Riisager: Violin Concerto & Etudes

Featuring

Andreas Delfs
Ian van Rensburg
Aarhus Symfoniorkester
Knudåge Riisager

Did you know?

1/7

Compositional Technique

Knudåge Riisager's Violin Concerto breaks with common practice by having only two movements: a contemplative first movement and an action-packed second movement.

Performer Biography

Ian van Rensburg, the violinist on this recording, has been the 1st concertmaster of the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra since 1993 and studied at the Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay and Naoko Tanaka.

Notable Performances

The ballet Etudes had its premiere at the Royal Danish Theatre on January 15, 1948, and has since been performed triumphantly worldwide, becoming Riisager's most frequently performed orchestral work.

Compositional Technique

In Etudes, Knudåge Riisager used a significantly larger orchestral ensemble with a bigger percussion section compared to his original arrangement of Czerny's etudes for a small orchestra.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Knudåge Riisager aimed to respect the calm and clarity of Czerny's etudes while bringing them into his own time, expanding on the given thematic material.

Composer Biography

Knudåge Riisager, the composer, went into hiding during the German Occupation of Denmark from autumn 1944 due to reprisal murders, resuming his composing activity in May 1945.

Composition History

Knudåge Riisager's ballet music Etudes is based on piano etudes by Carl Czerny, a composer whose practice pieces were used by pupils like Beethoven and Liszt.