Berg: Chamber Music Works with Piano

Featuring

Niels Ullner
Soren Monrad
Erik Kaltoft
Signe Asmussen
Signe Madsen
Kenneth Larsen

John Ehde
Torben Snekkestad
Per Morten Bye
Arne Balk-Møller
Gunnar Berg

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Gunnar Berg rarely added analytical comments to his music, stating, 'My works must stand on their own feet, and they must answer for themselves'.

Composer Biography

Gunnar Berg, a Danish composer, was born in Switzerland in 1909 and his youth was marked by illness and frequent moves, with little contact with music.

Composer Biography

Gunnar Berg was active in the Danish resistance movement during the German occupation and later involved in music teaching projects in refugee camps.

Composer Biography

Gunnar Berg was so deeply affected by a 1931 performance of Wagner's Tannhäuser that he vowed to devote his life to music.

Composition History

Gunnar Berg's time in Salzburg, attending courses and rehearsals with figures like Arturo Toscanini and Herbert von Karajan, was crucial for his musical orientation towards European culture.

Performer Biography

Erik Kaltoft, the pianist on this album, is the artistic director of Århus Sinfonietta and has participated in the premieres of over 200 mainly Danish works.

Compositional Technique

Gunnar Berg's compositional method, influenced by Olivier Messiaen, involved meticulously calculating and structuring durations, pitches, volumes, and instrumentation, which he described as 'static'.