EMIL HARTMANN
Concertos
Per Salo, piano
Stanimir Todorov, cello
Christina Åstrand, violin

Emil Hartmann, composer

Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, conductor

About
Emil Hartmann (1836-1898) experienced great success when he toured Germany and the rest of Europe conducting his own works, and was often compared to the great Romantic masters of the European musical scene. But at home in Denmark the composer was overshadowed throughout his life by his famous father J.P.E. Hartmann, whose centenary we celebrate this year. The writer Hans Christian Andersen actually said of the two Hartmanns that "old Hartmann is a born composer, young Hartmann was brought up to it."

With Dacapo's new SACD* recording of Emil Hartmann's three concertos - for violin, cello and piano - we can be in no doubt that the fame that "young Hartmann" enjoyed abroad was more than deserved. Here you can listen to three of the finest Danish soloists today expressing themselves in Emil Hartmann's full-blooded Romantic concertos with the special Nordic element that gives the music unusual melodic beauty.

Reviews
This disc is a genuine discovery and earns it a serious recommendation.
(Classics Today)

Christina Astrand gestaltet ihren Part souverän und eindringlich
(KlassikHeute.com - Read full review)

Ypperlige præstationer i en musik, der understreger blomstringen i dansk guldalder-musik, for hvilket også kvitteres med smagfuldt orkesterspil
(Kristeligt Dagblad)

Hannu Lintu draws most sympathetic performances from the Helsingborg orchestra. The sound, needless to say, is superb.
(Nordic Sounds)

Very pleasant discoveries, this unpretentious music is also enjoyably enpredictable. The listener is the winner .
(What´s On In London)

A very agreeable disc in every way...romantic era music that, while not immune from convention, is entertaining and often touching...
(MUSICWEB International - Read full review)

L´orchestre Helsingborg Symphony et Hannu Lintu sont parfaits dans l´accompagnement avec les couleurs un peu sombres, si caractéristiques des orchestres du Nord.
(Pizzicato)

All three soloists are topflight, DaCapo's hi-res surround cannot be faulted, and one gets a lot of varied concertos for one's investment in this interesting disc.
(Audiophile Audition)

Credits
Recorded in Helsingborg Konserthus on 1-5 September 2003 and 20-21 August 2004
Recording producer: Preben Iwan
Sound engineer: Preben Iwan

Graphic design: elevator-design.dk
Cover image: Denise Burt

Dacapo Records acknowledges, with gratitude, the financial support of Weyse Fonden, Generalkonsul Einar Høyvalds Fond and Solistforeningen af 1921