Danish treasures at the highest level

It’s just a thousand kilometers to Copenhagen. And yet the classic modern Danish is as good as unknown to us. Names like Rued Langgaard have not found their way into our everyday concert life, although like his Danish compatriot Carl Nielsen he is one of the most important composers not only in the north, but in general. Both shaped the music of the interwar period, went their own way in their creative work and tried to connect with the international avant-garde and to incorporate new elements into their tonally fascinating works. Nevertheless, they remain harmonious in the sheltered workshop of traditional theory of composition, which they know how to expand very subtly and allow them to strike up more dissonant sounds. But the basic style is a late-Romantic approach to the beauty of the orchestral sound, to the expressive but never backward-looking mode of expression, which they perfect in their works.

This was demonstrated by the Bruckner Orchestra on Wednesday as part of the Great Subscription in the Brucknerhaus, where they celebrated Rued Langgaard’s 6th Symphony and the incredibly beautifully played second movement from Langgaard’s 14th Symphony with one of the Danish conductors, who are also hardly known in our part of the world. Thomas Dausgaard is a conductor who not only knows how to conjure up a perfect tonal balance and how to emphasize the hidden colors in the score, but who knows how to masterfully build up highlights without ever having to reach into the box of tricks of pathetic sound orgies and who inspires the musicians with his economical but very clear conducting captivates and encourages top performances. This was particularly successful with Carl Nielsen’s effective 4th Symphony and with a completely different emotionality with Nielsen’s very introverted and yet fascinating clarinet concerto. This requires a soloist who is just as impressive as Pablo Barragán, who knows how to finely trace Nielsen’s delicate lines, mastering the delicate passages with tremendous virtuosity and perfectly hitting the character of this very formally idiosyncratic and musically highly original work with a slim yet dominant tone. The Bruckner Orchestra was a splendid accompanist and on this evening demonstrated its exceptional mastery of convincingly mastering unfamiliar repertoire. It is to be hoped that this great encounter between the Bruckner Orchestra and Thomas Dausgaard will not remain an isolated case.

Conclusion: A great concert that far too many missed because of the unknown names.