Danish National Symphony Orchestra

orchestra

1925

Founded in 1925 as part of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra is one of Europe’s leading ensembles, performing with world-renowned conductors and soloists. Since 2016, its Chief Conductor has been Fabio Luisi, following the late Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. Former chief and guest conductors include Herbert Blomstedt (conductor laureate), Thomas Dausgaard, Gerd Albrecht, Leif Segerstam, Dmitri Kitajenko, and Yuri Temirkanov.

The orchestra has collaborated with soloists such as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Leonidas Kavakos, Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Leif Ove Andsnes, Lang Lang, Anna Netrebko, Daniel Barenboim, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yehudi Menuhin, and Itzhak Perlman. It has toured extensively across the USA, South America, Japan, China, and Europe, performing at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Berliner Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and Musikverein – always with Danish music on the programme.

The orchestra has a special affinity for Danish music, from classics by Carl Nielsen and Niels W. Gade to works by emerging composers. Each year, over 100,000 music lovers experience the magic of live symphonic music at DR Koncerthuset and on the orchestra’s international tours. Its Thursday Concerts attract half a million Danish listeners on radio and TV, with millions more worldwide tuning in to broadcasts.

→ DR Symfoniorkestret (Danish National Symphony Orchestra)

Thomas Agerfeldt Olesen

Violin Concerto

Agerfeldt Olesen’s Violin Concerto (2024) is a journey from lyrical fragility through intense conflict and back to calm, full of virtuosic cadenzas that both explore and challenge.
Martin Stauning

Harp Concerto

A harp trapped by an orchestra — the new Harp Concerto by Danish sound magician Martin Stauning is an entrancing yet dramatic piece of music.
Bent Sørensen

The Island in the City

Gripping and immediate and orchestral works born out of Bent Sørensen’s quietly spoken universe
Per Nørgård

8 Symphonies

A fascinating, comprehensive insight into the symphonic thinking of Nørgård, one of the greatest symphonists of our time.
C.F.E. Horneman

Aladdin

Horneman adds new lustre to the old fairy tale about Aladdin, taken from the Arabian One Thousand and One Nights
Thomas Agerfeldt Olesen

Der Wind bläset wo er will

Two of Olesen's major orchestral works of the 2010s – stunning music about life and about being alive: each piece is a world unto itself.
Ludwig van Beethoven, Hakon Børresen, Niels W. Gade, Edvard Grieg, Friedrich Kuhlau, H.C. Lumbye, Franz Schubert, Richard Wagner, Carl Maria von Weber

King Frederik IX Conducts

The King on the podium – a celebration of the close monarch/orchestra relationships between King Frederik IX and the Royal Danish Orchestra and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Bent Sørensen

Concertos

From atmospheres and feelings to memories and dreams. This recording unites three recent concertos from the Grawemeyer Award-winning composer performed by three distinguished Nordic soloists
Allan Gravgaard Madsen, Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen

Nachtmusik · For Violin and Orchestra

Concertante works from one of Denmark’s most iconic composers and one of its freshest new voices.
Rued Langgaard

Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 2

Violin Sonata No. 1 accompanied by Langgaard's last violin work, the Andante Religioso, and the Sunday Sonate, one of his most bizarre works
Søren Nils Eichberg

Symphony No. 3 · Morpheus

The culmination of composer Søren Nils Eichberg's residency with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Niels W. Gade

Comala

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra & Choir rediscover Niels W. Gade's forgotten breakthrough work
Ludwig van Beethoven

The Symphonies (Blu-ray)

Compact Blu-ray version of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra’s tribute to its late chief conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Ludwig van Beethoven

The Symphonies (Blu-ray)

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra pays tribute to its late chief conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Ludwig van Beethoven

The Symphonies (DVD)

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra pays tribute to its late chief conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Paul von Klenau

Symphony No. 9

The magnificent symphony that was found in a plastic bag in Vienna after 50 years
Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner

Herbert Blomstedt conducts the Danish National Symphony Orchestra

Beautiful recordings from the Roskilde Cathedral led by honorary conductor Blomstedt
Bent Sørensen

Sounds Like You

Bent Sørensen and Peter Asmussen’s intriguing work that brings together orchestral music and drama
Carl Nielsen

Maskarade

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

Requiem

A moving sacred work for the present: John Frandsen’s magnificent Requiem embraces all expressions in a prayer for humanity
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
Søren Nils Eichberg

Before Heaven, Before Earth - Symphonies 1 and 2

Søren Nils Eichberg grabs the audience with his dynamic and effective mastery of the grand orchestra
C.F.E. Horneman

Orchestral Works

Horneman’s most important orchestral works, whose rich colours, moods and infectious temperament are a culmination of the Danish Golden Age.
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
Rued Langgaard

Music of the Spheres

Rued Langgaard’s most visionary works form the impressive conclusion to Dacapo’s acclaimed Dausgaard-Langgaard cycle
Asger Hamerik

The Symphonies

Denmark’s most international 19th-century composer steps out in all his romantic orchestral glory
J.P.E. Hartmann

The Key Masterpieces

A portrait of the key figure of Danish National Romanticism, who embraced all genres
Rued Langgaard

Symfonierne

All Langgaard’s 16 symphonies collected in one beautiful box; a watershed release!
Per Nørgård

Symphonies 3 and 7

Sensational recording of Nørgård’s 7th Symphony and his epoch-making Symphony no. 3
Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen

Plateaux

The latest masterpiece by Holmgreen is a sparkling piano concerto in nine surprising movements
Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen

Kronos plays Holmgreen

The world-famous American Kronos Quartet plays three of Gudmundsen-Holmgreen’s lush works
Anders Koppel

Double Concertos

Dancing, imaginative music with major roles for saxophone, piano, violin and accordion
Knudåge Riisager

Benzin

First recording ever of the crazy, beautiful scandalous ballet fra 1928
Rued Langgaard

Symphony No. 1

The amazing breakthrough work by the child prodigy Langgaard is still Denmark’s biggest symphony
J.P.E. Hartmann

Vølvens spådom

Old Norse visions and National-Romantic overtures about the heroes of the Viking Age
Carl Nielsen

Orchestral Music

Prizewinning collection of Carl Nielsen’s shorter orchestral pieces – a revelation
Rued Langgaard

Symphonies Nos. 12-14

Three symphonies that cover the whole field of Langgaard’s corrosive, schizophrenic view of music
Rued Langgaard

Antichrist

The SACD production of Rued Langgaard's magnificent doomsday vision. allegorical opera
Bent Sørensen, Per Nørgård

The Little Mermaid; The Will-o'-the-Wisps Go to Town

Two new Danish masterworks inspired by Hans Christian Andersen
Alexander Zemlinsky, August Enna

The Little Match Girl; Die Seejungfrau

Zemlinsky meets Danish opera in a double tribute to Hans Christian Andersen
Asger Hamerik

Choral-Symphony; Requiem

A full-blown romantic masterpiece by Berlioz’ favourite Danish pupil
Ole Schmidt

Concertos

Grammy-nominated CD with concertos for flute, horn and tuba
Rued Langgaard

Antikrist (DVD)

Langgaard’s ecstatic vision of doom in prizewinning recording. Indescribable!
Sunleif Rasmussen

Orchestral Works

First symphony by a Faroese composer – winner of the Nordic Council’s Music Prize
Hans Abrahamsen

Orchestral Works

Major works by the enigmatic master of contemporary Danish music
Vagn Holmboe

Requiem for Nietzsche

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

Symphonies 4-5

¨The first recording ever of the two very different versions of the Fifth Symphony, as well as the masterpiece Leaf Fall
Rued Langgaard

Symphonies 9-11

The six-minute Symphony no. 11, Ixion, is intensely minimal music from 1944
Rued Langgaard

Symphonies 6-8

First CD in the definitive series of recordings of Langgaard’s strange and wonderful symphonies
Niels Rosing-Schow

Archipel des solitudes

Overwhelming beauty in this French-inspired song cycle to texts by Gilles Gourdon
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
Ludolf Nielsen

The Tower of Babel

A visionary large-scale work by the Symbolist composer in a world premiere recording
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
Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Edvard Grieg, Niels W. Gade, Hakon Børresen

King Frederik IX conducts The Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

Crown jewels of Danish music: The King of Denmark conducting Beethoven, Wagner and Gade!
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!
J.P.E. Hartmann

Overtures

Danish High Romanticism when it is best and most itself – not least in the national treasure The Golden Horns
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!
Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen

Orchestral Works

Three key works by the caustic, energetic absurdist of modern Danish music
J.P.E. Hartmann

Symphonies 1-2

There was something distinctively Danish about the Romantic music by Hartmann
Friedrich Kuhlau

Elverhøj

Kuhlau’s beloved work, which has been performed countless times since 1928
Herman D. Koppel

Moses

Considered one of the principal works of the post-war period
Per Nørgård

Luna · Symphony No. 3 · Twilight

Three of Nørgård’s most important orchestral works from the late 1960s and 1970s
Bent Sørensen

Sterbende Gärten

The winner of the Nordic Music Counsil Prize 1996
F.L.Ae. Kunzen

Holger Danske

The first masterpiece of Danish opera – a rescue opera, a fairy tale and a Turkish opera all at once
Axel Borup-Jørgensen

Orchestral works

Nordic landscape and Swedish poetry meet Central European modernism in Borup-Jørgensen’s intuitive, inwardlooking mood paintings
Per Nørgård

Siddharta

One of the most remarkable works of recent Danish music, which aroused international attention when it was premiered in 1983
Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Karl Aage Rasmussen

Symphony – Antiphony · A Symphony in Time

The prizewinning Symphony-Antiphony by Gudmundsen-Holmgreen and Karl Aage Rasmussen’s modern classic Symphony in Time
Svend Erik Tarp

Orchestral Works

Danish Neoclassicism of the finest kind – and with plenty of humour
Per Nørgård

Gilgamesh; Rejsen ind i den gyldne skærm

The cosmic opera about the creation of the world – enchantingly beautiful music
Per Nørgård

Concertos

The international star Pinchas Zukerman as soloist in Nørgård’s violin concerto Remembering Child
Gunnar Berg

Orchestral and Chamber Music Works

Three works for flute and orchestra by the fervent serialist of the post-war period
Friedrich Kuhlau

The music for the play Elves' Hill

Already at the first performance, the work sparked spontaneous cheer, and no other performance has seen so many performances at the Royal Danish Theatre
Per Nørgård

Symphony No. 3 · Twilight

Nørgård with organic development, shrouded in the mysteries of the twilight