Matias Vestergård (b. 1989) is a rarity on Denmark’s new music a composer fluent, flexible, prolific and poly-stylistic , who draws on genres ranging from hymnody to cabaret while probing some of the basic theories of sound and its production. The music recorded here was written during Vestergård’s formative years and charts a process of self self-discovery described by the composer as ‘my younger self trying to deal with the serious classical music heritage I love.’

Before graduating from the Soloists’ Class of the Royal Danish Academy of Music in 2022, Matias Vestergård had already written three operas and a complete ballet.

He emerges onto Denmark’s new music scene as a major new voice, but also a rarity: a composer fluent, flexible, prolific and poly-stylistic.

The chamber music on this album is written during his years at the academy. His chief influences in this period were Ferruccio Busoni, Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen and his teachers Hans Abrahamsen and Simon Løffler.

In Vestergård’s instrumental music, choral-like melodies are hidden and strewn about the music.

Esbjerg Ensemble was founded in 1967 and consists of 10 instrumentalists: a string quartet, a wind quintet and percussion.

The album is released at the same time as Matias Vestergård’s new opera Lisbon Floor with a libretto by Lea Marie Løppenthin is premiered at Copenhagen Opera Festival.