Contemporary Danish music

[some guy]

I was recently confronted with the realization that I know next to nothing about recent Danish music. I have almost all of Holmboe (though he's hardly recent) and Nørgård. I have a couple of things by Poul Ruders. I saw Abrahamsen's name on Amazon a few minutes ago, but I've not heard any of his music.

Since I have all or all but one or two of the cds that IMEB has put out, I probably have some Danish electroacoustic music. But no names spring to mind.

So, since Mr. Magle is Danish, as are several of the posters here, I thought I'd ask here, first: What's going on in Denmark nowadays?

While I await your answers, I'll go see who the Bourges folk have featured in their festival.

[some guy]

Nothing from Bourges, not that I could find in my collection anyway.

And nothing from you pikers, either. Fine. I'll do it myself!

(And I'll make an exhaustive and exhausting report, just see if I don't.)

((I did get an Abrahamsen cd, but I've only listened to it once. I once thought that Poul Ruders was the coolest new kid on the block, but apparently that's only when Mr. Leif Segerstam is conducting. That performance of Gong--on Chandos--is to die for.))

(((Leif is certainly one of of the brightest stars in the conducting firmament. I have yet to hear anything from him that was anything less than spectacular.)))

[rojo]

Go for it, some guy! (Sorry I'm no help)

[some guy]

Well, while I still think I know next to nothing about new Danish music, I have picked up a cd or two as well as a name or two (like Fuzzy) that make me feel I'm starting to sort out who the cool kids are. And a website, for the curious: http://www.danishmusic.info/594000c/GSID/2959875 I recently added Ib Nørholm, Jørgen Plaetner, Svend Hvidtfelt Nielsen, Hans Abrahamsen, and Else Marie Pade to my collection of Langgaard, Nielsen (Carl), Holmboe, Bentzon (Niels Viggo), Ruders, and Nørgård. Pade and Plaetner were both electroacoustic composers of the first generation. Nice stuff, though the sound is very much of the fifties and sixties--the actual sounds I mean, though the aesthetic of those decades is there, too. (I just listened to the cd of Luc Ferrari's early tape pieces. They sound fine. Maybe that's all about who, if anyone, is doing remastering.) I have Nørholm's seventh and ninth symphonies. Also fine. Not quite as quirky as Nørgård, but still very listenable. Nørholm taught Nielsen (S.H.), whose album "Into the Black" I now have. His music on this disc (all small ensembles) is all from the 1990 to 95, and one casual hearing didn't detect any extended techniques, but it all seems to be pretty solid stuff. Worth another spin or two for sure! The Abrahamsen disc I found is the one with pieces from several "periods" in Hans' career--"Stratifications" from the seventies, "Nacht und Trompeten" from the eighties, and the piano concerto, which straddles the 20th and 21st centuries. I don't have a very good sense of this music, mostly because each time I put the disc on, something comes up that distracts me. Mea culpa. The real treat for me, so far--not that all this other stuff hasn't been nice--was the Trash cd, six short pieces for accordion by younger Danish composers, of which the opening seconds of the first track, Simon Christensen's "The Acc's Low Track" was worth the price of admission. This is not your grandfather's accordion music, but if you already know and like Guy Klucevsek or, even better, Pauline Oliveros, then you'll this disc of Frode Andersen's. All of these but the Nørholm are on Dacapo. The Nørholm is on Kontrapunkt. As soon as I can get a copy of the first DIEM compilation, I'll let you know how tasty that one is.

[some guy]

I apologize for the formatting glitches in my preceding post. I'm using someone else's computer while mine is being worked on, and this computer is set up with all sorts of script blockers. Disabling them doesn't always work predictably.

[some guy]

Well, I think I now know next to something about Danish music. It's been fun. I discovered a lot of new treats (Ib Nørholm and the accordion kids on the Trash disc are my favorites so far) and spent some time with some old favorites like Holmboe and Ruders. There's more to come, too. More for me, anyway. A disc of Nørgård that's almost impossible to find. (Music for Sinfonietta.) And more research into the improv scene in Denmark, which is not documented on DaCapo!

But I think I'm done with reporting, don't you think, Rojo? A hundred and five hits on this thread, one of which is Rojo's. And possibly a hundred and four are mine!! Could it be?

Anyway, GO DENMARK!! YAY TEAM!!! Et cetera.

[Ouled Nails]

I have been reading, some guy, but I don't have the confidence or knowledge to offer any meaningful contributions. Holmboe, I have some, same with Bentzon. Nothing that constitutes a sufficient basis for understanding.

[some guy]

Ouled, your posts are always welcome. To me, anyway. I have most of Holmboe. I'm not sure why. I guess it's because the few pieces of his I really enjoy make me think I'll like all the others eventually. In the meantime, they all seem pretty good, so....

As for Bentzon, I had some on LP many years ago. I must not have been all that taken with it, because I never burned that LP onto CD. But which Bentzon do you have? There are at least two of them. Niels Viggo and Jørgen. Looks like Niels Viggo's the more popular of the two.

I don't seem to have picked up any Bentzon in my recent flurry of buying Danish music.

[Ouled Nails]

I must have been dreaming. I have much less Bentzon than I thought:

Holmboe:
Symphonies 1-3-4-5-6-7-10

Bentzon, N. V.:
Chamber Concerto, op. 52;
Symphonic Variations, op.92.

[rojo]

Great job, and thanks for filling us in on the Danish scene, some guy. Fun to read about your discoveries. And I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that; those 100 or so other readers besides ON and myself can attest to that. Feel free to post any new finds worthy of mention....

[Corno Dolce]

In regards to Niels Viggo Bentzon, I have heard that he has written 13 volumes of 24 preludes and fugues. Thats no mean feat in my book - hooboy, he was one very busy dude. When visiting the Wilhelm Hansen publishing company's website, I don't seem to find any retail prices for those 13 volumes of P&F's. Maybe I'm missing something, praytell?

Cheers,

Corno Dolce

[some guy]

22 symphonies, too, according to one source. I've only found recordings of 3, 4, 5, and 7, though. I have four cds coming to me, those symphonies and the fourth piano concerto and some miscellaneous orchestral pieces from Denmark (one of which is by Bentzon). We'll soon know whether the recording industry has been lagging or has been justifiably reticent! (I've got my money on lagging....)

[some guy]

Well, if I'd really put money on lagging, I'd be rich now. Bentzon's music is quite nice. And if you like more traditionally played accordion, there's a whole disc of Klaus Ib Jorgensen pieces for accordion and ensembles (plus an accordion solo and a duet).

Not Oliveros, by any means, or Klucevsik, or Macerollo, or Nordheim or Kagel, or even that Trash disc of younger Danish composers, which is all accordion. Now there's a list of some serious accordion music.

But, or, I should say, BUT, the Jorgensen is a very pleasant disc indeed.