Prices shown exclude VAT. (UK tax is not payable for deliveries to United States.)
See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Knudåge Riisager: The Symphonic Edition Volume 1
Dacapo Records are delighted to present this world premiere recording series of the five symphonies by Knudåge Riisager. After having issued the composer's orchestral and ballet music, we have now reached Riisager's absolute key works in the devoted hands of conductor Bo Holten and the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra. The cycle opens with the virtuosic Symphony No. 1. Also featured are four lively and humorous orchestral pieces. “None of these pieces is exactly easy to play, the more so since none is in any orchestra's repertoire (nor, to be realistic, ever likely to be). The Aarhus Symphony Orchestra acquits itself bravely under Bo Holten's firm direction and, as usual from this source, recording quality and documentation are first-rate.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2012 “entirely idiomatic readings, with the rhythms fully sprung; the intricate details of Riisager's often headlong writing obviously holding no fears for the musicians...Not unalloyed gold...but very good fun, with occasional depths (the slow movement of the Symphony eventually reveals some strength of feeling), and some roller-coaster handling of the orchestra. Worth your time.” International Record Review, January 2012 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  |
Jens Albinus, Ditte Højgaard Andersen, Mathias Hedegaard & Palle Knudsen Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Chorus of the Danish National Opera, Aarhus Cathedral Choir & Vox Aros, Bo Holten & Thomas Søndergård There are still unknown, exciting sides to Denmark’s world-famous composer, Carl Nielsen (1865-1931). On this CD you can hear the premiere recordings of two of his cantatas for choir, soloists and orchestra. The cantatas were written in 1908-09, when Carl Nielsen was in one of his most productive phases. They have been performed several times since, but it is only in connection with the new collected edition of Nielsen’s works that they have appeared in print. The same is true of his genial Homage to Holberg, written in 1923 to celebrate the great 18th-century dramatist to whom Carl Nielsen also paid homage with his opera Maskarade. | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Vagn Holmboe - Four Symphonic Metamorphoses
“In form the symphonic metamorphosis is an offshoot of the symphonic fantasia (but of a kind radically different from Sibelius's Pohjola's Daughter), each of these four very different from its companions. The vigour and luminous orchestration of the symphonies are present, as are many of the internal developmental processes, but not the level of integration. Holmboe's priorities here are unlike those of many others of his pieces, yet the music coheres perfectly on its own terms. Hughes is fully inside Holmboe's idiom, whether in the single-minded determination of Monolith or in the visionary Epilog, one of the composer's most searching utterances, prefiguring both the Ninth Symphony (1969) and Requiem for Nietzsche. This is extraordinary music.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Knudåge Riisager: The Symphonic Edition Volume 2
This second volume presents some highly original and imaginative Riisager works from the 1920s and 30s - from the tribute to the aeroplane T-DOXC to the two bright symphonies and the neo-Baroque Concerto for Orchestra. | 
| | | Scheduled for release on 3 June 2013. Order it now and we will deliver it as soon as it is available. |
|
|
| |  | Delius: American Masterworks
Henriette Bonde-Hansen (soprano), Johan Reuter (baritone), Simon Duus (baritone) Aarhus Symphony Orchestra Choir, Aarhus Cathedral Choir, Aarhus
Symphony Orchestra, Bo Holten The final volume in this ground breaking Delius cycle, truly a magnificent achievement by the Danish label Danacord. All volumes have been produced by the Deutsche Grammophon team of Lennart Dehn and Stephan Flock. This series of Delius recordings marks a defining point in the available works of this composer and should be the corner stone of any music collection. “Following albums devoted to Delius’s Scandinavian, English and French music, Holten and his Danish orchestra now turn to the composer’s American years – with the same rapturous results....[Sea Drift] showcas[es] Holten’s ear for Delian harmony, Reuter’s virile singing and the Aarhus chorus’s clean, clear contributions.” Financial Times, 15th February 2013 **** “The enchanting Henriette Bonde-Hansen (Palmyra) and powerful Johan Reuter (Koanga/Sea Drift) sing excellent English, and Holten proves this most cosmopolitan of composers is not the exclusive preserve of Brits.” Sunday Times, 6th January 2013 “This is the fifth and last of Danacord's fine series of 'Delius Masterworks'...this is in many ways the most attractive of the whole series...Johan Reuter is the excellent baritone soloist in Sea Drift, sustaining the narration well...the most memorable performance here is of Appalachia...[the conclusion] is a passage which I find sticks in the mind for days after you have heard it, a tribute to this dedicated performance.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2013 “Holten gives a beautifully-shaped and sensitive reading of Appalachia commencing with a wondrous scene-setting...Holten’s portrait of the seas off Long Island [in Sea Drift] shines and shimmers in sympathy with the tragedy unfolding on the beach....[Reuter] lacks just enough expressiveness to really convince” MusicWeb International, 17th April 2013 |
| | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Delius: French Masterworks
With two of the previous releases in this Delius cycle receiving Gramophone Editor’s Choice status, this fourth title carries a rich pedigree and will not disappoint. Henrietta Bonde-Hansen is considered to be one of the leading Danish sopranos and has cemented her status through her career on the opera stage in France. As ever Bo Holten leads the Aarhaus Symphony Orchestra through the delights of this French inspired repertoire. “These works all receive sympathetic performances, with excellent playing by the Aarhus orchestra...And Henriette Bond-Hansel impresses in five settings of poems by Verlaine...this is a highly recommendable issue.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2013 **** | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Delius: English Masterworks
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the birth of Delius, Danacord are proud to issue the next volume in the critically acclaimed Masterworks series. Previous two volumes were awarded Editor’s Choice. “some expressive orchestral playing shows up well in the recorded balance, and the hushed ending is beautiful. The Aarhus Symphony Orchestra also distinguishes itself in the North Country Sketches. Henriette Bonde-Hansen gives a lovely account of three early Shelley songs, in orchestrations by Holten” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 **** “The reason for buying this CD is Songs of Sunset, one of Delius’s finest works ...The music is suffused with melancholy, nostalgia and autumn stillness, but it’s the dreamy sensuousness of the idiom that comes across most strongly in this superb performance, ridding the piece of prim-and-proper Englishness.” Financial Times, 25th August 2012 **** “this new recording offers so many riches. This and the fact that Danish, Bo Holten continues to impress with his commitment to Delius means that I must offer this disc ‘Recording of the Month’ status.” MusicWeb International, August 2012 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. (Available now to download.) |
|
|
| |  | Niels Marthinsen: Snapshot Symphony
The composer Niels Marthinsen belongs to a generation that has grown up with comic books, superheroes and science fiction, and Marthinsen welcomes all of these phenomena into his symphonic music. This recording features his Snapshot Symphony (2009), two of his special opera trailers and the ingenious concerto for three trombones and orchestra In the Shadow of the Bat (2009) – all in the hands of the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra conducted by the legendary trombone player Christian Lindberg. “Marthinsen at his most approachable and would make likeable concert openers. Christian Lindberg relishes their sound worlds and the various challenges provided by music that is not easy to play as it sounds. The Aarhus Symphony Orchestra respond with elan once more and Dacapo's sound is as terrific as ever.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2012 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
|
|
| |  | Danish Violin Concertos Volume 4
An American musicologist once noted that compared to its population, no other country has as many symphonists as Denmark. This fourth release of violin concertos continues this 2CD set series. The complete series will be available in five 2 CD sets each one priced as a single CD, offering excellent value for money to explore these delightful and little known concertos. | | | (also available to download from $21.00) | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. (Available now to download.) |
|
|
| |  | Poul Ruders - Concertos
Poul Ruders is one of the biggest names in contemporary Scandinavian music. His orchestral works in particular have a brilliance and intensity that have made a great impression on audiences around the world. Concerto in Pieces (1994-95) was played at the Last Night of the Proms in 1995 and is one of the most successful orchestral works of our time. It is based on a theme by Purcell and is a witty, explosively colourful successor to Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. In the sunny Violin Concerto no. 1 (1981) the present day meets both Vivaldi and Schubert, while the percussion concerto Monodrama (1988) is a strong example of the primal Nordic power that fuels all of Ruders’ works. Erik Heide is first violinist in the Danish National Chamber Orchestra. Mathias Reumert has received numerous awards and First Prizes in competitions such as the Percussive Arts Society International Convention 2004 in Nashville (USA) and the La Jolla Symphony Soloist Competition 2004 in San Diego (USA). The Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1935, is one of Denmark’s five regional orchestras with a repertoire that ranges wide, from Baroque music to the very latest composition music. Thomas Søndergård was described as “a sensation” when he made his conducting debut with the Royal Danish Opera in 2005 on Ruders’ opera Kafka’s Trial. | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
|
|
| |
|
Penguin Guide
Gramophone Magazine