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Bo Holten   (Born 1948)

composer, conductor

Bo Holten (conductor) is equally recognized as a conductor and composer. In 1979 he founded Ars Nova Copenhagen which he conducted until 1996, when he founded the new vocal ensemble Musica Ficta. Holten regularly conducts the best choirs in Europe; from 1990 to 2006 he was one of the principal conductors of the BBC Singers, and since 2008 he has been chief conductor of the Flanders Radio Choir in Brussels. His work with Danish orchestras is constantly on the increase and has earned him praise for recorded interpretations of music by Carl Nielsen, Frederick Delius, Thomas Koppel, Emil Hartmann, Knudåge Riisager and Emil Reesen. As a composer Holten has produced no fewer than six operas, five solo concertos, two symphonies, various orchestral and chamber works, film music and some 35 choral pieces. In 2002 Dacapo issued a CD with a selection of his music for voices a cappella sung by the BBC Singers. In the spring of 2009 Holten had a major success at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen with his opera The Visit of the Royal Physician, which he conducted himself, and which is available on DVD from Dacapo.

Live Dates

15/11/2011   Bo Holten anbefaler
Dirigent og komponist Bo Holten anbefaler tre Dacapo-CD'er, som han selv har lyttet ivrigt til.
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10/11/2011   10/10 for Riisager on Classics Today
Dacapo's new Riisager series gets top marks 10/10 on Classics Today.
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18/10/2011   New video: Riisager Symphonic Edition
Video trailer for Dacapo's new series featuring the world premiere recording of Riisager's complete symphonies
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10/10/2011   From the Gramophone blog: Send in the Danes
As Dacapo's new Knudåge Riisager cycle launches, Andrew Mellor surveys Danish music's long affair with the funny
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04/10/2010   DR P2 Prize 2010 – Danish Vocal Release of the Year
En håndfuld sjældent hørte Nielsen-kantater løb med P2 Prisen for Årets Vokaludgivelse 2010
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29/09/2010   DR P2 Prisen 2010

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09/09/2010   The Royal Physician hits in UK and the US
The DVD release of Bo Holten's opera gets top marks in the world's leading opera periodicals
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10/06/2010   Bent G. recommends
This spring Danish radio listeners have been able to hear a discreet gentleman called Bent G. every Sunday morning in the popular classical programme "Open House". We reveal his identity here, along with three of his Dacapo favourites
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08/04/2010   New videos: The Visit of the Royal Physician
View promotion trailer and artists' interviews from our spectacular new DVD production of Bo Holten's opera "The Visit of the Royal Physician"
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02/01/2012   Gramophone

Knud Riisager: The Symphonic Edition Vol. 1
"The Aarhus Symphony Orchestra acquits itself bravely under Bo Holten's firm direction and, as usual from this source, recording quality and documentation are first-rate"
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02/01/2012   International Record Review

Knudåge Riisager: The Symphonic Edition Vol. 1
"...very good fun, with occasional depths, and some roller-coaster handling of the orchestra. Worth your time"
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12/12/2011   MusicWeb International

Knudåge Riisager: The Symphonic Edition Vol. 1
"Playful, chivalrous, impulsive and ending in a grand symphonic glow ... a most impressive and sensitive portrayal of pastoral beauties."
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05/12/2011   American Record Guide

Bo Holten: The Visit of the Royal Physician
"The performance and production are beyond reproach. Camera work keeps the singers in almost constant close-ups, and their acting is compelling. So is their singing."
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28/11/2011   Klassisk

Knudåge Riisager: The Symphonic Edition Vol. 1
5/6 Stars

"Riisager blander respektløshed med kærlighed og viser sig dermed som den ægte arvtager fra Carl Nielsen."
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28/11/2011   Cinemusical (amerikansk blog)

Knudåge Riisager: The Symphonic Edition Vol. 1
4/4 Stars

"This first volume is easily recommended to the curious and those who appreciate the art of the 1920s."
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21/11/2011   Gramophone

Bo Holten: The Visit of the Royal Physician
"Holten has produced a serious, thought-provoking drama and as such it is not to be underestimated."
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10/11/2011   Classics Today (10/10)

Knudåge Riisager: The Symphonic Edition Vol. 1
"I can only welcome this release with great enthusiasm and high hopes for the series as a whole."
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01/09/2011   Fyens Stiftstidende

Knudåge Riisager: The Symphonic Edition Vol. 1
4/6 Stars

"Et af Riisagers særkender var hans næsten eksperimenterende orkestrering ... Aarhus-symfonikerne viser det med tydelighed"
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04/10/2010   DR P2

DR P2 Prize 2010 – Danish Vocal Release of the Year

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06/09/2010   Opera News

Carl Nielsen: Cantatas
"All four works on this disc receive first-rate performances."
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02/09/2010   Opera Magazine

Bo Holten: The Visit of the Royal Physician
"The performances are admirable, without exception." DISC OF THE MONTH September 2010
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19/07/2010   Records International

Bo Holten: The Visit of the Royal Physician
"A compelling and emotionally gripping opera in the finest tradition of the genre."
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11/06/2010   Nordjyske Stiftstidende

Bo Holten: The Visit of the Royal Physician
5 Stars

"Man kan kun glæde sig over DVD'ens udsøgte kvalitet."
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07/05/2010   Klassisk

Bo Holten: The Visit of the Royal Physician
4 Stars

"Smukkere kærlighedshistorie skal man lede længe efter"
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18/04/2010   Dansk Musik Tidsskrift

Carl Nielsen: Cantatas
"Den entusiasme, der præger indspilningen, og den klingende tidsånd fra begyndelsen af det 20. århundrede berettiger fuldt ud udgivelsen."
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04/04/2010   Diapason

Carl Nielsen: Cantatas

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01/04/2010   Classics Today

Carl Nielsen: Cantatas
"All of the music here is well sung, played, and recorded"
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26/03/2010   Classical Lost and Found

Carl Nielsen: Cantatas
"The substantial combined forces (...) under conductor Bo Holten are perfectly suited to this celebratory music."
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09/03/2010   allmusic.com

Carl Nielsen: Cantatas
4 Stars

"The performances led by Bo Holten are sincere, heartfelt, and determined."
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04/03/2010   OPUS

Carl Nielsen: Cantatas
4½ Stars

"Framförandena är goda. Mathias Hedegaards tenor påminner om tenorlegenden (och lansmannen) Aksel Schiøtz."
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09/02/2010   Musicweb International

Carl Nielsen: Cantatas
"The pleasure is enhanced by some wonderfully well-rehearsed singing - burnished and superbly drilled."
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02/01/2010   Jyllands-Posten

Carl Nielsen: Cantatas
"Den er forfriskende dansk med folkehøjskolen på sidelinjen."
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31/10/2009   Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten

Carl Nielsen: Cantatas
"Bo Holten får alt ud af musikken"
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07/05/2007   Musicweb International

Emil Reesen: Orchestral Works
"The music heard here is superbly played in a warm acoustic and most enjoyable for all listeners. What a fine recording this is and how affectionately the individual works are handled by orchestra and Bo Holten alike."
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22/07/2005   Politiken

Knudåge Riisager: Ballet Music
4/6 Stars

”Holtens vitale og billedskabende fortolkning fremsuggererer så meget af eventyrets dynamik og trylleri, at man mener at kunne følge det i detaljer ... orkestret spiller stramt, veloplagt og farverigt"
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Photo: Eva Sommestad Holten

Discography

The Symphonic Edition Vol. 1
The Symphonic Edition Vol. 1
Knudåge Riisager

CD 8.226146 (2011)

Hymn to the Sun - Works for a cappella choir
Hymn to the Sun - Works for a cappella choir
Holmboe, Bruun, Nørgård, Holten, Koppel, Jersild, Ruders

CD 8.226051 (2010)

The Danish National Vocal Ensemble in newer works by some of Denmark’s internationally renowned composers

The Visit of the Royal Physician (DVD)
The Visit of the Royal Physician (DVD)
Bo Holten

DVD 2.110408 (2010)

Bo Holten's new and greatly received opera on DVD recorded live from the Royal Opera in Copenhagen

Cantatas
Cantatas
Carl Nielsen

CD 8.226079 (2009)

First recordings of newly unveiled and festive works by the great Danish composer

Orkesterværker
Orkesterværker
Erik Bach

CD 8.226527 (2007)

Classics and popular culture join hands in the orchestral music of Erik Bach

Orchestral Works
Orchestral Works
Emil Reesen

CD 8.226031 (2007)

A Danish composer like no other: virtuosic, intriguing and bold

Orchestral Works
Orchestral Works
Emil Hartmann

CD 8.226041 (2006)

Fuldmoden nationalromantik i største målestok

Los Angeles Street Concerto - Petri plays Koppel
Los Angeles Street Concerto - Petri plays Koppel
Thomas Koppel

CD 8.226021 (2006)

The unique collaboration between the recorder virtuoso Michala Petri and the crossover composer Thom

Ballet Music
Ballet Music
Knudåge Riisager

CD 8.226022 (2005)

The Greenlandic orchestral explosion Qarrtsiluni and the masterpiece Moon Reindeer

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
Bo Holten

CD 8.224214 (2004)

Virtuoso, ecstatic choral music by a master of the art

Madrigaler
Madrigaler
Mogens Pedersøn

CD 8.990101 (2002)

Madrigals
Madrigals
Mogens Pedersøn

CD 8.224219 (2002)

Denmark’s first international composer wrote his madrigals in 1608 as a pupil of Gabrieli

Medieval Music in Denmark
Medieval Music in Denmark

CD 8.224133 (1999)

Den rå lyd af Danmarks ældste musik fra 800-tallet til 1400-tallet

Winds and Voices II
Winds and Voices II
Music at the Danish Court Chapel in the 1540's

CD 8.224077 (1998)

Music from the Danish Court in the mid-1500s played from the original part-books

Winds and Voices. Music at the Court of King Christian III
Winds and Voices. Music at the Court of King Christian III
Music at the Court of King Christian III

CD 8.224029 (1995)


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