Danish National Symphony Orchestra

In October 1955, Arne Nordheim’s second work for string quartet, Epigram, was performed in the Young Nordic Music Festival in Copenhagen. There he met the promising young Danish composer Per Nørgaard, who introduced him to his teacher, Vagn Holmboe. The latter promised to teach Nordheim the following year, the result of which was the String Quartet 1956. During his time in Copenhagen, Nordheim read Aftonland, a collection of verse by the Swedish poet Pär Lagerkvist, which prompted him to write music to four lyric poems. Thus arose Aftonland for strings, vibraphone, celesta, harp and percussion, first performed at Danish Radio in June 1959.

Many years later, Danish Radio commissioned a work for orchestra, Floating, which Nordheim dedicated to his Danish colleague Per Nørgaard. That work was first performed during the Styrian Autumn Festival in Graz on 20 October 1970, with the Danish Radio Orchestra conducted by Miltiades Caridis. (jc)