Bent Sørensens official web page, Bent Soerensens official web page, Bent Sorensens official web page, works of Bent Sørensen, Works of Bent Soerensen, Works of Bent Sorensen, Listen to Bent Sørensen, Listen to Bent Soerensen, Listen to Bent Sorensen, Free Listening Bent Sørensen, Free listening Bent Soerensen, Free Listening Bent Sorensen, All about Bent Sørensen, All about Bent Soerensen, All about Bent Sorensen, Danish composer Bent Srensen, Danish composer Bent Soerensen, Danish composer Bent Sorensen, Dansih Score Music, Danish Modern Music, Danish Contemporary Music, Danish New Music, Scandinavian Modern Music, associated with Rolf Wallin, Saariaho, Ruders, Per Nørgård, Ib Nørholm, Holmboe, Carl Nielsen, Sibelius, Ligeti, Sciarrino, Stockhausen, Boulez, Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, ”It reminds me of something I’ve never heard.” Such was the spontaneous reaction of the Norwegian composer Arne Nordheim upon hearing a work by Bent Sørensen. And it is not easy to imagine a more strangely to-the-point description of the ambiguous, almost paradoxical expressive idiom of this unique composer, who is without doubt the leading Danish composer of his generation. Sørensen’s music is not recycled, in no way does it rely on the yellowing pages of history for its musical nourishment his musical language is undeniably of the present day, both aesthetically and technically. The music does, however, appear to be pervaded with memories, wisdom of experience and old dreams, of the inevitability of transitoriness and parting. It is a flickering, glittering world where things seem to disappear at the slightest touch. Bent Sørensen was born in 1958, and received his musical education by, amongst others, Per Nørgård and Ib Nørholm. His originality, imagination and technical abilities were praised long before his major breakthrough in the mid-80s. And the first string quartet ALMAN (1984) along with the other three quartets ADIEU (1986), ANGELS' MUSIC (1988), and SCHREIE UND MELANCHOLIE (1994) are still characterised as some of the Sørensen’s most important works. The very productive 1990s were dominated be large-scale orchestral works. The major vocal works THE ECHOING GARDEN (1992) for soloists, choir and orchestra unfolds as wandering weightless melodies in an echo chamber of many different simultaneous tempi. The violin concerto STERBENDE GÄRTEN (1993) – a concerto in the grand tradition, dramatic, graceful, and wild; the SYMPHONY (1996); and the Piano Concerto LA NOTTE (1998) are surrounded by several major ensemble pieces scored for a variety of forces; for instance, the enchanting concerto BIRDS AND BELLS for trombone and 14 instruments (1995) written for Christian Lindberg. After this “everything” in the composer’s own words, “has been about opera”. The Danish playwright Peter Asmussen was so taken by the co-existence of the past and the present in Sørensen’s violin concerto the two decided to collaborate on an opera commission from the Danish Royal Opera. And after 5 years of intense work and collaboration Bent Sørensen finished the full-scale opera UNDER THE SKY in April 2003. Bent Sørensen received the prestigious Nordic Council Music Price in 1995 and the Wilhelm Hansen Composer Prize in 1999. “Det minder mig om noget jeg aldrig har hørt!” Sådan reagerede den norske komponist Arne Nordheim spontant på et værk af Bent Sørensen. Og det er svært at forestille sig et mere snurrigt rammende udtryk for det dobbeltbundede, ofte næsten paradoksale udtryksklima i musikken af denne egenartede komponist, der utvivlsomt er den betydeligste i sin danske generation. Sørensen musik er ikke genbrug, den henter på ingen måde næring i gulnede albumblade fra historiens gemmer – hans tonesprog er helt aldeles nutidigt, både i æstetisk og teknisk henseende. Og dog er det en musik der ofte synes gennemstrømmet af minder, af levet liv og ældgamle drømme, af forgængeligheden og afskedens uafvendelighed. En flimrende glitrende verden hvor meget synes at ville forsvinde ved den mindste berøring. Bent Sørensen er født i 1958; han har modtaget undervisning af blandt andre Per Nørgård og Ib Nørholm. Hans klangfantasi og tekniske formåen har været lovprist lige siden har for alvor brød igennem i midten af 80’erne med den første strygekvartet ALMAN (1984), og den kan sammen med de tre andre strygekvartetter ADIEU (1986), ANGELS' MUSIC (1988) og SCHREIE UND MELANCHOLIE (1994) stadig karakteriseres som nogle af komponistens vigtigste værker. Sørensens meget produktive 90ére domineres af stort anlagte orkesterværker. Det store sangværk THE ECHOING GARDEN (1992) for solister, kor og orkester folder sig ud som fabulerende, vægtløse melodier i et ekkorum af flere, samtidige tempi. Violinkoncerten STERBENDE GÄRTEN (1993), der er en koncert i den store tradition, dramatisk besværgende, yndefuld, vemodig og vild, er sammen med Symfonien (1996) og klaverkoncerten LA NOTTE (1998) omgivet af flere større ensembleværker for meget forskellige besætninger, bl.a. den forunderlige lille koncert BIRDS AND BELLS for basun og 14 instrumenter (1995) komponeret til Christian Lindberg. Derefter har – med komponistens ord- ”alting handlet om opera”. Den danske dramatiker Peter Asmussen blev så fængslet af sameksistensen mellem det forgange og det nærværende i Sørensens Violinkoncert at de to kunstnere gik sammen om en operabestilling fra Det Kongelige Teater. Og efter 5 års intenst arbejde og samarbejde færdiggjorde komponisten i april 2003 den 2.959 takter lange helaftensopera UNDER HIMLEN. Bent Sørensen modtog Nordisk Råds Musikpris i 1995 for violinkoncerten STERBENDE GÄRTEN, og i 1999 modtog han Wilhelm Hansens komponistpris.