VAGN HOLMBOE the Chamber Concertos & Sinfonias

VAGN HOLMBOE The Chamber Concertos & Sinfonias

Danish National Chamber Orchestra Hannu Koivula VAGN HOLMBOE The Chamber Concertos & Sinfonias Danish National Chamber Orchestra Hannu Koivula, conductor

Mikkel Futtrup, violin Tim Frederiksen, viola Niels Ullner, cello Eva Østergaard, flute Niels Thomsen, clarinet Max Artved, oboe Anne Øland, piano Ole Edvard Antonsen, trumpet Jacques Mauger, trombone Søren Elbæk, violin Troels Svane, cello

Dacapo is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation CD 1 CD 2

Chamber Concerto no. 1, op. 17 (1939) for piano, strings and timpani � 29:09 Chamber Concerto no. 4, op. 30 (1942-45) for piano trio and orchestra 16:29 I. Molto moderato �� 22:16 I. Allegro non troppo, ma con brio �� 6:51 II. Molto allegro �� 6:53 II. Andante un poco tranquillo �� 5:24 Anne Øland, piano (Solo violin: Staffan Borseman) III. Allegro decido �� 4:14 Anne Øland, piano Mikkel Futtrup, violin Niels Ullner, cello Chamber Concerto no. 2, op. 20 (1940) for flute, violin, strings and percussion�� 22:00 Chamber Concerto no. 5, op. 31 (1943) for viola and orchestra �� 22:50 I. Allegro con brio �� 10:00 I. Allegro molto e con brio �� 7:39 II. Intermezzo I: Vivace �� 2:39 II. Andante con moto �� 9:52 III. Intermezzo II: Adagio �� 4:32 III. Vivace �� 5:19 IV. Finale: Allegro �� 4:49 Tim Frederiksen, viola Eva Østergaard, fluteMikkel Futtrup, violin Chamber Concerto no. 6, op. 33 (1943) for violin and orchestra �� 22:35 Chamber Concerto no. 3, op. 21 (1940-42) for clarinet and orchestra �� 16:43 I. Andante – Allegro con brio �� 7:18 I. Allegro non troppo �� 10:33 II. Andante tranquillo �� 10:30 II. Allegro giocoso �� 6:10 III. Allegro molto �� 4:47 Niels Thomsen, clarinet Mikkel Futtrup, violin Total 67:52 Total 61:54 CD 3 CD 4

Chamber Concerto no. 7, op. 37 (1944-45) for oboe and orchestra�� 19:58 Chamber Concerto no. 10, op. 40 (1945-46) for wood, brass and gut�� 19:37 I. Molto moderato – Allegro non troppo �� 14:36 I. Allegro non troppo �� 0:56 II. Allegretto con moto �� 5:22 II. Più allegro �� 1:54 Max Artved, oboe III. Andante �� 2:47 IV. Allegro molto �� 2:15 Chamber Concerto no. 8, op. 38 “Sinfonia Concertante” (1945) V. Un poco lento �� 2:47 for orchestra�� 21:08 VI. Adagio ma non troppo �� 2:43 I. Allegro con brio �� 6:55 VII. Allegro molto �� 2:16 II. Andante con variazioni �� 14:13 VIII. Allegro �� 2:19 IX. Finale: Vivace �� 2:58 Chamber Concerto no. 9, op. 39 (1945-46) Chamber Concerto no. 11, op. 44 (1948) for trumpet and orchestra �� 16:53 for violin, viola and orchestra �� 20:49 I. Largo – Allegro con fuoco �� 8:33 I. Allegro molto �� 7:47 II. Poco lento �� 2:58 II. Andante tranquillo �� 5:36 III. Finale: Allegretto, ma vivace �� 5:22 III. Finale: Allegro �� 7:26 Ole Edvard Antonsen, trumpet Mikkel Futtrup, violin Tim Frederiksen, viola Chamber Concerto no. 12, op. 52 (1950) for trombone and orchestra�� 16:06 Total 61:55 I. Allegro moderato �� 5:22 II. Andante tranquillo �� 3:22 III. Finale: Allegro molto (cadenza: Per Nørgård) �� 7:22 Jacques Mauger, trombone Chamber Concerto no. 13, op. 67 (1955-56) for viola, oboe and orchestra 21:00 I. Allegro moderato �� 7:32 II. Andante tranquillo �� 6:16 III. Finale: Allegro �� 7:12 Tim Frederiksen, viola Max Artved, oboe Total 73:36 CD 5 CD 6

Sinfonia I, op. 73a (1957) Kairos (Time), op. 73, “Sinfonias 1-4” Molto sostenuto – Allegro leggiero �� 11:19 Preludio (Sinfonia IV, op 73d) �� 3:41 Sinfonia I, op. 73a �� 11:18 Sinfonia II, op. 73b (1957) Interludio I (Sinfonia IV, op. 73d)�� 6:02 Tranquillo �� 19:05 Sinfonia II, op. 73b �� 19:04 Sinfonia III, op. 73c (1958-59) Interludio II (Sinfonia IV, op. 73d)�� 2:55 Allegro con brio �� 10:55 Sinfonia III, op. 73c �� 10:53 Postludio (Sinfonia IV, op. 73d) �� 3:05 Sinfonia IV, op. 73d (1962) �� 15:28 Søren Elbæk, violin Troels Svane, cello Preludio �� 3:36 Total 56:57 Interludio I �� 5:57 Interludio II �� 2:52 Postludio �� 3:03 Søren Elbæk, violin Troels Svane, cello Total 56:47 HOLMBOE: CHAMBER CONCERTOS AND SINFONIAS Holmboe studied in Berlin in 1929-32, and would certainly have known about the con- spicuously new works. But in 1925 Holmboe’s composition teacher in Berlin, Ernst Toch, For Vagn Holmboe the small ensemble of a chamber orchestra was often fully adequate. had also written a concert for cello and chamber orchestra. He worked throughout his life to distill his own ideas and cut out the unnecessary. The Holmboe does not emulate Hindemith’s tonal language as such, although he is influ- small ensemble accorded well with this aim. In general, Holmboe’s mode of expression enced by the “Neue Sachlichkeit” of the time. He is less ironic than Hindemith, and the may seem sober or terse; but it first and foremost expresses concentration, straight rustic, down-to-earth style of Holmboe here (especially in the first concerto) can perhaps forwardness and artistic humility. Nothing gets in the way of the music. be partly described as Danish or Nordic. Another element that is peculiar to Holmboe’s Although Holmboe had a calm, controlled personality, he certainly did not hold back music from this time is his inspiration from eastern European folk music, which he had his creative instincts. He composed over 300 works, and to these we can add almost 100 studied in the field in 1933-34. works of his youth which he scrapped in 1935 when he started over again with a new Each chamber concerto is individually formed. Holmboe varies not only the solo in- opus 1, a Suite for Chamber Orchestra. He remained active as a composer until his death struments, but also the orchestral configuration and the number of movements (from two at the age of 86 in 1996. to nine). Chamber Concerto no. 1 from 1939 is for piano, strings and timpani. It is It can be difficult to form an overview of the production of such a prolific artist, but dedicated to Holmboe’s wife, the Romanian pianist Meta Graf. They had met in Berlin, with Holmboe certain clear lines and periods are evident. It was typical of him that he where she was studying with among others Hindemith. worked in series. The completion of one work generated ideas for another in the same In this, his only piano concerto, Holmboe combines the classical models with features format – and so on. His focus on particular forms or genres could last for years, after from Balkan music, and the ensemble is rather Bartók-like (with reminiscences of Music for which he would at some point arrive at a well-considered awareness of having explored Strings, Percussion and Celesta). Meta Holmboe gave the concerto its first performance in 1941. his possibilities. Then his voyage of exploration would continue in other forms. It only has two movements: on the other hand the first movement is longer than any other Often it was traditional classical genres that he explored. In this way he created movement in the subsequent works. The formal develoment of the work seems experimen- among other things 13 symphonies, 20 string quartets, 13 chamber concertos, 4 cham- tal. Perhaps already here Holmboe had a sense of the project on which he had embarked? ber symphonies, 4 sinfonias and several other works with roots in the concerto and In Chamber Concerto no. 2 from 1940 the solo instruments are flute and violin, symphony form. and the concerto is formed in four movements – that is, more as a concerto grosso than Chamber Concerto no. 1 was. The first and last movements have the feel of Vivaldi, Holmboe’s chamber concertos are a perfect introduction to his music. They are short, while the intervening movements are in short tripartite forms. This is a very energetic neoclassical concertos for one or more soloists. Most were written in the 1940s. Holmboe piece; right from the beginning one hears the contrast between the insistent rhythms of later changed the titles to the even more classicizing Concerto no. 1, Concerto no. 2 etc. This the community and the free interventions of the soloists. recording preserves the original titles. Chamber Concerto no. 3 from 1942 is a miniature clarinet concerto where the The best known predecessor in the genre is Paul Hindemith’s work series Chamber orchestra has now been expanded with trumpets and horns. The concerto had to wait Musics with seven short solo concertos for a small orchestra, written in the 1920s. until this recording was made in 1996 to be played for the first time – possibly because it

10 11 may have been intended for the clarinettist Aage Oxenvad. When he died, in 1944, the In between, he wrote the two two-movement concertos Chamber Concerto no. 7 concerto had not yet been premiered, and he had no obvious successor in Denmark. for oboe (1945) and the unusual Chamber Concerto no. 8 (also from 1945) with the Chamber Concerto no. 3 is clearly influenced by Carl Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto subtitle Sinfonia Concertante. The oboe concerto has a long first movement, which in Bartók from 1928 (this too was written for Oxenvad). Carl Nielsen was the examiner for Holm- style takes a symmetrical arching form with a slow introduction and ending. The con- boe’s audition for the Academy in 1925 and looked through some of his compositions. certo was given its first performance by Waldemar Wolsing, one of the most prominent However, Holmboe did not become a pupil of Nielsen; instead he studied with Nielsen’s Danish musicians of the time, who played it many times in the Nordic countries over the pupil Finn Høffding, and it is almost symbolic that Nielsen and Holmboe did not establish next few years. closer contact. They were two great originals, and one continued where the other left off. In Chamber Concerto no. 8 there is no specified soloist, and the instrumental groups Chamber Concertos 4, 5 and 6 have the same three-movement form as no. 3, but emerge to prominence successively. The movement proportions are the opposite of new combinations of soloist and orchestra. In Chamber Concerto no. 4 the soloists Chamber Concerto no. 7’s with a short, energetic first movement, while the long second are a piano trio – as in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto – and the orchestra has now been movement consists of eight variations on a theme in the bassoon. expanded with woodwinds. The neo-Baroque concerto was given its first performance in The collective idea from Chamber Concerto no. 8 was something Holmboe continued 1943, as in the preceding case by the orchestra of the Young Composers’ Society, which with in Chamber Concerto no. 10 (1946) with the subtitle “Wood, Brass and Gut” – was industriously presenting new Danish works in those years. that is, the three instrumental families woodwinds, brasses and bowed strings (which at Chamber Concerto no. 5 is for viola (Holmboe also wrote a ‘proper’ Viola Con- the time still used gut strings). The concerto is quite differently structured from any of the certo, but not until as late as 1992). The chamber orchestra has now grown further and other chamber concertos – that is, as a variation work in a whole nine movements. It is sports a double set of woodwinds. Compared with the playful Chamber Concerto no. 4 probably the Holmboe chamber concerto that has been played most often. there is greater drama in the music, and in the slow movement the viola, like Orpheus, is Holmboe had now moved far from his starting point with the genre and was reaching alone in a dark underworld. the end of the road with his concertante laboratory work. But he still had to explore Its sister work is Chamber Concerto no. 6, which calls for the same orchestral the brasses. I 1948 he wrote Chamber Concerto no. 11 for trumpet, another of the set-up, but has a violin as soloist. The two works are musical pseudo-twins from 1943, chamber concertos that has enjoyed a good afterlife and has been recorded several times. and the violin concerto too has a long, serious second movement. The World War made Haydn, one of Holmboe’s great models, is an obvious ideal here. Chamber Concerto Holmboe’s music more sombre in these years. His younger brother Ebbe, who was a no. 12 (1950) is for trombone, and is energetic and witty music, without making fun of resistance fighter, was taken prisoner by the Nazis and died in 1944 in the concentration the soloist. In the printed edition of the score the solo cadenza is partly composed by the camp Neuengamme. soloist from the first performance in 1952, Palmer Traulsen, and later on, several other The viola and the violin from Chamber Concertos 5 and 6 met three years later in a versions have been tried. This recording uses a cadenza by Holmboe’s famous pupil, close pairing in Chamber Concerto no. 9, a very elegantly formed double concerto Per Nørgård. from 1946. Holmboe’s balancing of the form and content of the genre had come a long In 1949 Holmboe had experienced a turning-point in his composing work. This way in just a few years, compared with the asymmetrical Chamber Concerto no. 1. happened with his String Quartet no. 1 – not counting the many quartets he had written

12 13 in his youth. “My First String Quartet marks a kind of turning-point or a development “Kairos means ‘time’ in the psychological sense – that is, the passage of time that we point. I was prepared for this, but suddenly it all broke loose,” Holmboe remembered sense – as opposed to Chronos, which is the name for the time that can be divided up shortly before his death. A new work series was about to succeed an older one. into seconds and minutes. Apart from the general variability of time that arises between Chamber Concerto no. 13 from 1956 is therefore a kind of appendix or epilogue concentrated and relaxed periods, I have further attempted to elucidate this among other to the 12 preceding ones, and Holmboe originally did not call it a chamber concerto at ways through the alternation of objective-abstract and subjective-expressive passages, all, but Collegium Musicum no. 2 (in a series which never developed further than this). It is through various simultaneously acting sequences and through the timelessness of the a double concerto for the unusual combination of oboe and viola. After this Holmboe metamorphoses in the chronological sense.” composed no solo concertos for the next few years, until, in the mid-1970s, he embarked Kairos is a suitable heading for a major work that is one of Holmboe’s most intense. on a series of concertos on the grand scale – the first four are for cello, recorder, flute and The needful things – and nothing else – are said at the right moment. This poses chal- tuba respectively. There are thus two tracks with solo concertos in Holmboe’s production, lenges for both musicians and listeners, but Vagn Holmboe never hesitated, for he had a and the confusion is not lessened by the fact that the chamber concertos are sometimes matchless ability to put his visions into practice. Even if it meant that the work as a whole simply called “Violin Concerto”, “Viola Concerto” etc. was so demanding a task that he himself was not to experience a complete performance of Kairos before his death in 1996. After the long concerto phase Vagn Holmboe was preoccupied in the 1950s with new Jens Cornelius, 2017 musical problems, and this brought a new genre into focus: the symphonic. Among the many Holmboe works called “symphony”, “sinfonia” or the like, the four Sinfonias for Strings form a series of their own. The first two were written in 1957, the year after the last chamber concerto, and no. 3 came in 1958-59. These are unusually pure-blooded works where the polyphonic work in the homogeneous orchestral group is paramount. At the same time the sinfonias are written in free forms that constitute an artistic alternative to the classical framework that Holmboe maintained when he wrote concertos and string quartets. The four sinfonias are therefore designed very differently and last between 11 and 19 minutes each. When the last of them, Sinfonia IV, was written in 1962, Holmboe realized that the four works together – in a different order – could be viewed as one large work. Between the four movements of Sinfonia IV he inserted the three one-movement Sinfonias I, II and III. The hour-long work that emerged from this he gave the name Kairos, the Greek word for time; not quantifiable time, Chronos, but time in the abstract sense of “point in time” or “the right moment”. Holmboe described it in more detail as follows:

14 15 Today the Danish National Chamber Orchestra lives on under a new name, but HOLMBOE: KAMMERKONCERTER OG SINFONIAER has preserved its deep roots in Danish musical life. The orchestra was founded in 1939 by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, as an alternative orchestra to the large Radio For Vagn Holmboe var et kammerorkesters lille besætning ofte fuldt ud tilstrækkeligt. Han Symphony Orchestra. With its smaller ensemble the Chamber Orchestra was to be arbejdede hele livet med at destillere sine idéer og skære det unødvendige fra, og den lille in charge of ‘light music’, but also of new works that the composers of the time were besætning passede godt til det formål. Holmboes udtryksmåde kan generelt forekomme increasingly writing for a different orchestra size from the full symphony orchestra. For nøgtern eller knap, men den er først og fremmest udtryk for koncentration, ligefremhed 75 years the orchestra played daily on Danish radio and was probably Denmark’s best og en kunstnerisk ydmyghed. Intet kommer i vejen for musikken. known classical orchestra. In the 1990s the level of ambition was heightened: the orches- Selv om Holmboe var både en både rolig og kontrolleret person, holdt han bestemt tra gave concerts with world-famous soloists like Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo ikke sin skaberkraft nede. Han komponerede over 300 værker, og dertil kommer næsten and embarked on a collaboration with the Royal Danish Ballet. It also launched a busy 100 ungdomsværker, som han kasserede, da han i 1935 begyndte forfra med et nyt production of recordings of both recent and earlier Danish music and joined forces opus 1, en Suite for kammerorkester. Han var aktiv som komponist lige til sin død som with conductors from abroad: Hannu Koivula from Finland was Chief Conductor in 86‑årig i 1996. 1995-1999, after which the Hungarian conductor Adam Fischer took over. In 2015 the Det kan være svært at overskue en så flittig kunstners produktion, men hos Holmboe orchestra went private and changed it name to Danmarks Underholdningsorkester (The Danish tegner der sig nogle klare linjer og perioder. Det var typisk for ham, at han arbejdede Chamber Orchestra). The change was controlled by the musicians themselves, and the i serier. Arbejdet med ét værk affødte idéer til endnu et i samme format – og så videre. orchestra is mainly supported today by private foundations. The primary focus is on Hans fokusering på bestemte former eller genrer kunne vare i årevis, hvorefter han på the music of Vienna Classicism, another genre that fits perfectly with the size of the et tidspunkt nåede til en velovervejet erkendelse af at have undersøgt sine muligheder. orchestra. The Chief Conductor is still Adam Fischer, who has made highly acclaimed Derefter gik hans opdagelsesrejse videre i andre former. recordings with the orchestra of all Mozart’s symphonies and several Mozart operas. Ofte var det traditionelle klassiske genrer, der blev udforsket. På den måde skabte underholdningsorkester.dk han bl.a. 13 symfonier, 20 strygekvartetter, 13 kammerkoncerter, 4 kammersymfonier, 4 sinfoniaer og adskillige andre værker med rod i koncert- og symfoniformen.

Holmboes kammerkoncerter er en perfekt introduktion til hans musik. Det er korte, neoklassiske koncerter for en eller flere solister. De fleste er skrevet i 1940’erne. Holmboe ændrede senere titlerne til det endnu mere klassicistiske Concerto nr. 1, Concerto nr. 2 osv. På denne indspilning er de oprindelige titler bibeholdt. Den bedst kendte forgænger i genren er Paul Hindemiths værkserie Kammermusiken med syv korte solokoncerter for lille orkester, skrevet i 1920’erne. Holmboe studerede i Berlin 1929-32, og han har givetvis kendt til de nye, opsigtsvækkende værker. Men også

16 17 Holmboes kompositionslærer i Berlin, Ernst Toch, havde i 1925 skrevet en Koncert for Kammerkoncert nr. 3 er klart påvirket af Carl Nielsens Klarinetkoncert fra 1928 (også cello og kammerorkester. den blev skrevet til Oxenvad). Carl Nielsen eksaminerede Holmboe ved hans optagelses- Holmboe efterligner ikke Hindemiths tonesprog som sådant, selv om han er påvirket af prøve på Konservatoriet i 1925 og gennemså nogle af hans kompositioner. Holmboe blev periodens ”Neue Sachlichkeit”. Han er mindre ironisk end Hindemith, og den rustikke, jord- dog ikke elev af Nielsen, men studerede i stedet hos Nielsens elev Finn Høffding, og det bundne stil hos Holmboe (især i de første af kammerkoncerterne) kan måske godt betegnes er næsten symbolsk, at Nielsen og Holmboe ikke fik en tættere kontakt. De var to store som dansk eller nordisk. Et andet element, der er særligt for Holmboes musik fra denne tid, originaler, og den ene fortsatte, hvor den anden slap. er hans inspiration fra østeuropæisk folkemusik, som han havde studeret i felten i 1933-34. Kammerkoncert nr. 4, 5 og 6 har samme tresatsede form som nr. 3, men nye kombina- tioner af solist og orkesterbesætning. I Kammerkoncert nr. 4 er solisterne en klavertrio Hver kammerkoncert er individuelt udformet. Holmboe varierer ikke kun soloinstrumen- – ligesom i Beethovens Tripelkoncert – og orkestret er nu udvidet med træblæsere. Den terne, men også orkesterbesætningen og antallet af satser (fra to til ni). Kammerkon neobarokke koncert blev uropført 1943, ligesom i de foregående tilfælde af Det Unge cert nr. 1 fra 1939 er for klaver, strygere og pauker. Den er tilegnet Holmboes hustru, Tonekunstnerselskabs orkester, der med stor flid præsenterede nye danske værker i de år. den rumænske pianist Meta Graf. De havde mødt hinanden i Berlin, hvor hun studerede Kammerkoncert nr. 5 er for bratsch (Holmboe skrev også en ”rigtig” Bratsch- hos bl.a. Hindemith. koncert, men først så sent som 1992). Kammerorkestret er nu vokset yderligere og har I denne sin eneste klaverkoncert forener Holmboe de klassiske forbilleder med træk dobbeltbesatte træblæsere. I forhold til den legende Kammerkoncert nr. 4 er der større fra balkanmusikken, og besætningen er temmelig Bartók-agtig (mindelser om Musik for drama i musikken, og i den langsomme sats er bratschen ligesom Orfeus alene i en strygere, slagtøj og celeste). Meta Holmboe uropførte koncerten i 1941. Den har kun to satser, mørk underverden. til gengæld er førstesatsen længere end nogen anden sats i de følgende værker. Forløbet Dens søsterværk er Kammerkoncert nr. 6 for samme besætning, men med en violin virker eksperimenterende. Mon Holmboe allerede her fornemmede, hvilket projekt han som solist. De to værker er musikalske pseudotvillinger fra 1943, og også violinkoncerten havde taget fat på? har en lang, alvorlig andensats. Verdenskrigen gjorde Holmboes musik mere dyster i disse I Kammerkoncert nr. 2 fra 1940 er soloinstrumenterne fløjte og violin, og koncer- år. Hans yngre bror Ebbe, som var frihedskæmper, blev taget til fange af nazisterne og ten er formet i fire satser, altså nærmere en concerto grosso end Kammerkoncert nr. 1 døde 1944 i koncentrationslejren Neuengamme. var. Første og sidste sats har præg af Vivaldi, mens mellemsatserne er i korte tredelte Bratschen og violinen fra Kammerkoncert nr. 5 og 6 mødes tre år senere i et tæt former. Det er et meget veloplagt stykke, hvor man lige fra begyndelsen hører modsætnin- parløb i Kammerkoncert nr. 9, en meget formfuldendt dobbeltkoncert fra 1946. gen mellem fællesskabets insisterende rytmer og solisternes frie indslag. Holmboes afbalancering af genrens form og indhold var på få år nået vidt, sammenlignet Kammerkoncert nr. 3 fra 1942 er en miniature-klarinetkoncert, hvor orkestret nu med den asymmetriske Kammerkoncert nr. 1. er udvidet med trompeter og horn. Koncerten måtte vente, helt til denne indspilning Derimellem skrev han de to tosatsede koncerter, Kammerkoncert nr. 7 for obo blev lavet i 1996, før den blev spillet første gang. Måske fordi den kan have været tiltænkt (1945) og den usædvanlige Kammerkoncert nr. 8 (også fra 1945) med undertitlen klarinettisten Aage Oxenvad, der døde i 1944, inden koncerten var blevet uropført, og Sinfonia Concertante. Obokoncerten har en lang førstesats, der i Bartók-stil danner en sym- som ikke havde nogen oplagt efterfølger i Danmark. metrisk bueform med en langsom indledning og afslutning. Koncerten blev uropført af

18 19 Waldemar Wolsing, en af tidens mest fremtrædende danske musikere, som spillede den Holmboe ingen solokoncerter de næste par årtier, før han i midten af 1970’erne tog fat mange gange i Norden de følgende år. på en serie koncerter i stort format – de fire første er for henholdsvis cello, blokfløjte, I Kammerkoncert nr. 8 er der ingen specificeret solist, og instrumentgrupperne træder tværfløjte og tuba. Der findes altså to spor med solokoncerter i Holmboes produktion, frem på skift. Satsproportionerne er omvendt af Kammerkoncert nr. 7 med en kort ener- og forvirringen bliver ikke mindre af at kammerkoncerterne nogle gange bare kaldes gisk førstesats, mens den lange andensats består af otte variationer over et tema i fagotten. ”Violinkoncert”, ”Bratschkoncert” osv. Den kollektive idé fra Kammerkoncert nr. 8 gik Holmboe videre med i Kam merkoncert nr. 10 (1946) med undertitlen ”Træ, Messing og Tarm” – altså de tre Efter den lange koncertfase var Vagn Holmboe sidst i 1950’erne blevet optaget af nye instrumentfamilier træblæsere, messingblæsere og strygere (der dengang stadig brugte musikalske problemer, og de bragte en ny genre i fokus: Den symfoniske. Blandt de tarmstrenge). Koncerten er helt anderledes struktureret end nogen af de øvrige kammer- mange Holmboe-værker, der hedder noget med ”symfoni” eller ”sinfonia”, udgør de fire koncerter, nemlig som et variationsværk i hele ni satser. Det er nok er den af kammerkon- Sinfoniaer for strygere en serie for sig selv. De to første blev skrevet i 1957, året efter certerne, der er blevet spillet oftest. den sidste Kammerkoncert, og nr. 3 i 1958-59. Det er usædvanligt renfærdige værker, Holmboe havde nu bevæget sig helt væk fra genrens udgangspunkt og var ved at være hvor det polyfone arbejde i den homogene orkestergruppe fylder det hele. Samtidig til vejs ende med sit koncertante laboratoriearbejde. Men han manglede at undersøge er Sinfoniaerne skrevet i frie former, der udgør et kunstnerisk alternativ til de klassiske messingblæserne. I 1948 skrev han Kammerkoncert nr. 11 for trompet, endnu en rammer, som Holmboe holdt fast i, når han skrev koncerter og strygekvartetter. De fire i rækken af kammerkoncerter, der har fået et godt efterliv og er blevet indspillet flere Sinfoniaer er derfor udformet ret forskelligt og varer mellem 11 og 19 minutter hver. gange. Haydn, et af Holmboes største forbilleder, er et åbenlyst ideal her. Kammer Da den sidste Sinfonia IV var skrevet i 1962, indså Holmboe, at de fire værker til- koncert nr. 12 (1950) er for trombone, energisk og vittig musik, uden at solistinstrumen- sammen – i ændret rækkefølge – kunne opfattes som ét stort værk. Mellem de fire satser i tet dog bliver gjort til grin. I den trykte udgave af partituret er solokadencen delvist lavet Sinfonia IV indskød han de tre ensatsede Sinfonia I, II og III. Det timelange værk, der af solisten fra uropførelsen i 1952, Palmer Traulsen, og der er siden lavet forskellige andre fremkom på den måde, gav han navnet Kairos, det græske ord for ”tid”. Ikke den mål- bud. På denne indspilning bruges en kadence af Holmboes berømte elev, Per Nørgård. bare tid, Chronos, men tiden i abstrakt forstand som ”tidspunkt” eller ”det rette øjeblik”. I 1949 havde Holmboe oplevet et skifte i sit kompositoriske arbejde. Det skete med Holmboe beskrev det mere uddybende på denne måde: hans Strygekvartet nr. 1 – fraregnet de mængder af kvartetter, han havde skrevet i sin ”Kairos betyder ”tid” i psykologisk forstand, dvs. det tidsforløb, som vi fornemmer – ungdom. ”Min 1. Strygekvartet markerer et slags vendepunkt eller et udviklingspunkt. i modsætning til chronos, der er betegnelsen for den tid, der kan opdeles i sekunder og Jeg var forberedt på det, men pludselig bryder det løs”, huskede Holmboe tilbage kort minutter. Bortset fra den almene tidsvariabilitet, der opstår mellem spændte og afspændte før sin død. En ny værkserie stod for at skulle afløse en anden. perioder, er problemet yderligere søgt belyst bl.a. gennem vekselspil mellem objektivt- Kammerkoncert nr. 13 fra 1956 er derfor en slags appendiks eller epilog til de 12 abstrakte og subjektivt-udtryksbetingede afsnit, gennem forskellige, samtidigt virkende foregående, og Holmboe kaldte den oprindeligt slet ikke Kammerkoncert, men Collegium tidsforløb og gennem metamorfosernes tidsløshed i kronologisk forstand.” Musicum nr. 2 (en serie, der aldrig udviklede sig videre end dertil). Det er en dobbelt Kairos er en passende overskrift for et storværk, der er et af Holmboes mest intense. koncert for den usædvanlige kombination af obo og bratsch. Efter den komponerede Det nødvendige siges på det rette tidspunkt – og intet andet. Det stiller udfordringer for

20 21 både musikere og lyttere, men Vagn Holmboe vaklede aldrig, for han havde en mageløs Recorded 1996-97 at the ‘Radio House’ in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, the former headquarters of DR evne til at gennemføre sine visioner i praksis. Også selv om det betød, at det samlede værk (Danish Broadcasting Corporation), today home of the Royal Danish Academy of Music. var så krævende en opgave, at han ikke selv kom til at opleve en komplet opførelse af Recording producer: Peter Willemoës Sound engineer: Peter Bo Nielsen Kairos inden sin død i 1996. The 6 discs in this box set were previously released individually on: Jens Cornelius, 2017 8.224038 (CD 1), 8.224063 (CD 2), 8.224086 (CD 3), 8.224087 (CD 4), 8.226017-18 (CDs 5-6) ℗ 1996-98; 2004 Dacapo Records, Copenhagen © 2018 Dacapo Records, Copenhagen Liner notes: Jens Cornelius English translation: James Manley Proofreader: Svend Ravnkilde DR UnderholdningsOrkestret lever i dag videre under nyt navn, men har bevaret Photo p. 2: © Jesper Høm sine dybe rødder i dansk musikliv. Orkestret blev grundlagt i 1939 af DR, dengang kaldt Artwork: Denise Burt, elevator-design.dk Statsradiofonien, som et alternativt orkester til det store Radiosymfoniorkester. Med Publisher: Edition Wilhlem Hansen, ewh.dk sin mindre besætning skulle Underholdningsorkestret tage sig af den lette musik, men 8.206004 også af nye værker, som tidens komponister i stigende grad skrev for en anden orkester størrelse end det fulde symfoniorkester. Orkestret spillede gennem 75 år dagligt i dansk radio og var Danmarks nok mest kendte klassiske orkester. I 1990’erne steg ambitions niveauet betydeligt, og orkestret gav koncerter med verdensberømte solister som Luciano Pavarotti og Placido Domingo og indledte et tæt samarbejde med Den Kongelige Danske Ballet. Man begyndte også en flittig produktion af indspilninger af både nyere og ældre dansk musik og knyttede udenlandske dirigenter til sig: Hannu Koivula fra Finland var chefdirigent 1995-1999, hvorefter den ungarske dirigent Adam Fischer tog over. I 2015 overgik orkestret til privat regi og skiftede navn til Danmarks Underholdningsorkester. Forvandlingen var styret af musikerne selv, og orkestret støttes i dag hovedsageligt af private fonde. Fokus er især på den wienerklassiske musik, endnu en genre, der passer perfekt til orkestrets størrelse. Chefdirigent er stadig Adam Fischer, som sammen med orkestret har lavet højt roste indspilninger af Mozarts samlede symfonier og flere Mozart-operaer. Dacapo Records, Denmark’s national record label, was founded in 1986 with the purpose of releasing the best of Danish music past and present. The majority of our recordings are world underholdningsorkester.dk premieres, and we are dedicated to producing music of the highest international standards. 22