GOING DANISH

SHIRLEY RATCLIFFE is entertained by dacapo

To the strains of the Danish Saxophone Quartet playing its own highly individual repertoire, the record company dacapo celebrated its 10th anniversary at The Royal Danish Embassy in London on 14 October.

Formed to provide a platform exclusively for Danish music, the company has issued some 200 CDs to date, ranging from medieval to contemporary works - taking in jazz and experimental music on the way.

While Danish artists form the backbone of its performers, new links have been recently formed with the London Sinfonietta, the Bamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, and violinist Rebecca Hirsch.

The company's releases are distributed worldwide in collaboration with HNH International Ltd.

The event, hosted by its UK outlet Select Music and Video Distribution Limited, provided the opportunity to launch the first volume of a fresh series of Carl Nielsen's Symphonies based on a new Carl Nielsen Edition.

Due to a lack of authoritative printed copy, in 1994 a financial basis was provided to publish a complete Nielsen edition consisting of 32 volumes by the year 2008. Editorial work is under the auspices of the Music Department of the Royal Library in Copenhagen, and will be published by them and Edition Wilhelm Hansen. Hansen is responsible for subscriptions and distribution.

The first CD on dacapo 8.224126 contains the 2nd and 3rd Symphonies performed by the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra under Michael Schønwandt, with Inger Dam-Jensen (soprano) and Poul Elming (tenor).

Volumes 2 and 3 (Symphonies 4 and 5; and 1 and 6 respectively) will be released in 2000.

A bi-lingual (Danish/English) comprehensive CD-Rom Carl Nielsen - The Man and the Music (ISBN 87-986907-0-1) is available. All the information can be searched; text files can be printed out and exported.

dacapo records, Christianshavns Torv 2, 3. DK-1410 København K.
Tel +45 32 96 06 02, Fax +45 32 96 26 02, email: dacapo@image.dk

The Carl Nielsen Edition, Music Department, The Royal Library, PO Box 2149,
DK-1016 København K. Tel: +45 33 47 47 47

Edition Wilhelm Hansen, Bornholmsgade 1, DK-1266 København K.
Tel: +45 33 11 78 88

Danish Music Information Centre, Granbrødretorv 16, DK-1154 København K.
Tel: +45 33 11 20 66 Fax: +45 33 32 20 16 email: mic@mic.dk

Purchase the first CD in the dacapo Carl Nielsen symphonies series