Holmboe: The Chamber Concertos & Sinfonias

Featuring

Hannu Koivula
Anne Øland
Mikkel Futtrup
Eva Østergaard
Niels Thomsen
Niels Ullner

Tim Frederiksen
Max Artved
Ole Edvard Antonsen
Jacques Mauger
Soren Elbæk
Troels Svane
Danish National Chamber Orchestra
Vagn Holmboe

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Composer Biography

Vagn Holmboe, a prolific Danish composer, created over 300 works and remained active until his death at 86 in 1996.

Historical Context

Holmboe's music became more somber during World War II, especially after his younger brother, a resistance fighter, died in the Neuengamme concentration camp in 1944.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Holmboe often worked in series, where the completion of one work would generate ideas for another in the same format, exploring particular forms or genres for years.

Composition History

Holmboe's Sinfonias for Strings were later reordered and combined with movements from Sinfonia IV to form a single hour-long work called Kairos, the Greek word for 'time' in a psychological sense.

Performer Biography

The Danish National Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1939, was originally an alternative to the larger Radio Symphony Orchestra, focusing on 'light music' and new works for smaller ensembles.

Compositional Technique

Holmboe's Chamber Concertos are neoclassical concertos for one or more soloists, mostly written in the 1940s, and vary in solo instruments, orchestral configuration, and number of movements.