Nørgård on Video

Listening

Spell

Performed by Elisabeth Sigurdsson, Morten Zeuthen, and Erik Kaltoft

This work is an exploration of both the rhythmic and melodic Infinity Series. A pure example of Nørgård’s organic sense of musical structure, the work gradually unfolds itself from a tiny seed into a radiant bloom.

String Quartet #7

Kroger Quartet

The 7^th quartet is Nørgård’s largest work for the medium, and embodies the wild, expressionist tone of his ‘Wölfli’ period, with swirling textures and hierarchical harmonic layers separated by quarter-tones.

Prelude to Breaking

Esbjerg Ensemble

Nørgård often draws fundamental inspiration from the natural world in his music. In this work he explores the phenomenon of overlapping waves of melody gradually merging into a harmonic totality.

I Ching mvt. 3: The Gentle, the Penetrating

Neeraj Mehta

Festival Artist Neeraj Mehta performs the 3^rd movement of Nørgård’s iconic solo percussion work, featuring the Kalimba, an African thumb piano (an instrument which also appears in the Festival performance of Three Scenes)

Per Nørgård Interviews

Nørgård discusses his compositional philosophy in this video about the recording of his choral work Libra

Nørgård discusses his ‘Infinity Series’, and his hope for the future of American and Danish musical friendship.

Nørgård tells the story of tricking Gyorgÿ Ligeti into discovering the music of Danish composer Rued Langdaard

Nørgård discusses the concepts behind his towering Symphony No. 8, which will receive its US premiere on the New York Philharmonic Biennale in June.

Nørgård performs his solo piano works Et Rosenblad (‘A Rose Petal”) and Grooving

Further Listening

Symphony No. 3

performed by Danish Narional Radio Symphony
Choir Lief Segerstam, conductor

The Third Symphony is one of Per Nørgård's crowning achievements: the major statement of his early exploration of his 'Infinity Series', in which a small intervallic cell gives rise to an immensity of harmonic and rhythmic material. The work is an excellent example of Nørgård's overriding interest in exploring the natural world through music - opening with a gigantic statement of the pure harmonic series in the brass, and including multiple hierarchies of 'Golden Ratios’ throughout the work.

Flos ut rosa floruit

Danish National Choir
Stefan Parkman, director

Nørgård has returned to his shockingly beautiful ‘Flos ut Rosa’ music again and again throughout his career. This choral work is a simple setting of the text. A metamorphosis of this music will be heard on the Festival on the June 18th concert, in the major work Nova Genitura for soprano and Baroque Ensemble, sung by soprano Sarah Joy Miller.

Singe Die Gärten

Danish National Choir, Athelas Sinfonietta and Stefan Parkman, director

A thrilling setting of Rilke’s ‘Sing of These Gardens, My Heart!’ for choir and small orchestra, written as a study for the Third Symphony. Even with smaller forces, Nørgård’s unparalleled mastery of orchestration creates music of titanic power and majesty.

I Ching: Fire Over Water

performed by Cristian Martinez

Nørgård is one of the greatest composers of percussion music in history. I Ching is an iconic work for solo percussion, and this thrilling performance of the final movement demonstrates the ‘rhythmic Infinity Series’, utilizing his concept of Sun and Moon sounds, as well as his use of simultaneously contracting and expanding rhythmic cells.