To dub Friedrich Kuhlau the Danish Beethoven might be stretching a point, especially since he only moved from North Germany to Copenhagen at the age of 24, but Denmark could boast no more accomplished composers in the high noon of the Classical age, and it welcomed so prodigious a musician – not only composer but pianist, conductor and scholar – whose greatest successes during his lifetime were in the field of opera, at least until his premature death at the age of just 48, probably from hard living as much as financial problems: the story goes that when the Queen of Denmark invited him to take tea at the palace, he replied that he would accept only if drink was on offer.
Works:
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Kuhlau: Adagio e Rondo for Piano 4‐hands, Op. 124
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Kuhlau: Allegro pathétique for Piano 4‐hands, Op. 123
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Kuhlau: Flute Sonata in F major, Op. 79 No. 1
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Kuhlau: Violin Sonata in A minor, Op. 79 No. 2
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Kuhlau: Violin Sonata in C major, Op. 79, No. 3
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Kuhlau: Violin Sonata in F major, Op. 79 No. 1