Langgaard: The Symphonies [Hybrid SACD - DSD, Box set]

Rued Langgaard (Composer), Thomas Dausgaard (Conductor), Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Danish National Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Thomas Dausgaard
• Composer: Rued Langgaard
• Audio CD (March 31, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 7
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD, Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Dacapo
• ASIN: B001MUJSF0
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,018 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

ClassicsToday.com, David Hurwitz, February 19, 2009

10/10 - Artistic & Sound Quality - Langgaard was out of his mind. Was he a crazy genius, or just plain crazy? It's hard to say. His 16 symphonies range in length from one hour (No. 1) to slightly more than six minutes (No. 11). There's a concertante work for solo piano, chorus, and orchestra (No. 3), music of Straussian refulgence (No. 6 "The Heaven-Rending"), some quirky faux Mendelssohn (Nos. 8 and 9), and lots of nature poetry (Nos. 2, 4, 5, 15, and 16). Most of the works have fanciful titles, ranging from No. 10 "Yon Hall of Thunder" to the religious mysticism of "Belief in Wonders" (No. 13), to No. 14's individual movements, such as "Dads rush to the office" and "Radio-Caruso and forced energy".

God only knows what all of it means, but one thing is certain: it's all tremendously entertaining and never dull. The individual discs in this set have all been issued previously, most of them welcomed here enthusiastically. Thomas Dausgaard and his team deliver uniformly excellent performances captured in first-rate SACD stereo sonics. The packaging in this boxed set is really classy, with slip-cases that unfold when the top is opened, and a neatly printed booklet with informative notes and translations of the sung texts that stores in its own compartment. It's great to see a national label working so hard and so successfully to preserve its cultural heritage and disseminate it abroad. This project both deserves and will reward your support.

Product Description

With his symphonies the Danish composer Rued Langgaard
(1893-1952) offered 16 vastly different versions of what a symphony
can be. His captivating, complex genius made room for
all conceivable idioms and a wealth of styles ranging from the
grandiosely Late Romantic to the purest Absurdism. This box
is the first collected recording of Langgaard's 16 symphonies
based on the critical edition of the scores; recordings which
demonstrate, with spectacular sound quality, Langgaard's
masterly grasp of the orchestra and his ecstatic view of art.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Langgaard Would Have Been Proud, April 5, 2009

By 

J. Rich - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Langgaard: The Symphonies (Audio CD)

Let's face it with all the Mahler, Sibelius, Dvorak, and Brahms that floods the market it's truly great to have this box set of the obscure Danish composer Rued Langgaard available for the first time in a space saving, special edition hybrid SACD box set (wow that was a mouthful). For those who don't know and just happen to be curious, Langgaard was composer who lived in obscurity all of his life. He composed epic pieces of music in the late-Romantic vein. He spent much of life dazzling audiences with his virtuosic organ skills and he landed a job as organist at a cathedral in a village in Denmark. He composed music much of his life and the only fame he received had been when his Symphony No. 1 was premiered by the Berlin Philharmonic, but it didn't garner much admiration or attention. He died in 1952.

Fast forward almost 50 years later, we now have this beautiful box set of Langgaard's works brought to us by a true visionary Thomas Dausgaard and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. There have been attempts at Langgaard's music in particular with Neeme Jarvi with the same orchestra here. As much as I love Jarvi, he can't quite grasp this music. This is where Dausgaard and his forces raised the bar. This is the box that all other performances are measured against, especially since most of these works are world premiere recordings and have never been available to the public before.

Right from the opening measures of Symphony No. 1, you are catapulted into the wildly emotional world of Langgaard. This music is played with such sustained intensity that you will not believe the virtuosity and amount of feeling it takes to pull this work off. This is Mahler on steroids. Exceptional playing and you will find that throughout this box set the playing and conducting are consistent.

The sound quality is also very good. The acoustics are well defined and there is plenty of bottom end (an important aspect to this music).

If you are interested in traveling outside of the composers we're all familiar with: Mahler, Bruckner, Wagner, etc., then look no further than this box. Seven discs of pure excitement, joy, emotional intensity, drama, and beauty. Highly recommended.

21 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant achievement, May 15, 2010

By 

R. C. Walker "catu11us" (Encinitas CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Langgaard: The Symphonies (Audio CD)

It's delightful to see Dausgaard's revelatory recordings of Langgaard's symphonies have been collected into a single box. This is a superb and rare blending of a great composer and a great interpreter.

Amazon's reviewer correctly points out that Langgaard was -- well, eccentric to say the least. However, we would do well to remember that Salvador Dali's supreme artistic genius was founded on the fact that he was a paranoid schizophrenic. He knew it and he used it. I'm not sure Langgaard was in that same boat, but his music has the sort of quality Scriabin was looking for when he was working on "Universe".

Try Langgard's (father and son) piano concerti some time.

Referring to the mini-debate within another review regarding the clumsy packaging. CD (not to mention DVD) producers often show no regard whatsoever for the user. They're as bad as Republican "care" for the environment and the middle and lower classes.

However, guys, have you considered repackaging the product yourself. I've done this a lot with bulky and/or clumsy DVD sets and some smaller CD sets. I haven't tried it with this set yet, but there are several companies that sell empty containers of many sizes. They're on the net.

21 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Packaging, April 20, 2009

By 

Leonard Warren "Olivero" (Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Langgaard: The Symphonies (Audio CD)

I am very happy with the CDs.

But the packaging seems to leave the very good possibility of damage to the CDs when removed or replaced in their slots. I can not remove a CD without touching the playing surface. At best it's a two-handed job and the CDs in front are in a precarious position. The booklet is all the way in the back in its own slot and not very easily removed. I would have prefered to have had the standard clamshell case with individual envelopes for the discs. At least then when you are trying to get a disc you are only fumbling with one disc rather than all of them.

But the music is fantastic.