This album presents a glimpse of Paul von Klenau’s vast collection of music created during the Second World War when he produced works, almost obsessively, until his passing in 1946. The album includes world-premiere recordings of Klenau’s Violin Concerto, Piano Concerto and Symphony no.8, showcasing his mastery of both tonal and atonal sonorities, his distinctive introspective style, and his exceptional talent for venturing into uncharted musical realms.

Paul von Klenau (1883-1946) was a controversial figure in Danish music life. Although being highly productive, he and his music disappeared from view after his death in kind of collective amnesia.

At age 19, he travelled to Germany, where he settled and established a succesful career as a conductor and composer. Though he never joined the party, he expressed views that aligned with those of the Nazis.

This album features three world-premiere recordings. The works were found amongst his surviving papers in 2005 and none of them had been performed during Klenau's lifetime.

The Piano Concerto is built upon Klenau's "key-determined twelve-tone system", but comes across as classical with elements familiar in tonally-based music. A personal work, which plays out his situation during the Second World War.

The Symphony no.8 is written "in the old style" with a Rococo spirit: light, cheerful and playful. The work was maybe just as much an exercise for his own pleasure, as he didn't try to have it performed or published, but there is much more in the music than just a stylistic exercise.

The Violin Concerto is a twelve-tone work according to Klenau himself, but its musical expression is more late Romantic in style.