Complete Symphonies Vol. 1

After Carl Nielsen, Louis Glass surely has to be regarded as Denmark's greatest composer of the first half of the twentieth century. He began his career as a pianist, but when illness forced him to retire from active concertizing, he focused all his energies on composing. His six symphonies clearly occupy the center of his oeuvre. Early influence from Schumann, Gade (from whom he received instruction for a time), and Grieg soon yielded to influence from César Franck, whom Glass is thought to have met in Brussels. In his six symphonies, however, Glass also displays strong influence emanating from Bruckner, which was very unusual during this generation and beyond the borders of German-speaking Europe. We are now beginning a new edition of this highly interesting work complex, together with shorter symphonic compositions, some of them in world-premiere recordings. Our Vol. 1 brings together the idyllic Forest Symphony No. 3 and the Summer Life orchestral suite, the former verging on chamber character and the latter uncommonly bright and colorful.