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Portrait of Vagn Holmboe

Vagn Holmboe

20th Century · 1909–1996

Vagn Holmboe was Denmark's leading symphonist after Carl Nielsen. Born in the town of Horsens in 1909, he studied in Copenhagen and Berlin, then traveled to Romania in the 1930s, where he and his Romanian-born wife collected folk music in the villages. That fieldwork left a lasting mark on his sense of rhythm and melody.

Back home he settled into a long, steady career: teaching at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, where Per Nørgård was among his students, writing criticism, and composing at a craftsmanlike pace in the countryside north of Copenhagen. The catalog grew to thirteen symphonies and some twenty string quartets, music that is serious, clear, and organic, each piece growing from small ideas the way a plant grows from a seed.

Start with the Symphony no. 5, wartime music of real drive, then the Sinfonia Rustica, his third symphony, for the earthier folk-flavored side.

129 works in the catalog, across 4 genres. Log what you listen to with Opus, the classical music journal for iPhone.

Chamber

  • Notturno, op. 19
  • 5 Intermezzi, for guitar, op. 149
  • 7 Folk Ballads, for recorder and guitar
  • Aspekter, for chamber ensemble, op. 72
  • Bagatelle for violin and piano no. 1
  • Ballata, for violin, viola, cello and piano, op. 159
  • Brass Quintet no. 2, op. 136
  • Cancion y danza, for recorder and guitar, op. 191a
  • Chamber Symphony no. 1, op. 53
  • Chamber Symphony no. 2, op. 100, "Elegy"
  • Chamber Symphony no. 3, op. 103a
  • Duo Concertato, for violin and guitar, op. 167
  • Eco, for chamber ensemble, op. 186
  • Gioco, for violin, viola and cello, op. 155
  • Guitar Sonata no. 1, op. 141
  • Guitar Sonata no. 2, op. 142
  • Haiduc, for violin and piano, op. 193
  • Music with Horn, for violin, horn and piano, op. 148
  • Nuigen, for piano trio, op. 129
  • Parlare del piu e del meno, for violin and guitar, op. 176
  • Piano Trio, op. 64
  • Primavera, for flute, violin, cello and piano, op. 55
  • Quartet for flute, violin, viola and cello, op. 90
  • Quartetto medico, for chamber ensemble, op. 70
  • Quintet for brass no. 1, op. 79
  • Reminiscences, for solo violin
  • Sextet, for chamber ensemble, op. 114
  • Sonata for flute, op. 71
  • Sonata for solo cello, op. 101
  • Sonata for trombone and piano, op. 172a
  • Sonata for violin and piano no. 1
  • Sonata for violin and piano no. 2, op. 16
  • Sonata for violin and piano no. 3, op. 89
  • Sonatina for oboe and piano, op. 93b
  • String Quartet no. 1, op. 46
  • String Quartet no. 2, op. 47
  • String Quartet no. 3, op. 48
  • String Quartet no. 4, op. 63
  • String Quartet no. 5, op. 66
  • String Quartet no. 6, op. 78
  • String Quartet no. 7, op. 86
  • String Quartet no. 8, op. 87
  • String Quartet no. 9, op. 92
  • String Quartet no. 10, op. 102
  • String Quartet no. 11, op. 111
  • String Quartet no. 12, op. 116
  • String Quartet no. 13, op. 124
  • String Quartet no. 14, op. 125
  • String Quartet no. 15, op. 135
  • String Quartet no. 16, op. 146
  • String Quartet no. 17, op. 152
  • String Quartet no. 18, op. 153
  • String Quartet no. 19, op. 156
  • String Quartet no. 20, op. 160
  • Sværm, for string quartet, op. 190b
  • Triade, for trumpet and organ, op. 123
  • Violin solo

Keyboard

  • Fabula II, for organ, op. 115

Orchestral

  • Chamber Concerto no. 11, for trumpet and orchestra, op. 44
  • Symphony no. 2, op. 15
  • Symphony no. 3 "Sinfonia Rustica", op. 25
  • Symphony no. 5, op. 35
  • Symphony no. 6, op. 43
  • Symphony no. 7, op. 50
  • Cello Concerto, op. 120
  • Chamber Concerto no. 1, for piano, strings and timpani, op. 17
  • Chamber Concerto no. 2, for flute, violin, strings and percussion, op. 20
  • Chamber Concerto no. 3, for clarinet and chamber orchestra, op. 21
  • Chamber Concerto no. 4, for piano trio and chamber orchestra, op. 30
  • Chamber Concerto no. 5, for viola and chamber orchestra, op. 31
  • Chamber Concerto no. 6, for violin and chamber orchestra, op. 33
  • Chamber Concerto no. 7, for oboe and chamber orchestra, op. 37
  • Chamber Concerto no. 9, for violin, viola and orchestra, op. 39
  • Chamber Concerto no. 10, for wood-brass-gut and orchestra, op. 40
  • Chamber Concerto no. 12, for trombone and orchestra, op. 5 2
  • Chamber Concerto no. 13, for oboe, viola and chamber orchestra, op. 67
  • Concerto for Brass, op. 157
  • Concerto for Orchestra
  • Concerto for recorder, string orchestra, celeste and vibraphone, op. 122
  • Concerto for Viola, op.189
  • Concerto giocondo e severo, op. 132
  • Concerto no. 8, for orchestra, op. 38, "Sinfonia Concertante"
  • Den Galsindede Tyrk, ballet suite op. 32b
  • Epilogue, Symphonic Metamorphosis no. 3, op. 80
  • Epitaph, Symphonic Metamorphosis no. 1, op. 68
  • Flute Concerto no. 1, op. 126
  • Flute Concerto no. 2, op. 147
  • Intermezzo concertante, for tuba and orchestra, op. 171
  • Kairos, for string orchestra, op. 73
  • Monolith, Symphonic Metamorphosis no. 2, op. 76
  • Prelude no. 1, op. 164
  • Prelude no. 4, op. 170
  • Prelude no. 6, op. 174
  • Prelude no. 7, op. 180
  • Prelude no. 9, op. 187
  • Sinfonia "In Memoriam," Op.65
  • Sinfonia I, for strings, op. 73A
  • Sinfonia II, for strings, op. 73B
  • Sinfonia III, for strings, op. 73C
  • Sinfonia IV, for strings, op. 73D
  • Symphony no. 1 for chamber orchestra, op. 4
  • Symphony no. 4
  • Symphony no. 8 "Sinfonia Boreale", op. 56
  • Symphony no. 9, op. 95
  • Symphony no. 10, op. 105
  • Symphony no. 11, op. 144
  • Symphony no. 12, op. 175
  • Symphony no. 13, op. 192
  • Tempo variabile, Symphonic Metamorphosis no. 4, op. 108,
  • To a Dolphin, for small orchestra, op. 166
  • To a Living Stone, for small orchestra, op. 172c
  • To a Maple Tree, for small orchestra, op. 168
  • To the Unsettled Weather, for small orchestra, op. 188
  • To the Victoria Embankment, for small orchestra, op. 184
  • Tuba Concerto, op. 127
  • Violin Concerto no. 2, op. 139

Vocal

  • Beatus Parvo, for chorus and orchestra, op. 117
  • Benedic Domino, for chorus, op. 59
  • Border Ballads, op. 110
  • Frise, op. 103
  • Japanese Songs
  • Lagerkvist Songs, op. 34
  • Liber Canticorum I, op. 54c
  • Liber Canticorum II, op. 59c
  • Requiem for Nietsche, for tenor, baritone, chorus and orchestra
  • Requiem for Nietzsche, for voices and orchestra, op. 84
  • Sange mod vardybet, op. 85
  • Sarvig Psalms, op. 154
  • Solhymne, for chorus, op. 77

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