Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Danish: DR SymfoniOrkestret; English abbreviation "DNSO"), is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen
. The DNSO is the principal orchestra of DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation). The DRSO is based at the Copenhagen Concert Hall
.
The roots of the orchestra date back to the singer Emil Holm, who expressed a wish to establish a full-time symphony orchestra in Denmark. In collaboration with fellow musicians Otto Fessel, Rudolf Dietz Mann and Folmer Jensen, the orchestra was founded in 1925, with 11 players in the ensemble and conductor Launy Grøndahl
having a leadership role, though without a formal title. The orchestra grew to 30 players within a year. The orchestra performed its first public concert was in 1927, and began to give weekly concerts in 1928. In 1930, Holm recruited Nikolai Malko
to a similar key role like Grøndahl as conductor with the orchestra, though again without Malko having a formal title. Early concerts were at the Axelborg building. In 1931, the orchestra began to give concerts at the Stærekassen hall of the Royal Danish Theatre
. After going into exile from Germany in the 1930s, Fritz Busch
worked extensively as a major conductor of the orchestra in parallel with Malko, though again with no formal title. By 1948, the orchestra had attained membership of 92 musicians.
The first conductor to have the formal title of principal conductor with the orchestra was Herbert Blomstedt
, from 1967 to 1977. His recording work with the orchestra included recordings of the orchestral works of Carl Nielsen
. Blomstedt now has the title of æresdirigent (honorary conductor) with the DNSO. The second principal conductor, after an interregnum of 9 years, was Lamberto Gardelli
, from 1986 to 1988. Thomas Dausgaard
, who was the DNSO's principal guest conductor from 2001 to 2004, became principal conductor of the DNSO in 2004, the first Danish conductor to hold the title. In October 2009, Dausgaard chose to conclude his principal conductorship of the DNSO at the close of the 2010-2011 season and to take the title of æresdirigent. In February 2011, the DNSO announced the appointment of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
as its next principal conductor, as of the 2012-2013 season, with an initial contract of 3 years through 2015. Past principal guest conductors of the DRSO besides Dausgaard have included Yuri Temirkanov
, Michael Schønwandt
, and Dmitri Kitaenko.
The orchestra has recorded commercially for such labels as DaCapo and Chandos, including music of Danish composers such as August Enna
, Niels Gade, Rued Langgaard
, and Per Nørgård
. The orchestra has also commercially recorded such composers as Johannes Brahms
.
In 2010 the orchestra announced Søren Nils Eichberg
as its first ever composer in residence.
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. The DNSO is the principal orchestra of DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation). The DRSO is based at the Copenhagen Concert Hall
Copenhagen Concert Hall
The Copenhagen Concert Hall by Jean Nouvel is a part of the new DR Byen , that houses the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DR. The concert hall and the DR Town are located in the northern part of Ørestad - an ambitious development area in Copenhagen, Denmark...
.
The roots of the orchestra date back to the singer Emil Holm, who expressed a wish to establish a full-time symphony orchestra in Denmark. In collaboration with fellow musicians Otto Fessel, Rudolf Dietz Mann and Folmer Jensen, the orchestra was founded in 1925, with 11 players in the ensemble and conductor Launy Grøndahl
Launy Grøndahl
Launy Grøndahl was a Danish composer and conductor. Grøndahl studied the violin from the age of eight. His first work as a professional musician was as a violinist was with the Orchestra of the Casino Theatre in Copenhagen when he was aged just thirteen.He was also for a long period of time the...
having a leadership role, though without a formal title. The orchestra grew to 30 players within a year. The orchestra performed its first public concert was in 1927, and began to give weekly concerts in 1928. In 1930, Holm recruited Nikolai Malko
Nikolai Malko
-Biography:Malko was born in Semaky, Ukraine. His father was Ukrainian, his mother Russian. He studied philology at St Petersburg University. He published articles on music criticism in the Russian press and performed as a pianist and later a conductor. In 1906 he completed his studies in history...
to a similar key role like Grøndahl as conductor with the orchestra, though again without Malko having a formal title. Early concerts were at the Axelborg building. In 1931, the orchestra began to give concerts at the Stærekassen hall of the Royal Danish Theatre
Royal Danish Theatre
The Royal Danish Theatre is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first serving as the theatre of the king, and then as the theatre of the...
. After going into exile from Germany in the 1930s, Fritz Busch
Fritz Busch
Fritz Busch was a German conductor.Busch was born in Siegen, Province of Westphalia. He held posts conducting opera at Aachen, Stuttgart and Dresden. In 1933 he was dismissed from his post at Dresden because of his opposition to the new Nazi government of Germany...
worked extensively as a major conductor of the orchestra in parallel with Malko, though again with no formal title. By 1948, the orchestra had attained membership of 92 musicians.
The first conductor to have the formal title of principal conductor with the orchestra was Herbert Blomstedt
Herbert Blomstedt
Herbert Blomstedt is a Swedish conductor.Herbert Blomstedt was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and two years after his birth, his Swedish parents moved the family back to their country of origin...
, from 1967 to 1977. His recording work with the orchestra included recordings of the orchestral works of Carl Nielsen
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen , , widely recognised as Denmark's greatest composer, was also a conductor and a violinist. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age...
. Blomstedt now has the title of æresdirigent (honorary conductor) with the DNSO. The second principal conductor, after an interregnum of 9 years, was Lamberto Gardelli
Lamberto Gardelli
Lamberto Gardelli was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with the Italian opera repertory, especially the works of Giuseppe Verdi....
, from 1986 to 1988. Thomas Dausgaard
Thomas Dausgaard
Thomas Dausgaard , is a Danish conductor.Since 1997, Dausgaard has been Principal Conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. From 2001-2004, he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra , and became principal conductor in 2004, the first Danish conductor to hold the...
, who was the DNSO's principal guest conductor from 2001 to 2004, became principal conductor of the DNSO in 2004, the first Danish conductor to hold the title. In October 2009, Dausgaard chose to conclude his principal conductorship of the DNSO at the close of the 2010-2011 season and to take the title of æresdirigent. In February 2011, the DNSO announced the appointment of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos is a Spanish conductor and composer.Frühbeck studied violin, piano, and composition at the conservatories of Bilbao and Madrid...
as its next principal conductor, as of the 2012-2013 season, with an initial contract of 3 years through 2015. Past principal guest conductors of the DRSO besides Dausgaard have included Yuri Temirkanov
Yuri Temirkanov
Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov is a Russian conductor of Circassian origin.Yuri Temirkanov has been the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic since 1988.-Early life:...
, Michael Schønwandt
Michael Schønwandt
Michael Schønwandt is a Danish conductor. In Denmark, he studied piano, theory, and composition, and later continued musical studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London....
, and Dmitri Kitaenko.
The orchestra has recorded commercially for such labels as DaCapo and Chandos, including music of Danish composers such as August Enna
August Enna
August Enna was a Danish composer, known mainly for his operas.Enna was born in Denmark, but his ethnic origins lay in the town of Enna in Sicily. His first major success as a composer was The Witch , which was followed by several popular operas, songs, two symphonies , and a violin concerto...
, Niels Gade, Rued Langgaard
Rued Langgaard
Rued Langgaard was a late-Romantic Danish composer and organist. His then-unconventional music was at odds with that of his Danish contemporaries and was recognized only 16 years after his death.- Life :Born in Copenhagen, Rued Langgaard was the only son of composer and Royal Chamber...
, and Per Nørgård
Per Nørgård
Per Nørgård is a Danish composer.-Biography:Nørgård studied with Vagn Holmboe at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, and subsequently with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. To begin with, he was strongly influenced by the Nordic styles of Jean Sibelius, Carl Nielsen and Vagn Holmboe...
. The orchestra has also commercially recorded such composers as Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
.
In 2010 the orchestra announced Søren Nils Eichberg
Søren Nils Eichberg
Søren Nils Eichberg is a German/Danish composer. In 2010 he was announced as the first composer-in-residence of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in the orchestra's history.He studied piano and orchestra conducting in Copenhagen and Cologne....
as its first ever composer in residence.
Principal conductors
- Herbert BlomstedtHerbert BlomstedtHerbert Blomstedt is a Swedish conductor.Herbert Blomstedt was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and two years after his birth, his Swedish parents moved the family back to their country of origin...
(1967–1977) - Lamberto GardelliLamberto GardelliLamberto Gardelli was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with the Italian opera repertory, especially the works of Giuseppe Verdi....
(1986–1988) - Leif SegerstamLeif SegerstamLeif Segerstam is a Finnish conductor and composer.He studied violin, piano and conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and conducting at the Juilliard School in New York with Jean Morel....
(1988–1995) - Ulf SchirmerUlf SchirmerUlf Schirmer is a German conductor. He studied at the Bremen Conservatory, and also at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg with György Ligeti, Christoph von Dohnányi and Horst Stein....
(1995–1998) - Gerd AlbrechtGerd AlbrechtGerd Albrecht is a German conductor. He was a first-prize winner at the International Conductors Competition in Besançon at age 22. His first post was as a repetiteur at the Stuttgart State Opera. Later, he became Senior Kapellmeister at the Mainz Municipal Theatre, and Generalmusikdirektor in...
(2000–2004) - Thomas DausgaardThomas DausgaardThomas Dausgaard , is a Danish conductor.Since 1997, Dausgaard has been Principal Conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. From 2001-2004, he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra , and became principal conductor in 2004, the first Danish conductor to hold the...
(2004–present)
Danish Radio conductors affiliated with the orchestra
- Launy GrøndahlLauny GrøndahlLauny Grøndahl was a Danish composer and conductor. Grøndahl studied the violin from the age of eight. His first work as a professional musician was as a violinist was with the Orchestra of the Casino Theatre in Copenhagen when he was aged just thirteen.He was also for a long period of time the...
(1925–1956) - Emil ReesenEmil ReesenEmil Reesen was a Danish composer. Aside from composing for ballets and operas he was also a noted film score composer.-Notable works :* 1926 Rapsodien Himmerland* 1928 Variationer over et tema af Schubert...
(1927–1936) - Erik TuxenErik TuxenErik Oluf Tuxen was a Danish big band leader, composer and arranger, who worked for most of his life in Denmark. From 1936 until his death by cancer on 28 August 1957 he was conductor at the Danish National Symphony Orchestra of Danish Radio.Along with Thomas Jensen and Launy Grøndahl, Tuxen...
(1936–1957) - Mogens WöldikeMogens WöldikeMogens Wöldike was a Danish conductor, choirmaster, organist, and scholar known for his interpretation of music from the Baroque and Classical periods. His son-in-law was the Haydn scholar Jens Peter Larsen.He studied under Carl Nielsen and Thomas Laub and graduated from Copenhagen University in...
(1950–1976) - Thomas JensenThomas JensenThomas Jensen was a Danish orchestra conductor.Born in Copenhagen, Jensen led several Danish ensembles, including the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra ....
(1957–1963)