# Niels Viggo Bentzon



## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

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"*Niels Viggo Bentzon* (24 August 1919 - 25 April 2000) must be said to be one of the most important figures in twentieth-century Danish musical history. As a pianist, author and composer with more than 650 works to his credit he had a crucial influence on Danish musical life. Today Bentzon enjoys the status of a kind of cultural phenomenon, thanks not only to his great artistic impact but also to his strong commitment in writing and speech to the ongoing aesthetic discussions of the latter half of the last century."

Bentzon is one of my all-time favorite composers - he practically breathed music throughout his 60-year career. _The Tempered Piano_, a grand total of 624 movements and 15 hours of music, has to be one of the greatest pianistic accomplishments of the 19th century (and his 20+ piano sonatas must come close). Of the sonatas, I like nos. 3 & 5, which combine Danish romantic traditions with newfound chromatism; these works have almost been raised to the status of classics in his home country. Let's see - then there's the 24 symphonies. Of these, No. 5 "Metamorphosen" is a masterpiece (and it should be treated as such). Countless concertos and chamber works make up the rest of his dense ouevre, with similar masterpieces scattered throughout. Still, Bentzon is a truly underrated figure outside of his native Denmark; I hope this thread will make him some new friends.


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