| Rudolph Simonsen (1889-1947)
Posted by Jeffrey Davis  on February 28, 2009, 1:27 pm
86.27.226.143|
Thanks to Colin Mackie (another contributor to this board) I have been alerted to the new CPO issue - Rudolph Simonsen's Symphony 1 'Zion' and No 2 'Hellas'. I believe that Simonsen was a great composer and I am delighted to have discovered this CD, which I strongly recommend. The slow movement of the 'Hellas' Symphony, especially in this new recording conducted by Israel Yinon, is one of the most beautiful things I have heard in a long time. Simonsen did not promote his own music, prefering to teach and read the works of Spinoza etc instead! He sounds like an endearing character - as a Danish jew, he had to flee to Sweden in 1943 and, like most Danish jews (thanks to the actions of the Danes in protecting their jewish population) survived the war. But the experience destroyed him and he died prematurely in 1947. Simonsen's great compatriot Nielsen comes to mind at times, but Simonsen is still a composer of great vision and inner strength.
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