Frederik Magle | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Frederik Magle conducting on 20 September 2011, in the DRsKoncerthuset. | |
| Born | Frederik Reesen Magle (1977-04-17)17 April 1977 (age 48) Stubbekøbing, Denmark |
| Occupations | Composer,concert organist,pianist |
Frederik Reesen Magle (Danish pronunciation:[ˈfʁeðˀʁekˈmɑwlə,ˈfʁæðˀʁæk-]; born 17 April 1977) is a Danishcomposer,concert organist, andpianist. He writescontemporary classical music as well asfusion of classical music and other genres. His compositions include orchestral works, cantatas, chamber music, and solo works (mainly fororgan), including several compositions commissioned by theDanish royal family. Magle has gained a reputation as an organ virtuoso,[1][2][3] and as a composer and performing artist who does not refrain from venturing into more experimental projects – often with improvisation – bordering jazz, electronica, and other non-classical genres.[4]
His best-known works include his concerto for organ and orchestraThe Infinite Second, his brass quintet pieceLys på din vej (Light on your path), composed for the christening ofPrince Nikolai,The Hope for brass band and choir, hissymphonic suiteCantabile, a collection of improvisations for organ titledLike a Flame, and his fanfare for two trumpets and organThe Fairest of Roses.
Frederik Magle was born inStubbekøbing, the son of actress and writerMimi Heinrich and organist, painter and sculptorChristian Reesen Magle (1925–96). He is the great-nephew of the composerEmil Reesen (his grandmother's brother). Recognized early as achild prodigy, he appeared on television and in the news media at the age of 9.[5][6]
.jpg)
Magle was educated as a private student ofLeif Thybo (composition andmusic theory), andIb Bindel (organ). He was taught piano, score reading, and music theory from the age of six. At the age of 16, he was admitted to theRoyal Danish Academy of Music, where he was taught music theory byYngve Jan Trede, but after one and a half years he decided to leave the music academy, explaining that he "could not both study at the conservatory and work independently as a composer at the same time." He later stated that the decision "was difficult, and there was a lot to think through," but that he did not regret it.[7]
He received the scholarship of countess Erna Hamilton in 1993.[8] In 1994, as an organ soloist, he won the Danish qualification rounds and national final of theEurovision Young Musicians competition. He was one of eight winners of the 24 national competitions that year to be selected for theEuropean final, held at the Philharmonic Concert Hall in Warsaw, Poland on 14 June 1994. He performedFrancis Poulenc'sOrgan Concerto, but was not placed in the top 3.[9] The Polish organizers originally planned the qualifying round to be held elsewhere, but moved it to the Philharmonic Hall (which contains apipe organ) to accommodate Magle's participation.[10]
Magle's father died in 1996, shortly before the first performance of Frederik Magle's Christmas cantataA newborn child, before eternity, God!, which is dedicated to him.[11] Magle was awarded theFreemason's Arts Prize in 2001. In 2006 he took ownership of the classical musicinternet forum "Talk Classical".[12]
He has said that he often gets his ideas in dreams and always have a notebook next to him when he sleeps, in case he gets an idea for a "musical phrase or an orchestral build-up" during the night.[13]
The first public performance of one of Frederik Magle's compositions took place on Easter morning 7 April 1985, in Stubbekøbing church, where a children's choir performed an Easter hymn he had composed. Two years later, in 1987, six of his hymns with texts by his mother Mimi Heinrich were performed by actress and singer Annie Birgit Garde at a concert in Lyngby church, and the same year he played on television for the first time.[11] In 1988, two of his larger works, the cantataWe are afraid, and the "mini-musical"A Christmas Child, were premiered inGrundtvig's Church in Copenhagen before an audience of 2,000 people.[14] He began a collaboration with the violinistNikolaj Znaider in 1990, and they performed a series of concerts together. Later, Znaider gave the first performance of Magle's variations for violin and piano in theConcertgebouw, Amsterdam, with the pianistDaniel Gortler:Journey in time describes a "kind of scenes or musical images" with the use of sharp dissonances, complicated rhythms and dramatic transitions and thematic formations.[15]
In 1993 Magle composed music for the experimental theatre performanceDer Die Das by the theatrical groupHotel Pro Forma, directed byKirsten Dehlholm, which was performed at the 4th internationalDance Festival inMunich, Germany. Other artists involved were the architectThomas Wiesner, sculptors Anders Krüger and Frans Jacobi, painter Tomas Lahoda, and the costume designer Annette Meyer; it was presented as a contemporary "Gesamtkunstwerk" comprising architecture, art, music, and performance.[16]
Magle's concerto for organ and orchestraThe Infinite Second was given its first performance and recorded in 1994 at the 3rd international music festival inRiga Cathedral,Latvia by the Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Dzintars Josts, with Frederik Magle himself as organ soloist. The reviewer ofBerlingske Tidende, Steen Chr. Steensen, described the organ concerto as "a long process from darkness to light" tonally "founded in the French school of organ music".[17] It was released on CD in 1996 along with his second symphony for organLet there be light which had been premiered in Riga Cathedral in 1993. The culture journalist Jakob Levinsen wrote of Magle's method of structuring the two works:
...while his music appears quite conventional in terms of the traditional musical parameters, such as a preference for arch forms and a relatively conservative use of free tonality in terms of melody and harmony, what could be labelled the dramatic characters of his music are very definitely developed from the specific possibilities of the church organ itself. That goes for the often occurring contrast between very bright and very dark timbres, between clearly defined melodic lines and closely woven fields of sound, between huge pillars of chords and energetically moving patterns of rhythm. And it goes for his two dominating ways of structuring his music as well (...) the gradual building of dynamic tensions through adding more and more layers of sound, the abrupt changes between light and dark, force and calm, clear and veiled. Including the courage to extend some of the parameters into the extremes – such as when a rhythmic pattern becomes so dense as to almost blurring the contours of the figurations involved, and only the outline of movement remains...
— Jacob Levinsen[18]
The Christmas cantataA newborn child, before eternity, God! was given its first performance in 1996, commissioned byKulturby 96 – theEuropean Capital of Culture 1996. In 1997 it was released on CD, in a recording made in Messiaskirken inCharlottenlund by the soloists Ingibjörg Gudjonsdottir, soprano, Elisabeth Halling, alto, Gert Henning-Jensen, tenor, Christian Christiansen, bass, two mixed choirs, two children's choirs, brass band, organ and percussion, conducted bySteen Lindholm.[19] The cantata was described by the reviewer ofJyllands-Posten as hard to classify, with a "religiously narrative robustness".[20] The work sets text from akontakion by the 6th century hymnographerRomanos the Melodist, translated into Danish by the theology professor Christian Thodberg, and edited by the priest Kristian Høeg.[20][21]
In 1995–96 Magle composed a symphonicLego Fantasia in three movements for piano and symphony orchestra, commissioned bythe Lego Group. It was premiered on 24 August 1997 at a concert inSt George's Chapel, Windsor Castle by theLondon Philharmonic Orchestra conducted byDavid Parry, with Magle himself on piano.[22] In 1998 the same performers recorded the work for a CD released by the Lego Group. Also in 1998 he was commissioned to write a work forAmnesty International: he composedFlammer for Frihed (Flames for Freedom) for solo piano. The piece was printed in a book of the same title containing essays by 24 Danes (including then prime ministerPoul Nyrup Rasmussen, former prime ministerPoul Schlüter,Tøger Seidenfaden,Ghita Nørby, and others). Edited byMonica Ritterband, the book was published on the 50th anniversary of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights.[23] On 22 November 1998 Magle'sCantata to Saint Cecilia for soloists, choir, children's choir, and chamber orchestra was given its first performance at theNy Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen. The following year it was recorded and released on the albumCæciliemusik (Music for Saint Cecilia) by the Danish Cæciliekoret (The Cecilia Choir) conducted by Gunnar Svensson with the soloists Birgitte Ewerlöf (soprano),Tuva Semmingsen (alto), and Jørgen Ditlevsen (bass). The cantata's text is by the author Iben Krogsdal; based on the story ofSaint Cecilia, who died in a gruesome way for her Christian faith, it has been described as "moderatemodernism" with a special "Danish tone" and a transparent chamber musical instrumentation.[2]
In 2001 his work,The Hope, for brass band, choir, organ and percussion, was given its first performance during the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of theBattle of Copenhagen. The composition was commissioned by theAdmiral Danish Fleet in cooperation with theReformed Church in Copenhagen, where the premiere performance took place on 1 April.[24]The Hope was subsequently recorded and released by theRoyal Danish Navy on the albumSøværnet Ønsker God Vind (The Royal Danish Navy Wishes Godspeed) in 2005.[25]
The Danish organ buildersFrobenius commissioned a new work by Magle for their centennial jubilee in 2009. Magle premiered the work, his Rhapsody for organViva Voce, at two gala concerts on 12–14 May 2009 inAarhus Cathedral and Vangede church, in collaboration withDame Gillian Weir.[26]
In October that same year, a newpipe organ was inaugurated inJørlunde church. Magle created its specifications and tonal design, after the old organ had perished in a fire five years earlier while in storage; he gave the instrument's inauguration concert on 8 November.[27][28] In 2010 he released a double album of free improvisations on the Jørlunde-organ,Like a Flame. Reviews of the album were predominantly favorable, described in MusicWeb International as "highly creative, sometimes visionary, [and] surprisingly unpompous",[29][30][31][32] but a scathing review in the Danish organ magazineORGLET argued for traditional fugal and choral forms instead of free improvisation. One critic complained about the length of the album, finding it too long at more than two hours.[33] The organist, jazz-pianist, and composer Henrik Sørensen defended Magle's free improvisational form in an article in Danish organ-magazineOrgelforum.[34]
In 2011 Magle composed anAllehelgenmesse (All Hallows Mass), intended to be performed at theAll Hallows service on the first Sunday of November, where people are invited to remember relatives who have died in the past year. Its text is by the hymn-writer Iben Krogsdal and the pastor Morten Skovsted. Funded by the Danish Ministry Ecclesiastical Affairs, the Mass was made freely available online.[35] After a performance inSt Nicolas' Church, Rønne, a music critic described the music as "intimate" and with "finish".[3]
Magle composed the workFanfare and Anthem 'Skyward' for brass ensemble, timpani and percussion which was premiered at the rollout ceremony for the Danish F-35 fighter jets on April 7, 2021.[36] It was performed by Prinsens Musikkorps (The Prince of Denmark Air Force Band) and conducted by Peter Ettrup Larsen.[37]
Magle played the organ at thechristening ofPrince Nikolai atFredensborg Castle in 1999 and gave the first performance of his compositionLys på din vej (Light on your path) for organ and brass quintet, with the Brass Ensemble of the Royal Danish Guards, as postlude.[38]Lys på din vej was released on an album with the same title the following year, which received mixed reviews, being criticized especially by the newspaperPolitiken for consisting of "endless repetitions of the same melodic material without development".[39] The piece was re-recorded in 2013 by the Brass Ensemble of the Royal Danish Guards in a new version on their albumNordisk Musik (Nordic Music).[40] At the christening ofPrince Felix in Møgeltønder church in 2002 another work by Frederik Magle was also premiered as postlude.[41]
Magle composed asymphonic suiteCantabile, based on poems byPrince Henrik of Denmark (the Prince Consort) of which the first movement "Souffle le vent" was first performed in 2004,[42] and the remaining two movements "Cortège & Danse Macabre" and "Carillon", in June 2009 in theKoncerthuset (Copenhagen), on both occasions by theDanish National Symphony Orchestra conducted byThomas Dausgaard.[43] The score specifies a real giraffe thigh bone as a percussion instrument in the "Cortège & Danse Macabre" movement.[44][45]
In 2020 Frederik Magle composed theFanfare for The Royal Danish Orchestra (Det Kongelige Kapels Fanfare) for theRoyal Danish Orchestra, commissioned by theRoyal Danish Theatre on the occasion of queenMargrethe II's 80th birthday. The fanfare was originally planned to be premiered at a gala concert at the Royal Danish Theatre's Old Stage, but due to thecorona-lockdown the music was instead recorded by the musicians individually in their own homes and subsequently edited and presented to the queen[46] On June 7 the same year the fanfare received its live premiere, conducted by Thomas Søndergaard at the re-opening of the Royal Danish Theatre.[47] The fanfare was described as "a rousing ceremonial piece" inGramophone magazine's review of the concert.[48]
Magle's first CD,Sangen er et eventyr – Sange over H.C. Andersens eventyr (The song is a fairytale – Songs based on fairytales byHans Christian Andersen), of 1994 was recorded with the jazz double bassistNiels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, the jazz-pianistNiels Lan Doky, the percussionistAlex Riel,Trio Rococo, and vocalistThomas Eje. He also participated on the 2005 avant garde albumHymn to Sophia by the jazz saxophonistJohn Tchicai, where he improvised on pipe organ with Tchicai and the percussionist Peter Ole Jørgensen.[49]
In 2011 Magle composed symphonic music for the albumElektra by the Danish hip hop groupSuspekt.Emil Simonsen from Suspekt characterised Magle's contribution as "essential for the development of the new album", and described Frederik Magle as "one of the greatest musical sources of inspiration" the group had worked with.[50] The collaboration received positive reviews in the Danish press, withJyllands-Posten calling the track "Nyt Pas" fromElektra "glowing orchestral hip hop with mature ambitions",[51] and the music magazineGaffa describing the contrasts between Frederik Magle's classical compositions andSuspekt's hip hop as "extreme opposites that helped to make the evening special" in their review of the release concert inKoncerthuset, September 2011.[52] The orchestral music was recorded by theCzech Film Orchestra in theRudolfinum Concert Hall,Prague.[50]
Magle's fusion-workPolyphony, which combinesrock music withcontemporary classical music, was published in the Australian music textbookIn Tune With Music, written byIan Dorricott and Bernice Allan in 2013.[53]
This is a selective list of Magle's major works, including all that have been recorded as of 2014. For a complete list of his works, seeList of compositions by Frederik Magle.[54][55]
{{cite journal}}:Missing or empty|title= (help){{cite episode}}:Missing or empty|series= (help)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
