Bjarke Mogensen
Biography Bjarke Mogensen
Bjarke Mogensen
is an astonishment on record. Once heard, never forgotten. So writes one of the world’s leading music critics, Norman Lebrecht. Bjarke Mogensen (b. 1985 on the island of Bornholm) is the new star of the accordion in a country where there are already fine accordion traditions. He is one of those rare talents who seems to have been born with his instrument. Bjarke Mogensen had his instrument strapped to his shoulders at the age of seven. Within just a few years he had reached an amazingly high standard. At 13 he made his debut as a soloist in a German TV broadcast with the Munich Symphony Orchestra.
At 14 he both won the Gold Medal and the Talent Prize in the Berlingske Tidende Music Competition and received the Jacob Gade Grant. His popular breakthrough in Denmark came when he won DR TV’s soloist competition "Spil for Livet", and the same year won the Victor Borge Music Prize. He studied with Geir Draugsvoll at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen and today himself teaches chamber music in the same place. Bjarke Mogensen has given solo concerts in many parts of the world, from New York to Moscow, from Iceland to Turkey. He has performed chamber music with the violinist Augustin Dumay and Gidon Kremer.
As a soloist he has also worked with orchestras like the Moscow Virtuosi, Kremerata Baltica, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Copenhagen Philharmonic, conducted by among others John Storgårds, Lan Shui, Rolf Gupta and Vladimir Spivakov. His repertoire is almost unlimited and ranges from folk music and his own transcriptions to brand new works for accordion.
A long succession of collaborations with prominent living composers has resulted in many new compositions – concertos, chamber music and solo works – dedicated to Bjarke Mogensen. Already during his student years he has released 4 CDs performing solo works and accordion-concertos on the labels Orchid Classics and Dacapo Records which recieved rave reviews.
The Danish National Chamber Orchestra
is the only professional chamber orchestra in Denmark, and a major representative among DR’s national ensembles. The orchestra consists of 42 musicians and the chief conducter is Adam Fischer.
Being a chamber orchestra is the distinctive hallmark of The Danish National Chamber Orchestra. It is constantly developing its style and identity. And as a result thereof a transparent sound, rich in nuances, is a constant feature of its music-making.
The orchestra’s starting point is naturally the Viennese classicism, primarily represented by Mozart. But the repertoire also covers other periods such as the second Viennese school and music of present time.
Rolf Gupta - Conductor
The Norwegian conductor Rolf Gupta is a wide-ranging artist who effortlessly spans everything from Baroque music played on original instruments to classical symphonies and recently composed works. He is artistic director and chief conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and has earlier been principal conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and the Norwegian Baroque Orchestra. Rolf Gupta, who has also trained as a composer, is well known for putting together unconventional concerts with many living composers on the programme. As an able interpreter of contemporary music, he has conducted world premieres of works by leading composers including Hans Werner Henze, Luciano Berio, Magnus Lindberg, Peter Maxwell Davies and his own former teacher Per Nørgård. Rolf Gupta is a frequent guest conductor with the Oslo Philharmonic, with whom he has also recorded and toured. He has worked with orchestras like MDR Leipzig, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra della Toscana, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Remix Ensemble, Avanti! and Ensemble InterContemporain. Gupta has also made a name as an opera conductor and has worked at opera houses in Norway, Finland, Frankfurt and Holland with both classical and contemporary works. In addition Gupta has been artistic director of festivals in Berlin and Kristiansand, and has recorded CDs with among others Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica as well as the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
