Hans Abrahamsen

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

Double Concerto (2011),

Publisher

Edition Wilhelm Hansen Copenhagen

Category

Soloist(s) and Orchestra

Year Composed

2011

Duration

22 Minutes

Solo Instrument(s)

vn,pf

Orchestration

str ((6-6-4-4-2) The number of string players may be doubled: 12-12-8-8-4 If doubling of strings then Desk 1 means Desk 1+2, Desk 2 means 3+4 etc.

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Programme Note

Hans Abrahamsen Double Concerto (2011),

Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings (composed 2010-11, premiered October 9. 2011)

Movements:
1. Sehr langsahm und ausdrucksvoll
2. Schnell und unruhig
3. Langsam und melancholisch
4. Lebhaft und Zittern

Intensity and poetic moments are important parameters in the music of Hans Abrahamsen. In the composer’s own words: ”Intensity is important to me. But not all moments are equally filled up – sometimes you say more, the less you say.” Abrahamsen’s music is destilled and poetic. The cliché ”Less is More” makes sense when listening to his music. Intensity can be the absence of sound or the presence of quiet.

In connection with a performance of the Double Concerto by the Danish Royal Orchestra, Katarina Egsgaard quoted interviewed the composer: ”It is a very different situation having two soloists instead of one, going from a solo concerto to a double concerto. What is the relationship between the two soloists and the orchestra? Now and then they appear as two different individuals relating to each other, but they can also play in unison and thus become a two-headed creature.”
Hans Abrahamsen’s Double Concerto never appears difficult or overly virtuosic. On the contrary every movement is a short, characteristic moment, a mood, stretched in time.

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Performances

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Reviews

'in its quietly beautiful, introspective way it touches on a whole range of musical worlds, from late Brahms to Arvo Pärt.'

Andrew Clements, The Guardian,23/03/2015

Abrahamsen's language is less urgently polemical, more suggestive, and here he uses the orchestra to paint wide, subtle landscapes on which the soloists place delicate but definite sound objects. The piece spirits away - a classic Abrahamsen move leaving us in lingering mystery.

Kate Molleson, The Guardian,20/01/2015

…if Abrahamsens double concerto gets the chance 5-10 times around Europe it will never disappear from the concert halls again

Henrik Friis, Politiken,05/02/2013

A frozen moment of silent beauty. An artwork of crystal. Tremendously redeemed by two heroines on piano and solo violin – you could lose your heart to those girls, if it wasn’t stalled. ”

Søren Schauser , Berlingske Tidende ,03/02/2013

...it was on top 3 over the most poignant I've heard from a danish composer

Henrik Friis, Politiken,11/10/2011

The Danish composer could set music to a Warsaw autumn. So silent, so frail, so deciduous is his doubble concerto. Especially the third movement was among the most profound moments of beauty ever heard in that hall.

Søren Schauser, Berlingske Tidende,11/10/2011