• Poul Ruders
  • 4 Compositions (1980)
    (Four Compositions)

  • Edition Wilhelm Hansen Copenhagen (World)
  • 1(afl).0.1(bcl).0/1.0.0.0/pf/str(1.1.1.1.1)
  • 20 min

Programme Note

Four Compositions is a virtuoso chamber concerto written in 1980 and commissioned by the Danish ensemble Musica Danica. Each of the four movements explores a specific kind of music.

The first movement (dedicated to Hans Abrahamsen), variations on a sharp and ragged unisono, accelerates and develops through literally all of the seven variations until it reaches a white-hot intensity that leads into the second movement.

The Scherzo (dedicated to Oliver Knussen) whirls nervously about the Ländler-like trio before making its exit in a more solidified Kehraus.

The third movement, Plain-Song (dedicated to myself), is a kind of self portrait, a quiet, hypnotic meditation and reflection on the sacred music of the Renaissance
.
The last movement, Sortie (dedicated to my former teacher, the Danish composer Ib Nørholm), is a glittering, fast-moving finale in two sections, separated by a piano cadenza.

- Poul Ruders

Scores

Score preview

Discography