Even though i knew this day was coming, and potentially coming soon, i’m still deeply sad at the news that Per Nørgård has died today. What makes me even sadder, instinctively, is that i feel i don’t know his work better, that there’s so much of his output i’ve not yet had time to explore. But i’m trying to counter that with the acknowledgement of his music that i do know, and passionately love, primarily the symphonies that he produced over a 50-year period, from 1955 (Symphony No. 1 “Sinfonia austera”) until 2011 (Symphony No. 8). They’re among the most brilliant, complex and overwhelming symphonies ever composed, and i take some comfort from the fact (which i had genuinely forgotten) that, over the years, i’ve somehow written about them all.
i can’t recall the first time i heard Nørgård’s music, but i can recall the first time i paid it proper attention. That was in 2012, when his Symphony No. 7 received its first UK performance at the Proms. Very soon after that (perhaps, in hindsight, because of that), cellist Jakob Kullberg contacted me out of the blue to let me know about his new album Momentum, featuring concertos by Kaija Saariaho, Arne Nordheim and Nørgård. He said he thought it might blow my mind (or words to that effect), and it kind of did, once for each concerto, and together with the symphony they opened my ears to the reality of Nørgård’s work, and the necessity that i investigate it further. It’s been a ridiculously slow form of investigation, less a determined effort than an occasional, almost accidental, meander through his output, usually in conjunction with new releases. But almost without fail i’ve been impressed, at times surprised or bemused, and occasionally – most often – downright gobsmacked.
So having intended for far too long to revisit the works i know, and get stuck into the ones i don’t, i now have the impetus to actually start getting on with that. And i recommend you do the same; if orchestral music is your cup of tea as much as it is mine (or even if it’s not), his eight symphonies are a fine place to start, as is the aforementioned concerto Momentum. Below are links to all of my (woefully few) articles about Nørgård’s music, which may be useful. Beyond that, i’m returning to Jakob Kullberg, one of Nørgård’s closest companions and collaborators for many years, who has written a short memorial, published today in Seismograf. Kullberg humbly described it to me as “anecdotal”, but he’s been telling me anecdotes about Nørgård for years now, and i can’t think of anyone better to tell them.
Articles
- Momentum (cello concerto)
- Strings (string trio)
- Symphony No. 1
- Symphony No. 2
- Symphony No. 3
- Symphony No. 4
- Symphony No. 5
- Symphony No. 6
- Symphony No. 7
- Symphony No. 8: Vienna Philharmonic CD, Bergen Philharmonic CD
- Three Nocturnal Movements
Sad indeed. I love his music after being exposed to the stormy 6th and then the (it should be) famous 3rd. The Proms 3rd with Wagner and the composer in situ, was one of the greatest performances and recordings in BBC iplayer, one for the ages (2017? 2018?). Afterwards, I enjoyed Libra, his vocal works, and the early work Voyage Into the Golden Screen. There is a coherence in his output that I like so much. I will miss him.
Bugger! I guess that means he never got to realise that Ninth that he’d said was “forming in [his] mind’ around the time that the Third Symphony was performed at the Proms. Not a huge surprise given that he’d already started to suffer from a wasting disease by that point, but it was still nice to dream for a few years.
I just finished revisiting the cycle of eight a few weeks back, an act that now seems like a premonition. I’m not superstitious enough truly to treat it as such, however, which is why I also won’t be trotting out that hoary old cliché about Ninth Symphonies…
As a Nørgård superfan, I feel like I had already worked emotionally through this tragedy before the day finally came, because Nørgård did stop composing over a decade ago. Perhaps one ray of light that might come after his passing, is some new recordings by labels and performers who are reminded of this titan of music. I’d like to see, for example, a recording of <i>Lila</i> (1972), which in his catalogue of works is called a stepping stone between the world of the Second Symphony and the Third. Many other chamber works through the decades that never got recorded.