Many great artists and composers through the ages have been inspired by their encounter with the vast, unknown regions of outer space. This is evident in the new concert season of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, which has the firmament of heaven and the cosmic as recurrent themes.
From the very first notes of the opening concert on 31 August, the orchestra will be firing on all cylinders together with Chief Conductor Fabio Luisi, the Danish National Concert Choir and the French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard. This concert offers a rare opportunity to hear the large-scale orchestral work about the god of fire, Prometheus, written by the composer Alexander Scriabin. At the same time, the opening of the season also features the beginning of a new, ambitious collaboration between the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Fabio Luisi and the Deutsche Grammophon recording company.
Both the new recording project and the fascination with the cosmic dimension will be something the audiences are sure to notice throughout the whole season, during which a whole string of internationally famous names will be visiting DR Koncerthuset.
Visionary works
Among the many symphonic works which deal with the firmament and eternity during the new season of the Danish National Symphony Orchestras are compositions by such composers as Messiaen, Debussy, Mahler and Bent Sørensen.
The highlights, though, will also include three rarely performed orchestral works by the composer Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), which are part of the orchestra’s new recording project: The opening work Prometheus, which requires spectacular colour-illumination of the Concert Hall, the tone poem Poème de l‘extase, which explores the relationship between music and eroticism, and the 1st Symphony, in which Scriabin pays homage to the creative forces released through art.
For Kim Bohr, Head of DR Koncerthuset, there is a deeper meaning with the focus by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra on the composer Scriabin during the coming seasons:
- We are very excited about exploring Scriabin’s music in depth during the coming two seasons as part of our new contract with Deutsche Grammophon. He wrote profoundly original and visionary music that was far ahead of his time, and the strong belief in the future which lies in the music is both inspiring and thought-provoking for us today. For that reason, it also has an absolutely key role in the new season, where we attempt to reach out towards infinity and into the future, with the firmament of heaven as the great focal point.
International recognition
The new collaboration between the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Fabio Luisi and Deutsche Grammophon comes in the wake of the successful recording series of all of Carl Nielsen’s symphonies, which was recently awarded the distinction of ‘Editor’s Choice’ by the world’s leading music periodical The Gramophone.
The Danish Symphony Orchestra’s Chief Conductor Fabio Luisi is looking forward to continuing this collaboration with a new, international repertoire:
- To record Scriabin’s collected orchestral works is an incredibly exciting project for the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and for me personally. I think that the great openness and curiosity of the orchestra is the perfect starting point for understanding Scriabin’s music, which lies in the tension between tradition and visionary, indeed even revolutionary, ideas.
An anniversary for the Thursday Concerts
Like the rest of Danmarks Radio, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra is well on its way to its Centenary Anniversary, which will be celebrated in 2025. There is, however, another linked anniversary that takes place in the coming season, namely the 90th anniversary of the orchestra’s Thursday Concerts, which have taken place ever since 1933, in almost the same circumstances as those that still prevail today.
In connection with the Thursday Concerts, it is also possible to sign up for a subscription for the Danish National Symphony Orchestra’s concerts – something that is still expanding at DR Koncerthuset.
The new concert season with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra features a total of six different subscription series, as well as a number of separate concerts and events, e.g. the Malko Competition 2024, the New Year Gala and the prize-giving concert for Carl Nielsen og Anne Marie Carl-Nielsens Hæderslegat, which includes the awards being bestowed on the solo horn-player of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Lasse Mauritzen, and the Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård.