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Danish singers, composer will be centerpiece of PPO’S Feb. 19 concert
On Friday, Danish soprano Dénise Beck and baritone Thomas Storm will be performing the works of leading Danish composer Carl Nielsen with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Olivier Ochanine at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Main Theater.
In an interview with a small group of journalists, Danish Ambassador to the Philippines Jan Top Christensen said that the performance by the Carl Nielsen Project (CNP) will be the start of a series of activities to highlight the re-opening of the Embassy of Denmark and to mark the anniversary of diplomatic relations between Denmark and the Philippines.
Christensen said preparations for the CNP quietly started some time in 2015 to coincide with the celebrations marking Nielsen's 150th birthday.
“We have to make this project possible. And we took every step to make The Carl Nielsen Project a reality,” Christensen said, adding the composer must be “introduced” to Filipinos.
CCP President Raul Sunico said a number of cultural projects are being worked out by the CCP and the Embassy of Denmark, possibly including a Danish jazz festival in Manila.
According to Ochanine, Friday's concert will feature some of the most beloved of Nielsen's compositions, including “Maskarade Overture” and “Symphony No. 3” or the “Sinfonia Espansiva.”
The CNP is a collaboration among the CCP, the Embassy of Denmark in the Philippines, Ochanine and Storm to bring awareness about Nielsen to the Philippines.
Nielsen (1865 - 1931) was a violinist, conductor, and Denmark’s foremost composer, particularly admired as a symphonist.
Romanticism influenced Nielsen’s early music, but his later style was a powerful fusion of chromatic and often dissonant harmony, solid contrapuntal structure, concentrated motivic treatment, and bold extensions of tonality with frequent polytonal passages, Ochanine told reporters.
His six symphonies, written between 1890 and 1925, are forceful works that feature decisively articulated tonal progressions.
The best known of these symphonies are Symphony No. 2 (1902; The Four Temperaments), Symphony No. 3 (1911; Sinfonia Espansiva), and Symphony No. 4 (1916; The Inextinguishable).
He also wrote three concerti — for violin (1911), flute (1926), and clarinet (1928); the operas “Saul og David” (1902) and “Maskarade” (1906); four string quartets, two quintets, and choral and keyboard works.
His songs, based on Danish folk traditions are particularly highly regarded, the Danish ambassador said, noting the composer had “modest beginnings.”
Nielsen’s writings include “Levende music” (1925; Living Music, 1953) and “Min fynske barndom” (1927; My Childhood, 1953).
Soprano Beck is a renowned opera artist and oratorial singer. She received the Inga Nielsen Prize, the Talent Award of Danish National Radio 2011, and was announced Sonning Laureate in 2012. In 2015, she received the Else Brems Prize. This year, she will be awarded the Axel Schiotz Prize.
Baritone Storm, on the other hand, was educated at The Carl Nielsen Academy of Music and The Opera academy at The Royal Theatre in Copenhagen in 2011, where he studied with Prof. Kirsten Buhl Møller. He has, in a few years, established himself as one of the most sought-after baritones in Denmark. — BM, GMA News
For more information, call the CCP Marketing Department (832-1125 loc. 1806), the CCP Box Office (832-3704) or Ticketworld at National Bookstore (891-9999).
