Vagn Holmboe - Kairos (Owain Arwel Hughes)

Information

Composer: Vagn Holmboe

1. Kairos (Sinfonias I-IV): I. Preludio (first movement of Sinfonia IV, Op. 73d)
2. Kairos (Sinfonias I-IV): II. Sinfonia I, Op. 73a
3. Kairos (Sinfonias I-IV): III. Interludio I (second movement of Sinfonia IV)
4. Kairos (Sinfonias I-IV): IV. Sinfonia II, Op. 73b
5. Kairos (Sinfonias I-IV): V. Interludio II (third movement of Sinfonia IV)
6. Kairos (Sinfonias I-IV): VI. Sinfonia III, Op. 73c
7. Kairos (Sinfonias I-IV): VII. Postludio (fourth movement of Sinfonia IV)
8. Sinfonia IV, Op. 73d: I. Preludio
9. Sinfonia IV, Op. 73d: II. Interludio I
10. Sinfonia IV, Op. 73d: III. Interludio II
11. Sinfonia IV, Op. 73d: IV. Postludio

Camerata Wales
Owain Arwel Hughes, conductor

Date: 2009
Label: BIS
http://bis.se/composer/holmboe-vagn/holmboe-kairos

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Review

Holmboe’s atmospheric investigation into the psychological nature of time

With his cultivation of the string quartet and symphony, Holmboe, more than anyone, followed Haydn’s example of creating works outwardly traditional yet internally radical. An example of his Haydnesque incalculability is the hour-long, string-orchestral Chairos (1957 62) where the worlds of the symphony and string quartet collide, intertwine and create something quite unique. The four Sinfonias that collectively comprise Chairos (“Time” in its “psychological sense, that is the passage of time as we sense it”, rather than the measured time of the clock face) can be played independently – and were composed as such – or grouped together in an almost unprecedented format, where the single spans of Sinfonias I III are framed and separated by the four movements of IV. It is unclear whether Holmboe had this larger design in mind from the outset but in performance his curiously compelling conceit works beautifully.

Hannu Koivula’s premiere accounts with the Danish Radio Sinfonietta for Dacapo got to the heart of these remarkable scores. Camerata Wales, only four years old, provide an extra degree of virtuosity that eluded their Danish rivals, although Holmboe’s conception did not depend on it. Hughes’s interpretations differ from Koivula’s in several respects, not least tempi taking, overall, a few minutes more, allowing the music to breathe that essential extra amount. Dacapo presented the music as a two-disc set, the Chairos sequence on one disc, the Sinfonias in order on a second. BIS’s elegant single-disc solution presents Chairos as a whole with Sinfonia IV as an appendix (to play the Sinfonias, select tracks 2, 4, 6 and 8-11). Hughes and Camerata Wales have the edge.

-- Guy Rickards, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/Jan10/Holmboe_Sinfonias_BISCD1596.htm
http://classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=7646
https://www.allmusic.com/album/vagn-holmboe-string-sinfonias-i-iv-kairos-mw0001951021

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Vagn Holmboe (20 December 1909 – 1 September 1996) was a Danish composer and teacher. Holmboe studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen under Knud Jeppesen (theory) and Finn Høffding (composition). He composed about 370 works, including 13 symphonies, three chamber symphonies, four symphonies for strings, 20 string quartets, numerous concertos, one opera, and the late series of preludes for chamber orchestra, as well as much choral and other music. His students included Per Nørgård, Ib Nørholm, Bent Lorentzen, Arne Nordheim, Egil Hovland and Alan Stout.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagn_Holmboe

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Owain Arwel Hughes CBE (born 21 March 1942 in Ton Pentre, Rhondda) is a Welsh orchestral conductor. He studied conducting under Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink and Rudolf Kempe. Hughes became well known after a rousing televised performance of William Walton's Belshazzar’s Feast, which won the praise of the composer himself. He later hosted a BBC series, The Much-Loved Music Show. Hughes has made numerous recordings, championing less well-known composers, including recording a complete cycle of the symphonies of the Danish composer Vagn Holmboe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owain_Arwel_Hughes

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