewhat sunnier harmonic language goes its own way. It’s a toss-up between the Kontra’s intensely expansive, dynamically varied opening Lento and the Nightingale’s cooler temperament, brisker pace, and precisely calibrated attacks and releases. Some listeners may prefer the Nightingale’s supple scampering in the Allegro assai to the Kontra’s slightly heavier reading, yet the latter’s broader tempo allows the occasional “droning” bass lines to resonate more effectively.

My colleague David Hurwitz describes Holmboe’s late quartets as more complex but also more personal and concentrated, and that’s especially true of his three-movement No. 15. The Kontra’s slower unfolding of the fourth-movement introduction conveys a sense of mystery and otherworldliness that I feel digs deeper than the Nightingale’s drier reserve. But once the Allegro kicks in, the Nightingale’s gaunter, crisper approach better enlivens Holmboe’s knotty contrapuntal writing.

If this first volume is any indication, the Nightingale Quartet Holmboe cycle will complement rather than supersede the Kontra Quartet, and that’s all to our advantage. And to Holmboe’s advantage, of course!

– ClassicsToday (Jed Distler)

A professor for many years, Per Nørgård has been loudly praised and awarded great prizes around the world. His music, though, can be relatively quiet in its exterior and searching by nature. Per Nørgård holds his senses open to signals from the planet and the cosmic miracle. This Danish Nestor works not so much for deafening fanfares or death by double bar lines — so, ‘when do you begin to get things finished?’, as his mother once sighed! For this reason his pieces may require a little extra attention. A work by Nørgård comes to life when its listeners attend to it with just the right amount of openness. Our receptiveness is rewarded tenfold as pleasure in responding to the works, and in the longer term by a generally enhanced attentiveness. Singing Secrets is a thoughtful and profoundly lyrical album which is both a strikingly original statement and a splendid addition to Dacapo Records’ extensive Norgard catalogue. The program demonstrates the range of Norgard’s compositions, with chamber and vocal pieces illustrating some of the distinctive steps of his musical journey.

With Country, composer Niels Rønsholdt widens the scope of his music, reimaging the country genre as a concerto for singing solo cellist and chamber orchestra. Country shows off the fine voice of soloist Jakob Kullbergand and his extraordinary ability to play the cello ‘alla chitarra’, like a guitar. Here Rønsholdt finds expressive connections among far-flung sources, creating music which reflects and refracts its inspirations in the rich American country tradition and a sort of Nordic pastoral yearning for love, with a critique of nationalism. Niels Rønsholdt is a Danish composer born 1978. His works include experimental operas, installations, performances and concert music. Rønsholdt works with a kind of ‘method composing’ where conceptual constructions involve performance, text and a musical expression that reference e.g. mainstream music and historical musical forms. Rønsholdt is educated at the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus with Karl Aage Rasmussen and Bent Sørensen and in Berlin with Helmut Oehring. He has been commissioned by esteemed international ensembles and performed on most European contemporary music festivals.

With Archive of Emotions and Experiences, Book 1: Birds, composer Niels Rønsholdt makes a decisive and gripping contribution to the solo piano repertoire. In an imagined future without birds, the pianist opens an archive of human emotions and experiences and tells of the creatures that once flew through the air while singing. Rønsholdt's Archive is a fascinating solo album that offers great insight into his unique musical thinking. Pianist Lenio Liatsou’s commitment to new music has its roots in her study years in London, where her relationship with the late Susan Bradshaw catalyzed her increasing commitment to contemporary repertoire and new music. Since her debut at the Purcell Room, she has appeared in prominent new music festivals and venues, including the Carnegie Hall, Darmstadt, Spor, 1011Klang, Onassis Cultural Centre and the Munich Biennale. As part of her activity in music theatre she has recently initiated Once to Be Realised, based on Jani Christou sketches, in which she collaborates with the composers Beat Furrer, Barblina Meierhans, Olga Neuwirth, Samir Odeh-Tamimi, Youghi Pagh-Paan and Christian Wolff. She also teaches contemporary piano performance.

Music created by veteran Danish composer and keyboardist Anders Koppel has been the mainstay of several successful Dacapo releases over the past years. Now, Still Life joins them as a documentation of a new endeavour of his, a vibrant music making in duo with cellist Henrik Dam Thomsen , whose far reaching musical creativity matches Koppels own. Still Life is a meeting of kindred spirits yielding 15 impressions of life as captured in a dimly lit night.

Long regarded by Danish musicians as their secret treasure, the songs of Peter Heise perfectly represent the unique qualities and achievements of the Danish Golden Age. Though mostly not in direct contact with each other, these artists and writers shared a profound interest in exploring and understanding their personal life and experience, and left a body of introspective work which has had a huge impact on European culture. No longer a secret, these songs can now take their rightful place alongside the works of Hans Christian Andersen, Christen Kobke, Soren Kierkegaard and so many others.

REVIEW:

The Danish composer Peter Heise 1830-1879 composed about 300 songs, most of them on Danish texts, a few also on German poems. Dacapo now presents the complete recording of those songs. Anyone loving lieder will appreciate these romantic and melodically fine songs in consistently good interpretations. The producers must be given credit for always finding the right voice type for the songs with a variety of male and female voices.

– Pizzicato

This is a story about a struggle for power in old Denmark, and a magnificent opera about events which led to the murder of King Erik Clipping in 1286. To present this dramatic episode from Danish history, a power play rooted in love, jealousy and honor, Heise composed gripping music with a razor-sharp dramatic sense and great lyrical beauty. It is Danish romance at its most powerful and immediate. Drot og Marsk has been called “the best opera of the 17th Century”. The opera was composed in the years 1876-77 to a libretto by Christian Richardt and had its premiere at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen in 1878 and was quickly established as part of the theatre’s regular repertoire. Drot og Marsk is amongst the most frequently performed Danish operas.

On Rosenhill is a tribute to the neighborhood where Jakob Buchanan grew up, revisiting the area many years later on. Initially a Danish housing project, characterized by high-rise concrete apartments built in the 1960s, today's Rosenhøj (Rosenhill) is a fascinating cultural melting pot that offers previously undreamt-of possibilities to the locals. The album is Buchanan's first for Dacapo Records, introducing a wonderful new group of close musical associates in music of flowing lyricism, delicate texture and inspired interplay in settings of poems by best-selling writer, Iain S. Thomas. Buchanans previous albums have been heralded by critics as An eminently impressive contribution to new Danish music and an obvious candidate for the Nordic Council Music Prize (Politiken) and without a doubt, one of this decades most important jazz releases, a true masterpiece! (Gaffa)

The prize-winning Lars Hegaard (b. 1950) has, over more than 40 years, been an important voice in Danish musical life. Centered on the composer’s own instrument, the guitar, we present six of his most important works for small groups. With their refined modernist expressivity, they offer a fascinating picture of the guitar’s possibilities as a solo instrument, as accompanist and as the first amongst equals in chamber music. Lars Hegaard studied guitar with Ingolf Olsen (diploma 1973, music teaching degree 1977), and composition with Ib Nørholm (diploma 1980). He has also taken a music degree at the University of Copenhagen. In 1983 he was awarded a three-year working grant by the National Arts Foundation, and in 1992 the Sylvia and Poul Schierbeck Grant. In addition to that, he has since 1986 received annually working grants from the National Arts Foundation.

REVIEW:

The Finnish composer-pianist Magnus Lindberg has been the Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic since 2009, at which time the post was initiated by the NYPO’s current Music Director, Alan Gilbert.

I have been aware of Lindberg for some time, but this was my first opportunity for in-depth listening. First impressions were of a restless, often aggressive musical persona; of constantly changing musical landscapes, and brightly coloured, dramatic orchestration. Lindberg’s music is not excessively dissonant or discordant, and he does not shy away from key-centres either. In that sense his music is, as represented here, relatively accessible. On the other hand, it is very complex, and almost profligate in its material; none of these works has a single dominating motif … that I could discern, anyway.

As you listen, you become more and more aware of how cunningly shaped his music is, following definite emotional paths, and evolving, as it were, organically. Thus Expo, on track 1, has a kaleidoscopic feel to it, yet in the end seems satisfyingly inevitable and complete. The performance by the NYPO in the première, recorded here, is quite wonderful, reminding us what a very great ensemble this is.

They are matched by the astonishing pianism of Bronfman in the concerto. This is in three movements, which play without a break. Though it requires both hands to perform (and how - an extra one or two wouldn’t have come amiss), it has a close and intriguing affinity with the Ravel D minor concerto, written for Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in WW1. Lindberg’s work follows the same kind of progress as the Ravel - from an opening in Stygian depths of darkness to an affirmative conclusion. There are also numerous specific references to the French composer’s themes, rhythmic patterns and textures that are both fascinating and maddeningly elusive. It is a fine and often thrilling work, and Bronfman’s performance, again in the première, is breathtakingly assured.

The Italian phrase Al largo - apparently man being offshore, on the open sea - has much in common with Expo in its sense of shifting land- and seascapes. It is, though, a much longer, more fully developed work, dominated by heroic brass fanfares, busy tuned percussion, and delicate woodwind writing; the solo oboe is particularly prominent. Again there is a sense of finding, then losing, then rediscovering tonal centres as points of rest and stability.

This is an exciting CD, brilliantly performed and recorded; as an introduction to one of the most approachable and individual voices in contemporary music, it could hardly be bettered.

-- Gwyn Parry-Jones, MusicWeb International