Imagine that in the course of your life you compose more than 400 pieces of music – including 16 symphonies and an opera.
Or that you, as a mere 11-year-old, are allowed to perform as an organist in The Marble Church in Copenhagen.
Or that the Berlin Philharmonics – one of the finest orchestras in the world – will premiere your first symphony in Berlin before you turn twenty!
Also imagine that you feel music is something divine. But also that throughout your life you encounter resistance, exclusion and lack of recognition of your genius. Welcome to Rued Langgaard’s world!
With an elevated and romantic view of art and the role of artists, Langgaard stood out from the sober ideals of his time and the down-to-earth Danish mentality.
Therefore, he struggled throughout his life with a strained relationship with the rest of the music scene.
The uncompromising and eccentric Rued Langgaard found calm, solace and inspiration in summer stays in Arild and Kyrkhult in Sweden. Both places became very important to him.
Langgaard did not have many confidants and was particularly attached to his mother, Emma. After her death, he married Constance Tetens, who had been his mother's housekeeper for the past five years.
Although Rued Langgaard was overlooked and criticized in his own time, a large part of his work is today appreciated and published, and interest in his music is increasing.
We hope you will learn more about the fascinating Rued Langgaard by exploring the exhibition’s music and stories.
Tickets for The Old Town Hall
Dive deeper into Langgaard’s sound universe on the website langgaard.dk, which contains a wealth of knowledge in English and musical examples.
Visit langgaard.dkAugustinus Fonden
Rued Langgaard Selskabet
Det Danske Filminstitut
Dacapo Records
Bendt Viinholt Nielsen. Music historian.
Esben Tange. Musik mediator, Manager of the Rued Langgaard Festival.
Peter Aalbæk Jensen. Film producer.
Carsten Schmidt. Staatliche Institut für Musikforschung – Preußischer Kulturbesitz.
Birgitte Ebert. Organist, Ribe Cathedral.
Bonna Søndberg. Piano teacher.
Mikkel Wolder. Priest, Marble Church Copenhagen.
