LECTURE → Danish choral music is more popular than ever. Bo Holten, chief conductor at the Flemish Radio Choir and an expert on Scandinavian choral music, will give a lecture on Danish choral literature. Is this music suitable for amateur choirs? → SAT 30.10 2010, 2.00 p.m.-3.20 p.m.
Bo Holten
The Danish composer, conductor and project leader Bo Holten (°1948) is known both in Denmark and abroad as a multi-faceted musician. He himself does not regard one activity more important than the other.Bo Holten has won international recognition for his groundbreaking work in rediscovering many forgotten Renaissance polyphonists such as Gombert, De Wert and La Rue. His trademark when performing this style of music is to combine the traditional “cool” tones of vocal polyphony with a warmer but transparent Scandinavian sound. As principal conductor of the Flemish Radio Choir, he explores the full chamber choir repertoire from the Renaissance to the present.
As a composer, Bo Holten is renowned for both his instrumental and his vocal music. At the same time, he is often regarded in the contemporary musical milieu as quite provocative, by his resistance to many modern currents of the second half of the 20th century. With the vocal ensemble he founded, Ars Nova, he has devoted particular attention to performing a large part of the modernist repertoire.
Bo Holten has understood – as only few others have – how to make a difference, both with his compositions and with his performances. Whether or not you agree with him, you cannot ignore him, thanks to the unique place that he holds in today’s musical world.
