Rued Langgaard

Rued Langgaard (Danish: [ʁuðˀ ˈlɑŋɡɒːˀ]; born Rud Immanuel Langgaard; 28 Rued Langgaard July 1893 – 10 July 1952) was a late-Romantic Danish and organist. His then-unconventional music was at odds with that of his Danish contemporaries but was recognized 16 years after his death.

Contents

Life Music Selected works Other orchestral works Concertante works Chorus and orchestra Chamber music Opera Recordings Photograph from Gerhardt Lynge: References Danske Komponister (1917) External links Born 28 July 1893 , Life Died 10 July 1952 (aged Born in Copenhagen, Rued Langgaard was the only son of composer and Royal 59) Chamber musician Siegfried Langgaard (1852–1914) and Emma Langgaard (née Ribe, Denmark Foss, 1861–1926), both of whom were pianists.[1] At the age of five Rued began Resting Cemetery of Holmen, taking lessons with his mother, and later with his father and a private teacher. place Copenhagen His talent emerged quickly, and at seven he was able to play Schumann's Nationality Danish Davidsbündlertänze and Chopin's . By then he had begun to compose short pieces for the piano and play the organ. At 10 he began to study the organ under Occupation Composer and Gustav Helsted, organist at the Jesuskirken in , and the violin under Chr. organist Petersen, formerly of the Royal Orchestra.

At the age of 11 he made his first public appearance as an organist and improviser on the organ at a concert at the Frederikskirken (Marmorkirken) in Copenhagen. When he was 12, he started to study music theory under C. F. E. Horneman and, later, Vilhelm Rosenberg.

Langgaard's first compositions, 2 piano pieces and 2 songs, were published when he was 13, and around that time he was taught counterpoint by the celebrated composer for about a month. A year later, his choral work Musae triumphantes was performed at a concert in Copenhagen, marking his public debut as a composer. During his teen years he continued composing and travelled with his parents around Christmas and New Year's Eve, meeting conductorsArthur Nikisch and .

At 18, Langgaard served as assistant organist at the Frederikskirken (Marmorkirken) in Copenhagen. The following year (1913) his No. 1 "Mountain Pastorals" received its first performance at a concert in Berlin with the under the baton of Max Fiedler.[2] His father died in 1914, and from 1915 to 1917 he was assistant organist at the Garnisons Kirke in Copenhagen. From 1917 onward he applied without success for the post of organist at a large number of churches in Copenhagen. In 1922 a young woman named Valborg Constance Olivia Tetens (she was known as Constance) moved in with Rued Langgaard and his mother in Copenhagen. A year after his mother died in 1926, Langgaard married Constance etens.T

Although Langgaard was given a state grant from the age of 30, his works and job applications were almost continually rejected by the establishment. Only at the age of 46 did he manage to obtain a permanent job, as the organist at the cathedral in Ribe, the oldest town in Denmark, situated in southwest Jutland. Just shy of his 59th birthday, Rued Langgaard died in Ribe, still unrecognized as a composer.

Music

Rued Langgaard composed in a late Romantic style, emphatically dramatic and endowed with colossal mood swings. Unquestionably, he was influenced by and and, like Strauss, he was a master of . He was a prolific composer for the large orchestra, writing 16 symphonies as well as other orchestral works.

Music of the Spheres is his best-known and most radical work. It is a symphonic work of great complexity, calling for a large orchestra, organ and choir, a supporting (distant) orchestra including a soprano voice, and a further piano on which the strings are played directly rather than via the keys. It was composed during World War I, but only performed twice (in Germany in 1921–1922) during Langgaard's lifetime and lay dormant for almost 50 years before being rediscovered. When it was rediscovered in the late 1960s, it was considered remarkably modern and reflective of the pathfinding style in which Langgaard composed. In 2010Music of the Spheres received its British premiere atThe Proms, conducted by .[3]

His unorthodox style and sense of drama extended to the titles of his compositions. His fourth and sixth symphonies are known as the Leaf Fall and Heaven Storming. Langgaard in later life His symphonies Nos. 13 and 16 are named Faithlessness and Deluge of Sun, respectively. Examples of descriptive names for individual movements are Wireless Caruso and Compulsive Energy and Daddies rushing off to the Office (in symphony No. 14, The Morning).

His total production of over 400 works included more than 150 songs, works for piano, organ, and an opera entitled Antikrist (The Antichrist).

Selected works

BVN refers to the numbering of works in: Bendt Viinholt Nielsen: Rued Langgaards Kompositioner (Rued Langgaard's Compositions. An Annotated Catalogue of Works. With an English Introduction). Odense University Press, 1991.

Symphonies

Symphony No. 1 "Klippepastoraler" (Mountain Pastorals) (1908-09/1910-11), BVN. 32 Symphony No. 2 "Vårbrud" (Awakening of Spring) (1st version 1912–14) Symphony No. 2 "Vårbrud" (Awakening of Spring) (2nd version 1912-14/1926-33), BVN. 53 Symphony No. 3 "Ungdomsbrus (La Melodia)" (The flush of youth (La Melodia) (effectively a piano concerto in one movement of about 30 minutes, 1915-16/1925-33), BVN. 96 Symphony No. 4 "Løvfald" (Leaf-fall) (1916/1920), BVN. 124 Symphony No. 5 (1st version, 1917-18/1926), BVN. 191* Symphony No. 5 "Steppenatur" (Nature of the Steppe) (2nd version, 1917-18/1920/1931), BVN. 216* Symphony No. 6 "Det Himmelrivende" (The Stormy Sky) (1919-20/1928-30), BVN. 165 Symphony No. 7 (1st version, 1925–26), BVN. 188 Symphony No. 7 "Ved Tordenskjold i Holmens Kirke" (By Tordenskjold in Holmen's (2nd version, 1925- 26/1930-32), BVN. 212 Symphony No. 8 "Minder ved " (Memories at Amalienborg) (with mixed chorus, 1926–28/1929-1934), BVN. 193 Symphony No. 9 "Fra Dronning Dagmars By" (From Queen Dagmar's City) (1942), BVN. 282 Symphony No. 10 "Hin Tordenbolig" (Yon Hall of Thunder) (1944–45), BVN. 298 Symphony No. 11 "Ixion" (1944–45), BVN. 303 Symphony No. 12 "Helsingeborg" (1946), BVN. 318 Symphony No. 13 "Undertro" (Belief in Wonders) (1946–47), BVN. 319 Symphony No. 14 (Suite) "Morgenen" (Morning) (with mixed chorus, 1947-48/1951), BVN. 336 Symphony No. 15 "Sørstormen" (Storm at Sea) (with bass-baritone solo and male chorus, 1937/1949), BVN. 375 Symphony No. 16 "Synflod af Sol" (Deluge of the Sun) (1951), BVN. 417

Other orchestral works

Drapa (On the Death of Edvard Grieg, 1907–09), BVN. 20 Heltedød (Death of a Hero) (1907–08), BVN. 24 Sphinx (Tone Poem) (1907–13), BVN. 37 Saga blot (A Thing of the Past) (1917–19), BVN. 140 Symfonisk Festspil (Symphonic Festival Play) (1917–20), BVN. 166 Prelude to "Antikrist" (original version, 1921–23), BVN. 170:1 Music for "En Digters Drøm" (A Poet's Dream) (1923–26), BVN. 181 Musernes Dans paa Helikon (The Dance of the Muses on Helicon) (Concert Ouverture, 1925/1939), BVN. 185 Prelude to "Fortabelsen (Antikrist)" (Perdition (Antikrist)) (1921-23/1926-30), BVN. 192:1 Prelude to "Komedien om Enhver" (Comedy of an Everyman) (1921-23/1936), BVN. 232 The Danish National Radio (Fanfares, 1948), BVN. 351 Mistèrio "Dødssejleren" (The Phantom Ship) after Liszt (1931–32)

Concertante works

Concerto (in one movement) for Violin and Orchestra (1943–44), BVN. 289 Interdikt for Organ and Orchestra (1947–48), BVN. 335 Søndagssonate (Sunday Sonata) for Violin, piano, organ and orchestra (1949–50), BVN. 393 "Fra Arild" (From Arild), concerto for piano and orchestra freely adapted from compositions by Siegfried Langgaard (1935–37)

Chorus and orchestra

Drømmen (The Dream) (Sinfonia interna) (1915-16/1945), BVN. 98 Hav og Sol (Sea and Sun) (with soprano or mezzo-soprano; version with chorus by Mike Cholewa after the composer's sketches, 1915/1940s), BVN. 102 Sfærernes Musik (Music of the Spheres) (soprano or mezzo-soprano solo & choir, 1916–18), BVN. 128 Fra Dybet (From the Deep) (soloists and choir, 1950–52), BVN. 414

Chamber music

String Quartet No. 1 (1914-15/1936), BVN. 68 No. 2 (1918), BVN. 145 String Quartet No. 3 (1924), BVN. 183 String Quartet No. 4 "Sommerdage" (Summer Days) (1914-18/1931), BVN. 215 String Quartet No. 5 (1925/1926-38), BVN. 189 String Quartet No. 6 (in one movement, 1918–19), BVN. 160 String Quartet in A flat (1918), BVN. 155 Violin Sonata No. 1 "Viole" (1915/1945), BVN. 94 Violin Sonata No. 2 "Den store Mester kommer" (Behold the Master Cometh) (1920–21), BVN. 167 Violin Sonata No. 3 (1945–49), BVN. 312 Violin Sonata No. 4 "Parce nobis, Jesu!" (1949), BVN. 376 Septet (for winds, 1915), BVN. 95 Humoreske (sextet for winds and drum, 1922–23), BVN. 176

Opera

Antikrist

Recordings

In recent years, many of his works have been recorded, including recordings by Danacord of his complete symphonies on seven CDs.[4] This cycle, with the Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ilya Stupel, was followed by a second cycle recorded by Dacapo with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Thomas Dausgaard.[5] Both cycles have had their share of critical recognition.

Other works of Langgaard currently available on CD include Music of the Spheres,[6] Messis (Organ drama in three evenings), Antichrist (Church opera in six scenes), Duo Lys Pa Himlen, piano concertos, The End of Time, and various works for solo instruments.[7]

References

1. "Rued Langgaard - Long Biography - Music Sales Classical" (http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/long-bi o/rued-langgaard/). www.musicsalesclassical.com. Retrieved 2018-10-02. 2. Mellor, Andrew (2014-09-25). "Introducing your next great musical discovery: Rued Langgaard" (https://www.gramop hone.co.uk/feature/introducing-your-next-great-musical-discovery-rued-langgaard). www.gramophone.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-10-02. 3. Hewett, Ivan (5 August 2010)."Rued Langgaard: return of a visionary composer" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cultur e/music/proms/7927866/RuedLanggaard-return-of-a-visionary-composer.html). The Daily Telegraph. 4. "Rued Langgaard – The Complete Symphonies" (http://www.danacord.dk/collections/langgaard.html). Danacord.dk. Retrieved 2010-05-08. 5. "Dacapo Records – Rued Langgaard" (http://www.dacapo-records.dk/?page=artist&id=1442&typemask=1&search=L anggaard). Dacapo-records.dk. Retrieved 2010-05-08. 6. "Classical Lost And Found: Rued Langgaard's Mystical Musical Universe" (https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptiveca dence/2010/09/12/129813223/classical-lost-and-found-rued-langgard-s-mystical-musical-universe). NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-10-02. 7. "Langgaard, Rued – Classical: Music" (https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/classical-artist-search/Langgaard%2 C%20Rued). Amazon.co.uk. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2010-05-08.

External links

"Rued Langgaard". A Danish composer presented in text, pictures, music and speech. Retrieved 6 March 2005. Profile and works at Edition S Very short Naxos biographical note on RuedLanggaard Danacord entry to Rued Langgaard, "a white duckling who became an ugly swan". Free scores by Rued Langgaard at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)

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