Michael Schønwandt

conductor

Miklos Szabo

Michael Schønwandt was Music Director at the Royal Danish Theatre from 2000 until May 2011. He has conducted regularly there since his debut in 1979. Alongside this, he has been chief conductor of Collegium Musicum since the foundation of the orchestra in 1981. From 2010-2013 Michael Schønwandt was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic in Amsterdam, and as of September 2015 he is Chief Conductor of Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier. In 1987 and 1988 he was the first Scandinavian conductor ever to conduct at the festival in Bayreuth, and in 1992-1998 he was Chief Conductor of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra (today Konzerthausorchester Berlin). From 1989-2000 he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Michael Schønwandt, who is a much appreciated and sought after conductor at many international concert and opera houses, appears on numerous CD and DVD recordings, including music by Carl Nielsen, the complete symphonies on both CD and DVD, new recordings of the operas Maskarade on CD and Saul and David on DVD as well as a selection of choral songs with the Danish National Choirs. In addition he has recorded DVD performances of Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung with the Royal Danish Opera. In 2011 Michael Schønwandt was appointed Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog.

Peter Heise

Drot og Marsk (King and Marshal)

A magnificent opera about events which led to the murder of King Erik Clipping in 1286
Paul von Klenau

Symphony No. 9

The magnificent symphony that was found in a plastic bag in Vienna after 50 years
Carl Nielsen

Saul & David

The Royal Danish Opera’s spectacular new production of Carl Nielsen’s dramatic debut opera
Carl Nielsen

Carl Nielsen sung by the Danish National Choirs

Some of Nielsen’s most beloved songs and rare jewels sung by the Danish National Choirs
Carl Nielsen

Maskarade

Michael Schønwandt conducts a sparkling cast of today’s finest Nielsen singers and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Peter Heise

Songs for Male Voices

Charming choral songs and quartets from the Danish Golden age. Long live woman, art and the fatherland!
Poul Schierbeck

Fête galante

A true operatic feast: Schierbeck’s Fete galante from 1931 is lyrical and warm, glitteringly orchestrated and has Denmark’s best singers in the main roles
Bent Sørensen

La Notte

Bent Sørensen’s captivating piano concerto La Notte from 1998 is a marvel of beauty: the night as dream and reality
Carl Nielsen

The Masterworks Vol. 1 – Orchestral Music

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra's hailed recordings of Nielsen's orchestral music, including the six symphonies on both CD and DVD, now beautifully boxed
Poul Ruders

Selma Jezková (Dancer in the Dark)

Poul Ruders' heart-rending opera from 2010 based on Lars von Trier's film \Dancer in the Dark\\\
C.E.F. Weyse

The Key Masterpieces

The 3rd issue in Dacapo’s Perspectives series fully portrays this ingenious composer of the Danish Golden Age
J.P.E. Hartmann

The Key Masterpieces

A portrait of the key figure of Danish National Romanticism, who embraced all genres
Carl Nielsen

Maskarade (DVD)

The Danish national opera in a rebellious, witty new interpretation
Richard Wagner, Carl Nielsen, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, George Bizet, Alexander Borodin

Famous Opera Choruses

Det Kongelige Operakor og Copenhagen Phils indspilning af berømte operakor
Vagn Holmboe

Requiem for Nietzsche

An impressive, uncompromising oratorio based on the life of Nietzsche – a major work in Danish music
Poul Ruders

The Handmaid's Tale

Vor tids stærkeste opera – et genialt og rystende værk
Carl Nielsen

Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6

Nielsen’s vital debut and his enigmatic, surreal last work in the genre
Friedrich Kuhlau, Niels W. Gade, J.P.E. Hartmann, P.E. Lange-Müller, H.E. Krøyer, Jacob Gade, J. Mikel

Der er et yndigt land

Danmark i lommeformat – de største klassiske hits og skønneste melodier
P.E. Lange-Müller

Renaissance

Danish Romantic music by a beloved master
Carl Nielsen

Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5

Two of the most important symphonies by the great Danish composer
Carl Nielsen

Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3
Poul Ruders

Symphony No. 2

Ruders’ Piano Concerto and his explosive Symphony no. 2 – a tremendous listening experience!
J.P.E. Hartmann

Liden Kirsten

The beloved ballad opera with a libretto by Hans Christian Andersen. Denmark in a nutshell!
P.E. Lange-Müller

Der var engang (Once upon a time)

Songs and music from the Romantic fairytale comedy. A bestseller 100 years ago and today!
C.E.F. Weyse

Cantatas

Refined classicism in Weyse’s Christmas and Easter cantatas
Edouard Dupuy

Ungdom og Galskab (Youth and Folly)

A witty, melodious Singspiel, performed hundreds of times since the premiere in 1806!
Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen

Orchestral Works

Three key works by the caustic, energetic absurdist of modern Danish music
Poul Ruders

Solar Trilogy

The great big orchestral trip – a unique trilogy in European music
Niels W. Gade

Elverskud (The Elf King's Daughter)

Elverskud represents Danish Romatic music at its finest
C.E.F. Weyse

Symphonies Nos. 6-7

First recording of Weyse’s two greatest symphonies
C.E.F. Weyse

Symphonies Nos. 4-5

Vienna Classicism from the 1790s with a Nordic accent
C.E.F. Weyse

Symphonies Nos. 1-3

The first full-scale Danish symphonies, inspired by Haydn and Mozart
Poul Ruders

Concertos

Great international excitement in Ruders’ Violin Concerto no. 2 and the intense piano concerto Dramaphonia
Niels W. Gade

Symphonies Nos. 4 and 6

The lightest and the darkest of all Gade’s eight symphonies
Niels W. Gade

Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2

Gade’s brilliant breakthrough work Symphony no. 1, which was given its first performance by Mendelssohn
Niels W. Gade

Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8

Gade’s perfection shines through clearly in his last two symphonies
Svend Erik Tarp

Orchestral Works

Danish Neoclassicism of the finest kind – and with plenty of humour
Niels W. Gade

Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5

The Fifth Symphony with obbligato piano is one of Gade’s most original works