Piano Music

By Axel Borup-Jørgensen

Axel Borup-Jørgensen lived a quiet life as a composer, piano teacher and avid concert-goer. Never attached to an academic post or, active as a performing musician, he thrived as a beloved outsider, continuing to develop his intensely personal style until his death on 15 October 2012. A meticulous modernist, who worked towards an ever-increasing clarity, his music is characterized by its concentrated language and fine graduation of expression.

Despite being a competent pianist, Borup-Jørgensen's output for the instrument was surprisingly small, but he wrote for the instrument throughout entire career. The works on this program represent an overview of his works for solo piano, spanning nearly fifty years, from the early Passacaglia for piano Op. 2b (1948) to the crystalline raindrop interludes Op. 144 (1994). Borup-Jørgensen's writing for the piano is remarkably consistent, favoring exquisitely crafted phrases over virtuoso displays, but this music is by no means simple; these incredibly detailed scores require the utmost concentration from the player!

Erik Kaltoft is the ideal interpreter for this demanding repertoire. Boasting an impressive resume as a contemporary music specialist, with the first performances of more than 200 works by such composers as Per Nørgård, Gunnar Berg and Bent Lorentzen to his credit, Kaltoft was also the composer's friend and frequent collaborator for almost 45 years.

Recorded in the DXD audio format (Digital eXtreme Defination) 352.8 kHz/32 bit, by Danish Grammy nominated producer Preben Iwan.