NIELS VIGGO BENTZON (1919–2000) Piano Works. Partita, Op. 38 (1945), Træsnit, Op. 65 (Woodcuts) (1950), Toccata, Op. 10 (1941), Passacaglia, Op. 31 (1945). Ramez Mhaanna, piano

Description: Niels Viggo Bentzon is perhaps the most wide-ranging Danish composer of the 20th century. With over 600 opuses comprising virtually every genre imaginable, he produced art as naturally as breathing. The Dacapo Records debut of pianist Ramez Mhaanna presents a fresh, and stunningly original take on four of Bentzon’s early piano works: lush, romantically spirited, and among the most creative and technically challenging piano outputs of the last century. Besides being a highly productive composer, Bentzon was a virtuoso on the piano. This album presents piano music, which Bentzon played himself in order to showcase his talents at prestigious concerts. To Bentzon, there was no real difference between composition and improvisation. The works on this album deal with this development from pianistic virtuosity to compositional genius, each in their own way. Toccata, Partita and Passacaglia form a trilogy with a Baroque affinity, which is acknowledged in the Bachian titles of the works. With Partita, Bentzon takes his leave from the Baroque era as his dominant inspiration and opens a door to something contemporary and new. The work was completed in 1945, the year that saw the end of the war, and the conflict between darkness and light is the main subject.