Danish Violin Concertos -Gade, Lange-Mullerm, Langgaard : Astrand, Storgards / Tampere Philharmonic

Romantic Violin Concertos

NIELS WILHELM GADE (1817-1890)
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor, op. 56 (1880)

PETER ERASMUS LANGE-MULLER (1850-1926)
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in C major, op. 69 (1902)

RUED LANGGAARD (1893-1952)
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, BVN 289 (1943-44)

Christina Astrand, violin
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgards, conductor

Recorded at Tampere Concert Hall on October 14-21 2008
Recording producer: Preben Iwan
Sound engineer: Preben Iwan
Photographs: Denise Burt

While Danish Romantic violin concertos aren't exactly ten a penny, these three important examples of the genre firmly establish that the great Romantic violin concerto certainly had a place in Danish music: from Niels W. Gade's grand, finely orchestrated concerto from 1880 through P.E. Lange-Muller's concerto from 1902 with its many moving melodies to 1943-44 when Rued Langgaard combined old virtues with new currents in his brief pastiche of a violin concerto. These three rarely-performed works are presented on this release by one of Denmark's absolutely finest soloists, Christina Astrand, here in good Finnish company with the Tampere Philharmonic and its chief conductor John Storgards. ( Dacapo )