Per Nørgård: Orchestral Works

Album review

Per Nørgård has been hailed as the leading Danish contemporary composer and has often been described as eclectic. With this recording, the reasons for that will likely be evident both to listeners who are familiar with this celebrated composer and those who are new to his stylings. Nørgård has written in many genres -- chamber music, concertos, operas, and orchestral music, including eight symphonies -- and has drawn inspiration from a myriad of sources, such as the symphonies of Sibelius and Vagn Holmboe, jazz, artist Adolf Wölfli, and serialism, even taking the latter to a new level with his "infinity row," which, in turn, inspired numerous composers that followed. Somewhat unique to this composer is his openness to returning to or reusing his own material. The present Three Nocturnal Movements is an adaptation of the composer's 1986 Viola Concerto ("Remembering Child") and was spurred by the two soloists here, cellist Jakob Kullberg and violinist Peter Herresthal. Nørgård and Kullberg have worked closely on the previous projects, with Kullberg adapting Nørgård's solo viola work, The Secret Melody, into Secret Voices for violin and cello. In similar fashion, Kullberg reworked the concerto's original viola solo from Remembering Child for violin and cello in its present form. The soloists are both familiar with Nørgård's writing and are up to task on this often sonically and technique-challenging work. The orchestra here, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (the dedicatee of the Three Nocturnal Movements), is equally up to snuff. Nørgård's Eighth Symphony is also represented here by its dedicatee, conductor John Storgårds, who is firmly in command of the Bergen group throughout. Lysning, a tone poem that closes this program, might be the best place to start for those looking to dip their toes into Nørgård's creative sound world.

© Keith Finke /TiVo