The Art of Emil Reesen - as conductor

The Art of Emil Reesen - as conductor

DACOCD 958 (Danacord Records, CD)

ADD
Mono
COMPILATION (3 March 2023)

Playing time: 79'01"
Tracks: 24
Booklet pages: 12
℗ 2023 Danacord Records
© 2023 Danacord Records
Main country of recording: Denmark
Reviewer: Gerald Fenech
Review of The Art of Emil Reesen - as conductor published on 3 May 2023

Else Brems, contralto (track 13)
Holger Byrding, bass-baritone (track 13)
Wandy Tworek, violin (track 24)
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (tracks 14-19)
Danish State Radio Symphony Orchestra (tracks 1-12, 20-21 and 23-24)
The Royal Orchestra Copenhagen (tracks 13 and 22)
Emil Reesen, conductor

Niels W Gade (1817-1890):

Ballet 'Et Folkesagn' (A Folk tale) (1854)
1 Polonaise
2 Brudevals, Bridal Waltz

H C Lumbye (1810-1874):

Ballet 'Livjægerne påa Amager' (The King’s Volunteers on Amager) (1871)
3 Finale-galop

Hans Ernst Krøyer (1798-1879):

4 Der er et yndigt Land (There is a lovely country) (1821)

Ditlev Ludvig Rogert (1742-1813):

5 Kong Christian stod ved højen Mast (King Christian stood by the lofty mast) (1779)

Friedrich Kuhlau (1786-1832):

Elverhøj (The Elf Hill) Op 100 (1828)
6 Akt IV: Ballet - Agnetes drøm (Agnete's Dream)
7 Elverdans (Elf's Dance)
8 Akt V: Kransedans (Garland Dance)
9 Ecossaise

P E Lange-Müller (1850-1926):

10 Prelude ('Der var Engang', Once Upon A Time, Op 25, 1887)

Johann Strauss II (1825-1899):

11 Rosen aus dem Süden, Op 388

Josef Strauss (1827-1870):

12 Mein Lebenslauf ist Lieb' und Lust Op 263 (1869)

Friedrich Kuhlau:

13 Potpourri ('Elverhøj', The Elf Hill, Op 100, 1828)

P E Lange-Müller:

14 Prelude to the play, 'Renaissance'

Niels W Gade:

'Et Folkesagn' (A Folk tale) (1854)
15 Polonaise
16 Brudevals (Bridal Waltz)

H C Lumbye:

17 Drømmebilleder (Dream Pictures)

Carl Nielsen (1865-1931):

Opera 'Maskarade'
18 Overture
19 Hanedans (The Dance of the Cockerels)

Music from the play 'Moderen' (The Mother) Op 41
20 Prelude, 7th Scene
21 March

Jeremiah Clarke (1674-1707):

22 Prins Jørgens March (The Prince of Denmark's March - Trumpet Voluntary) (1699)

Jacob Gade (1879-1963):

23 Tango Tzigane 'Jalousie' (1925)

Emmerich Kálmán (1882-1953):

24 Komm' Zigany ('Gräfin Maritza')

The composer and conductor Emil Reesen (1887-1964) was the remarkable Jack-of-all-trades of Danish music who mastered all genres and styles – the only thing that mattered to him was that the quality of the music was good. His career began in the world of the theatre, where he played the piano in music theatres in Copenhagen and as time went on also began to conduct, arrange and compose music for various operettas and revues. And he was really good at this. During the years around the First World War Reesen came to the conclusion that he was the best conductor in town despite not having studied at the conservatoire. The decisive thing was his considerable innate talent.