Louis Christian August Glass (23 March 1864 – 22 January 1936) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. Glass, born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, was an almost exact contemporary of

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...

and, like Nielsen, was a student of

Niels Gade Niels Wilhelm Gade (22 February 1817 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. Together with Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, he was the leading Danish musician of his day. Biography Gade was born ...

. However, Glass also studied at the

Brussels Conservatory The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (french: Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Provid ...

, where he became enamored of the music of

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was p ...

and

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

, both of whom stylistically influenced his writing. For several years, he was one of Denmark's leading concert pianists until a paralysis in one arm made him retire from the stage. He then devoted himself primarily to composing. He composed in most genres and wrote several

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

works of worth, including four string quartets, a string sextet, a

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

, a piano quintet and several instrumental sonatas. He wrote six symphonies (1893–1926), which have been recorded on the

Danacord Danacord is a Danish classical music record label founded in 1979 in Copenhagen by Jesper Buhl. Danacord has made many premiere recordings of lesser known Danish music. Danacord has also re-released historical recordings such as the survey by Kai ...

and

CPO CPO may refer to: Occupations * Certified Professional Organizer * Certified Protection Officer, a professional certification for security officers from the International Foundation for Protection Officers * Chief people officer, a corporate of ...

record labels, while some chamber music has been recorded on

Da Capo Da capo (, also , ) is an Italian musical term that means "from the beginning" (literally, "from the head"). It is often abbreviated as D.C. The term is a directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space, and thus is an ...

. Glass died in Copenhagen.

Symphonies

* Symphony No. 1 in E-major, Op. 17 (1894) * Symphony No. 2 in C-minor, Op. 28 (1899) * Symphony No. 3 in D-major, Op. 30 "Forest symphony" (1901) * Symphony No. 4 in E-minor, Op. 43 (1911) * Symphony No. 5 in C-major, Op. 57 "Sinfonia Svastika" (1919) - Note on the title: This work celebrates the

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

as a

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

good fortune or Sun symbol. At the time of composition in 1918-1919, the Nazi movement had not been established. * Symphony No. 6 "Skjoldungeæt" (The Birth of

Scylding Old English Scylding (plural Scyldingas) and Old Norse Skjǫldung (plural Skjǫldungar), meaning in both languages "children of Scyld/Skjǫldr" are the members of a legendary royal family of Danes, especially kings. The name is explained in many ...

s), Op.60 (1924)

References

* Cobbett's Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music, Ed. Cobbett, W.W., Oxford University Press, 1929 & 1963, London. * Some of the information on this page appears on the website of Edition Silvertrust but permission has been granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. *

External links

*
Louis Glass String Sextet soundbites and discussion of workFirst editions by AlbisMusicDetailed curriculum vitae (german).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glass, Louis 1864 births 1936 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Danish male musicians Danish classical composers Danish classical pianists Danish male classical composers Danish Romantic composers Male classical pianists Musicians from Copenhagen Pupils of Niels Gade