Langgaard, R.: Symphonies 15-16 Danish National Symphony Orchestra - Thomas Dausgaard

• 1 Drapa (On the Death of Edvard Grieg), BVN 20 (1913 final version) 05:27
• 2 Sfinx (Sphinx), BVN 37 (1913 revised version) 06:46
• 3 Hvidbjerg-Drapa, BVN 343 03:06
• 4 Danmarks Radio (Radio Denmark), BVN 351 01:18
• 5 Res absurda!?, BVN 354 05:35
• 6 I. Bevaeget (Moving) 05:43
• 7 II. Scherzo 01:10
• 8 III. Adagio funebre 05:15
• 9 IV. Finale: Allegro molto agitato 05:32
• 10 I. Allegro - 04:15
• 11 II. Scherzo 01:27
• 12 III. Straffedans (Punishment Dance) 06:46
• 13 IV. Elegi (Elegy) 06:30
• 14 V. Finale 02:54
• Total Runtime 01:01:44

Info for Langgaard, R.: Symphonies 15-16

Rued Langgaard (1893-1952) was an odd, lonely figure in Danish music. His 16 symphonies make up a thought-provoking, original contribution to the history of the symphony. The last two symphonies are both brief, but are musically very different. In no. 15 we find modernist features, while no. 16 can be called a personal testament in the spirit of Romanticism. The album concludes with a couple of early orchestral pieces and three world premiere recordings of late works where Langgaard demonstratively expresses the absurd situation he found himself in, as an artist who had been sidelined and who felt that he stood alone in the struggle for the high ideals of art.

'The last two symphonies, both short, are musically very different. The Fifteenth hints back to the modernist phase, the “Sea Storm” being more a picture of Langgaard’s mind, than one in it, as by this stage, his feeling of neglect by Denmark’s concert promoters, and his continued abandonment fifteen years after Nielsen’s death hurt deeply. His works did get broadcast performances in the 1940s, though he never heard his last, the 16th (“Sun Deluge”). This final symphony harks back to his First, and coupled with his renewed interest in theosophy about which he wrote a great deal, and in which his father had been very interested, the end result is a fine work, a work in which Langgaard’s ethos is summed up.' (Audiophile Audition)

Danish National Choir
Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Dausgaard, conductor
Johan Reuter, Baritone
Rued Langgaard, Composer

Tracklist:
Drapa (On the Death of Edvard Grieg) , BVN 20 (1907, rev. 1909-13)
Sphinx , BVN 37 (1909-10, rev. 1913)
Tone painting
Hvidbjerg-Drapa , BVN 343 (1948)*
For mixed chorus, organ and orchestra
Danmarks Radio (Radio Denmark), BVN 351 (1948)*
Fanfares for orchestra
Res absùrda!?, BVN 354 (1948)*
'For mixed chorus and orchestra
I Bevæget (Moving)
II Scherzo
III Adagio funebre
VI Finale. Allegro molto agitato
Symphony no. 16 'Syndflod af Sol' ('Sun Deluge'), BVN 417 (1950-51)
I Allegro -
II Scherzo
III Straffedans (Punishment Dance)
IV Elegi (Elegy)
V Finale

No biography found.

This album contains no booklet.