Riisager's personal style is characterized by a provocative use of dissonant seconds, fondness for bitonality, a humorous element, and distinctive orchestral settings.
Composer Biography
Despite never having attended the institution himself, Riisager became the director of the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen in 1956, focusing on administrative work.
Composition History
Riisager controversially declared the symphony 'dead' in a 1940 article, yet he was actively composing his Fourth Symphony, Sinfonia gaia, at the same time.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Riisager's early compositions show influences from French composers like Albert Roussel and Erik Satie, as well as Prokofiev, Honegger, Bartók, and Stravinsky.
Composer Biography
Knudåge Riisager, the composer, maintained a full-time career as a civil servant in the Ministry of Finance from 1925 to 1950, even serving as a Departmental Head.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Riisager initially distanced himself from the German Romantic tradition, viewing its musical forms as outdated and an expression of a world that ended with the First World War.
Historical Context
The score for Riisager's Summer Rhapsody was nearly destroyed in a 1944 fire at Tivoli Concert Hall, caused by a counter-sabotage action by the Danish-German terrorist group 'the Brøndum Gang'.
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