Hakon Børresen

Hakon Børresen.

Axel Ejnar Hakon Børresen (June 2, 1876 Copenhagen – October 6, 1954 Copenhagen) was one of the foremost Danish composers of the 20th century.

Life

Børresen was descended from a merchant family. As a child, he was given violin, cello and piano lessons. When Børresen made clear to his father that he wished to become a composer, the latter arranged for him to study at the Royal Danish Conservatory in 1895. There he studied composition with Johan Svendsen. After further private studies, his First Symphony was given a privately premiered in 1901. It made his name as an up and coming composer. There followed travels in Germany, France and Belgium, where he made many useful connections. From 1902 on he divided his time between Copenhagen and Skagen where he maintained a second home. Børresen was an important organizer of several Danish music festivals and served as the president of Danish Composers Union between 1924 and 1949. At the time of his death, he was widely regarded as one of Denmark's most important musicians. His opera, the Royal Guest, is widely regarded as the best early 20th Century Danish opera and his chamber music works, though not numerous, received considerable critical praise.

Tonal Language

Børresen's style and musical language is primarily that of the late Romantic. His music shows little or no influence from more modern tendencies. Instead, his music takes as its inspiration Danish cultural ideas and folk melodies. As such, he can clearly be regarded, tonally speaking, as a Danish nationalist composer. His style reflects the influence of his teacher Svendsen as well as that of Tchaikovsky. Of particular note is Børresen's gift for melody along with his skillful and effective use of instrumentation. His music is fresh and shows a pronounced optimism. In sum, it can be said that while his music was perhaps a little behind the times, its freshness along with its use of folk melody makes an attractive impression upon the listener. Unfortunately, nowadays, his music is little heard outside of Denmark. In 2009, Edition Silvertrust reprinted his String Sextet in G Major, Op.5

Selected works

Orchestra

• Symphony No.1 c minor op.3 (1900)
• Symphony No.2 A Major op.7 "The Ocean" (1904)
• Symphony No.3 C Major op.21 (1925/26)
• Violin Concerto in G Major op.11 (1904)
• "The Normans", A Concert Overture op.16 (1912, rev. 1935)
• Serenade in C Major for Horn, Strings and Percussion (1944)
• "Nordic Folkmelodies" for String Orchestra (1949)

Vocal

• Various art songs (Lieder) and choral works

Stage

• "The Royal Guest", Opera (1919)
• "Kaddara", Opera (1921)
• "Tycho Brahe's Dream", A Ballet (1924)

Chamber

• String Quartet No.1 in e minor op.20 (1913)
• String Quartet No.1 in c minor (1939)
• String Sextet in G Major op.5 (1901)
• Sonata for Violin & Piano in a minor, op.9 (1907)
• Romance for Violoncello and Piano in D Major op.4 (1902)

Piano

• Several occasional pieces

External links

• Hakon Børresen String Sextet-Sound-bites and discussion of work
• Free scores by Hakon Børresen at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)

References

• The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians, Editor Stanley Sadie, Macmillan, London 1980