Knudåge Riisager (1897 - 1974)

composer

Riisager studied political science, but at the same time took private lessons in music theory from Otto Malling and Peder Gram. When he had completed his law studies he went to Paris for further studies in music theory with Albert Roussel and others. The years in Paris were crucial to his activities as a composer. He cultivated a French-inspired treatment of instrumentation and timbre, and remained a devotee of "Gallic" clarity in music. Lightness and gaiety are characteristic of his smallest works, but his elegance and masterly treatment of the instruments function brilliantly even in the largest works. Best known are his ballet works 'Etudes', 'Slaraffenland', 'Qarrtsiluni', which were created in collaboration with the great Danish choreographer Harald Lander, and the ballet 'Tolv med Posten' in collaboration with Børge Ralov . Many of his children's songs are still on the lips of Danes. Riisager was a cultured, intellectual figure and a lively debater. The fact that he drew inspiration from Central European Modernism was of great importance to Danish music. Along with other contemporary Danish composers who had studied abroad he definitively broke with Romanticism as well as the epigonism of Carl Nielsen's disciples.

Live Dates

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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29/02/2012 OPUS

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

"Helt oemotståndlig cd. Bo Holten och århusianerna är strålande, upptagningen utmärkt. Nog den viktigaste av Dacapos alla fina Riisager-utgåvor hittills"
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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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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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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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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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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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12/09/2011 Classics Today France

Knudåge Riisager: Benzin
"L'interprétation est parfaite..."
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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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25/02/2011 Fanfare

Knudåge Riisager: Orchestral Works
"Riisager's orchestrations are uniformly brilliant, his lovely melodies charming or nostalgic."
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01/11/2010 OPUS

Knudåge Riisager: Orchestral Works
5/5 Stars

"Underbara bekantskaper!"
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17/06/2010 Audiophile Audition

Knudåge Riisager: Orchestral Music
5/5 Stars

"One of the loveliest ballet selections I've had the pleasure to hear. And the orchestra plays with great savoir faire."
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09/03/2010 Classics Today

Knudåge Riisager: Orchestral Works
“This reissue gives new life to a delightful disc that anyone who loves, say, Ravel and early 20th century French ballet will find absolutely irresistible."
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01/10/2008 Audiophile Audition

Knudåge Riisager: Benzin
5/5 Stars

"The music is a kick"
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25/08/2008 Politiken

Knudåge Riisager: Benzin
5/6 Hjerter

"Lige til at spise (eller snarere sniffe, måske)"
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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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07/10/2004 Politiken

Knudåge Riisager: Piano Works
5/6 Stars

”Bjørkøes rige klangfantasi og dristige gestiske udtryksfuldhed smelter sammen med en usvigeligt sikker forståelse af mekanikken og detaljernes betydning”
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Discography

	The Symphonic Edition Vol. 1 Knudåge Riisager CD 8.226146 (2011)
	Orchestral Works Knudåge Riisager SACD 6.220584 (2010) A sparkling SACD re-issue of Riisager's most colourful Neo-Classicist works
	Benzin Knudåge Riisager SACD 6.220527 (2008) First recording ever of the crazy, beautiful scandalous ballet fra 1928
	Billedbogen (The Picture Book) CD 8.224703 (2005) Piano music for children and the young at heart by among others Carl Nielsen and Fini Henriques
	Ballet Music Knudåge Riisager CD 8.226022 (2005) The Greenlandic orchestral explosion Qarrtsiluni and the masterpiece Moon Reindeer
	Piano Works Knudåge Riisager CD 8.226004 (2004) Highly acclaimed CD of Riisager’s emphatic, witty piano music from the mid-twentieth century
	Orchestral Works Knudåge Riisager CD 8.224082 (1997) Riisager’s music has the same esprit as his French models, not least in his infectious ballet music from the 1930s
	Chamber Music Knudåge Riisager CD 8.224081 (1997) Acute, pointed music from the most sparkling Danish composer of the 1920s