Louis Glass

The Danish composer, pianist, cellist and conductor LOUIS (CHRISTIAN AUGUST) GLASS, born in Copenhagen, was almost an exact contemporary of Carl Nielsen and, like Nielsen, was a student of Niels Gade. However, Glass also studied at the Brussels Conservatory, where he became enamored of the music of César Franck and Anton Bruckner, both of whom stylistically influenced his writing. He was one of Denmark's leading concert pianists until a paralysis in one arm made him retire from the stage, after which he devoted himself primarily to composing. He composed in most genres and wrote several chamber music works of worth, including four string quartets, a string sextet, a piano trio, a piano quintet and several instrumental sonatas and songs. He was also an author of a ballet, concertos, various orchestral works and six symphonies composed between 1893 and 1926, which were published by Danacord, and some of his chamber music was recorded by Da Capo. He has been in charge for many years Glass Conservatory (founded by his father C. H. Glass), and from 1915 to 1918 was conductor of The Music Society. Louis Glass is one of the most significant followers of late Romanticism in Denmark. Although his creative personality was generally highly valued, his compositional style did not gain much popularity. The inspirations from Bruckner and Frank, especially after his own immersion in theosophy, led him to creating series of large-scale autonomous works. His six symphonies reveal his unusual, solid understanding of the intellectual aspects of music. The Third and Fourth Symphonies are monumental, the Fifth is the culmination of Danish symbolism, and the Sixth is an attempt to revive national romanticism. Other orchestral works are added to them, such as the Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra, as well as the Theosophical Ballet Artemis. After the death of Louis Glass, his music was forgotten by music circles, and it was not until our century that it was rediscovered to what extent it complemented Danish culture at the turn of the century in its very individual way. Louis Glass's six symphonies were performed for the first time as an integral by the Plovdiv Philharmonic under the direction of Nayden Todorov and together with the Fantasia for piano and orchestra, with soloist Romeo Smilkov, were released on two records (1 to 5 and 1 to 6) by Danacord.