![]() ![]() It was the Haydn, though, that really shone in the first round: a performance of the composer’s op.76 no.2 that had bags of humour and charm, with sure phrasing, abundant shifts in lighting and the sort of tight ensemble blend that is in fashion. Now, as then, the Kleio players opted for movements from Nielsen’s op.13 and made a strong impression, giving us plenteous digging emphases – just not necessarily in the places the Danish audience might have expected them. ![]() This group took part in the 2019 edition of the competition, when it failed to progress past the first round (two members have since been replaced). One non-Danish ensemble that had the benefit of some history with Nielsen was the London-based Kleio Quartet. It was also the only string ensemble in the competition to play standing up, delivering surges of energy in Mendelssohn’s op.13 in A minor in the second round. Undoubtedly, the Novo Quartet most obviously took ownership of its compatriot’s music in his First Quartet op.13. According to stage compère Rie Koch, some competing quartets from outside Denmark reported that the composer’s singular approach only made sense after they’d arrived in the country and tasted its culture, a fascinating idea and a believable one (there were ensembles from the UK, China, Germany, Switzerland and Poland). Still, his music can feel like an alien aesthetic. It is an astonishing stretch of music from a composer who always managed to push the envelope despite remaining true to relatively simple artistic ideals. On the first day of string heats, the Vivace Quartet from Beijing took on the Andante sostenuto movement from his Third Quartet op.14 – the first time a movement from that piece has been played at the event (though it has always been on the menu). Even for Nielsen nuts, it’s good to be reminded of just how wondrous the composer’s four string quartets are. The competition is funded by the Nielsen estate and exists to widen appreciation of his music, which is obligatory in two of the three rounds. The Novo Quartet, which took second prize He had two horses in this particular race: the Absalon Quartet (eliminated after the first round) and the Novo Quartet, now studying with Johannes Meisl at the Vienna University for Music and Performing Arts (it took second prize). Copenhagen has become something of a hot spot for emerging quartets in the intervening years thanks largely to Tim Frederiksen, chamber music guru at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and the man who assembled the Danish and Nightingale quartets. This quadrennial competition was inaugurated in 2015, its first winners in the string category, the Arod Quartet, going on to great things. It is now the concert hall of the Royal Danish Academy of Music, which took ownership of the iconic ‘radio house’ in 2008. The 16 competing wind quintets and string quartets performed across three locations, starting at DR’s Jean Nouvel-designed concert venue on the edge of the capital before moving to the Royal Danish Library on the harbourside and ending up, for the finals, at the hall DR built for its own musicians during the Second World War. DR televised Luisi’s festival and live-streamed every note of the competition from the second round onwards – the latter constituting three full days of often challenging chamber music (it’s all available to rewatch on YouTube). ![]() Much of this activity is underpinned by Denmark’s state broadcaster DR, whose feeling for classical music stands in such stark contrast to the BBC’s seemingly pathological fear of it. Four days after the third Carl Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition ended on 16 April, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra launched a six-concert festival of the composer’s music conducted by Fabio Luisi, its Italian chief whose unlikely love affair with Nielsen has taken even him by surprise. Read more premium content for subscribers hereĬopenhagen is even more nuts about Carl Nielsen than usual right now. Discover more Featured Stories like this in The Strad Playing Hub. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |