The Danish Quartet

Gilbert Jespersen                  Erling Bloch                 Lund Christiansen

More Danish gems this time, played by an ensemble founded in 1935 by the three gentlemen pictured above plus one other - cellist Torben Svendsen, whose picture, regrettably, I cannot find. I present three recordings from the late 1930s, one by the full ensemble (flute, violin, cello, piano), and the others featuring two of the possible trio combinations within it:

Bach: Trio Sonata in C Minor (from "The Musical Offering", BWV 1079)

The Danish Quartet (Jespersen-Bloch-Svendsen-Christiansen)

Recorded November 22, 1937

HMV DB 5215 and DB 5216, two 78-rpm records

Link (FLAC file, 44.85 MB)

Link (MP3 file, 24.88 MB)

Kuhlau: Trio in G Major, Op. 119 - Allegro moderato (first movement)

Members of the Danish Quartet (Jespersen-Bloch-Christiansen)

Recorded November 21, 1938

HMV DB 5226, one 78-rpm record

Link (FLAC file, 20.16 MB)

Link (MP3 file, 11.83 MB)

Beethoven: Variations on "Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu", Op. 121a

Members of the Danish Quartet (Bloch-Svendsen-Christiansen)

Recorded January 16 and 21, 1939

HMV DB 5229 and DB 5230, two 78-rpm records

Link (FLAC file, 40.31 MB)

Link (MP3 file, 26.74 MB)

The trio movement by Friedrich Kuhlau (1786-1832) is complete as issued; its composer was German-born but fled to Denmark as a young man to escape having to fight in the Napoleonic wars. During his lifetime he was famous as a pianist and composer of Danish operas, but he is best remembered now for his piano sonatinas and his works featuring the flute.