Axel Ejnar Hakon Børresen (2 June 1876, Copenhagen – 6 October 1954, Copenhagen) was one of the foremost Danish composers of the 20th century.

Life

Børresen was descended from a merchant family. As a child, he was given

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

lessons. When Børresen made clear to his father that he wished to become a composer, the latter arranged for him to study at the Royal Danish Conservatory in 1895. There he studied composition with

Johan Svendsen Johan Severin Svendsen (30 September 184014 June 1911) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, he lived most his life in Copenhagen, Denmark. Svendsen's output includes two symphonies, a violin ...

. After further private studies, his First Symphony was privately premiered in 1901. It made his name as an up-and-coming composer. There followed travels in Germany, France and Belgium, where he made many useful connections. From 1902 on he divided his time between Copenhagen and Skagen where he maintained a second home. Børresen was an important organizer of several Danish music festivals and served as the president of Danish Composers Union between 1924 and 1949. At the time of his death, he was widely regarded as one of Denmark's most important musicians. His

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

'' The Royal Guest'' is widely regarded as the best early 20th-century Danish opera, and his chamber music works received considerable critical praise. His work was part of the music event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics.

Tonal language

Børresen's style and musical language are primarily that of the late Romantic. His music shows little or no influence from more modern tendencies. Instead, his music takes as its inspiration Danish cultural ideas and folk melodies. His style reflects the influence of his teacher Svendsen, as well as that of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

Selected works

Orchestra

* Symphony No. 1 C minor, Op. 3 (1901) * Symphony No. 2 A major, Op. 7 "The Ocean" (1904) * Symphony No. 3 C major, Op. 21 (1925/26) * Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 11 (1904) * "The Normans", A Concert Overture, Op. 16 (1912, rev. 1935) * Serenade in C major for Horn, Strings and Percussion (1944) * "Nordic Folkmelodies" for String Orchestra (1949)

Vocal

* Various art songs (Lieder) and choral works

Stage

* "The Royal Guest", Opera (1919) * "Kaddara", Opera (1921) * "Tycho Brahe's Dream", A Ballet (1924)

Chamber

* String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, Op. 20 (1913) * String Quartet No. 2 in C minor (1939) * String Sextet in G major, Op. 5 (1901) * Sonata for Violin & Piano in A minor, Op. 9 (1907) * Romance for Violoncello and Piano in D major, Op. 4 (1902)

Piano

* Several occasional pieces

References

External links

Hakon Børresen String Sextet-Sound-bites and discussion of workProfile and list of works at Edition S
* *''The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians'', Editor Stanley Sadie, Macmillan, London 1980 {{DEFAULTSORT:Borresen, Hakon 1876 births 1954 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Danish composers 19th-century male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Danish male musicians Danish classical composers Danish male classical composers Danish opera composers Danish Romantic composers Male opera composers Musicians from Copenhagen Olympic competitors in art competitions