Nørgård - Symphonies 2 & 6; 4 & 5

The Guardian 80

Oslo PO/Storgårds
(Da Capo, two CDs)

Per Nørgård has written eight symphonies, just one element in an output of more than 400 works that ranges across nearly every conceivable genre. At the age of almost 84, his productivity shows little sign of slackening off. There may well be more to come, and there is a case to be made that Nørgård is the most distinguished composer writing symphonies today. And while the deepest roots of these works may be anchored in Sibelius and Nørgård’s teacher Vagn Holmboe, like all great originals, Nørgård has consistently taken symphonic form and moulded it to his own expressive and technical purposes. There’s never the sense that his music is retracing its steps or revisiting territory.