DSU Music Department to host concert featuring Carl Nielsen’s works

DSU Music Department to host concert featuring Carl Nielsen’s works

Dixie State University is participating in a project to share Danish Composer Carl Nielsen’s complete works for violin and piano by hosting a live concert. Featuring University of Utah Professors Hasse Borup on violin and Andrew Staupe on piano, the Dixie State University Music Department’s presentation of Carl Nielsen: Complete Works for Violin and Piano is set to take place at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 5 in the Eccles Concert Hall. Admission to the concert is free, but seating is limited. “This will be a great opportunity to attend a recital featuring rarely heard music for violin and piano from the great composer Carl Nielsen performed by wonderful artists," Dr. Paul Abegg, director of string studies and orchestras at Dixie State, said. In addition to the concert, Borup and Staupe are working in partnership with Naxos, the University of Utah, The National Danish Academy of Music and Carl Nielsen Legatet to record Nielsen’s complete works for violin solo and violin and piano. Including works from Nielsen’s early career, namely the Romances in G and D as well as the Sonata in G, the project will also feature his more well-known pieces such as the Sonatas Opp. 9 and 35 and the Preludio e Presto Op. 52 for Solo Violin Praeludium og Tema med Variationer for Solo Violin, Op. 48. Recorded by Borup and Staupe over the next two years, the project is the first to collect the complete works for violin solo and violin and piano on the same CD. The project will contribute to the scholarly research conducted on Nielsen, especially in connection with the New Nielsen Edition at the Royal Danish Library. Nielsen became known as the most influential Danish composer over his lifetime, which spanned from 1865 to 1931. Nielsen, who first learned to play violin from his father, an amateur fiddle player himself, became a member and leader in the Royal Danish Orchestra in Copenhagen. Borup is a professor of violin and the head of string and chamber music studies at the University of Utah School of Music. In addition to having released numerous recordings and written articles for “The Strad” and “American String Teacher,” Borup has made solo appearances around the world. In addition to numerous prestigious prizes and fellowships, Borup was the only Dane to win the International Yamaha Music Prize. Staupe, an assistant professor of piano at the University of Utah, made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2012 and has performed across the nation and around the globe. He has earned a number of prizes including the 2011 Pro Musicis International Award, the Gold Medal at the 2010 Young Texas Artists Music Competition and first prize at the 2006 Minnesota Orchestra Volunteer’s Association Competition in addition to being named Laureate of the 2013 American Pianist’s Association competition finals. For more information about Dixie State University Music Department’s presentation of Carl Nielsen: Complete Works for Violin and Piano, contact Dr. Paul Abegg at 435-652-7904 or abegg@utahtech.edu.