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”Kristian Riisager er en pianist, der er kommet for at give os, der lytter, nye og blændende syn på musikken.” P2 anbefaler klassisk, Claus Berthelsen
Kristian Riisager formidler musikken med et stærkt udtryk, der når ud over scenekanten. Som koncertpianist har han optrådt på en række scener og festivaler i Danmark og udlandet. Anmelderne beskriver hans klaverspil som modigt og overbevisende. Han nærmer sig musikken med respekt, ydmyghed og teknisk præcision, samtidig med at han formår at præsentere den med en personlig og rørende fortolkning.
Indenfor de sidste år har Kristian udgivet to albummer, som har modtaget stor anerkendelse. I 2022 udgav han sit debutalbum “A Testament to Hope – Piano Works by Beethoven”, og året efter udgav Kristian og sopranen Louise McClelland Jacobsen et album med sange af den danske komponist Rued Langgaard. Begge albummer er blevet bemærket med flotte anmeldelser af både radiostationer og musikmagasiner. Blandt andet belønnede magasinet Piano News i Tyskland “A Testament to Hope – Piano Work by Beethoven” med en seks-stjernet anmeldelse, hvor de skrev:
“Kristian Riisager spiller på en gang Beethoven analytisk, krystalklart, fri for sentimentalitet og alligevel rørende, lidenskabeligt og overbevisende.”
Kristians talent og dedikation er blevet anerkendt med flere priser herunder Léonie Sonning’s Talentpris i 2023. Derudover bliver han støttet af Augustinus Fonden, der har tildelt ham et Steinway-flygel til låns under hans studier.
Kristian Riisager begyndte sin musikalske rejse ved Klaverskolen Gradus i Århus og fortsatte sine studier ved Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” i Berlin. Derefter tog han til Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium i København, hvor han fra 2023 studerer i Solistklassen. I perioden 2022 til 2024 er han Visiting Artist ved Ingesund Piano Center i Sverige. Han har studeret under anerkendte pianister og undervisere, herunder Martin Lysholm Jepsen, Eldar Nebolsin, Jens Elvekjær og Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist.
“Den danske pianist Kristian Riisager præsenterer med denne CD fra det danske label Danacord et imponerende debutalbum – og bestiger med Beethovens Appassionata og Eroica-Variationerne tillige en af klaverlitteraturens tinder. Hans optagelse er hverken en højdramatisk og bombastisk indspilning, lige så lidt som den er tilstræbt tænksom og tungsindig … den er yderst personlig. Pianisten nærmer sig disse monumenter med respekt, ydmyghed, alvor og højeste tekniske og fortolkningsmæssige koncentration og præcision. Resultatet er betagende og forfriskende nyt. Kristian Riisager, som har studeret i Berlin og København (og stadig studerer), spiller på en gang Beethoven analytisk, krystalklart, fri for sentimentalitet og alligevel rørende, lidenskabeligt og overbevisende. Han har en alvorsfuld, klangfuld, om end måske ikke videre eksperimentel tilgang til variationerne. I sonaten udvikler han et naturligt tonefald, en afbalanceret blanding mellem et fængslende greb og en lyrisk tone. Teknisk er han uden begrænsninger: han har den nødvendige virtuositet til Appassionata, rammer den rytmiske puls og fremhæver gribende den fremadstridende uro. Samtidig rækker hans musikalske nuancer og betoninger helt ind i de hurtigste og mest ekspressive passager – med et til enhver tid fintfølende anslag. Hvilket visitkort! Man ser frem til mere…”
Fortolkning 6/6, Lyd 5/6, Repertoirevalg 4/6
A poignancy haunts these songs by Rued Langgaard (1893-1952) quite beyond their affecting content. Composed between the ages of 13 and 24, they show his astonishing facility and expressive range from a very young age – and his stylistic eclecticism. What they don’t show is his looming antipathy towards, and struggle with, the Danish establishment that – despite a fecundity that produced 16 symphonies and more – would see Langgaard tragically shunned. He died largely forgotten and unheard, aged just 58.
The vast majority of the songs here are world-premiere recordings and represent a fifth of the total Langgaard composed. Performed with sensitivity and intelligence by soprano Louise McClelland Jacobsen and pianist Kristian Riisager, the settings feature adaptations from Russia and Ukraine alongside Danish texts, including by Langgaard himself.
Firmly late-Romantic, Wagner and Richard Strauss are clear influences alongside Grieg and others. Yet what arises is wholly distinctive and extends to a kind of impressionism that’s sparked by the bells Langgaard returns to again and again alongside vivid descriptions of birds, weather and landscapes – and that prefigures minimalism at points, for example, in the twin 1914 settings of Jenny Blicher-Clausen’s ‘Alle de små klokker’.
There’s even a hint of Weill-to-be about ‘Sigøjnervise’ (1916), Langgaard’s playful characterisation of Thor Lange’s south Russian gypsy girl. Indeed, it’s the set of eight songs from which this comes that contains arguably his most intriguing stylistic turns, with unusual harmonies and a paring-down of piano textures. But no song is merely outwardly descriptive. Each has a strong emotional resonance or narrative that speaks of the composer’s profound yearning for love. Optimism, desire, tenderness; transience, grief, loss. It’s all – heartbreakingly – here.
This is the Danish pianist Kris.an Riisager’s debut disc, and a wonderful entry it is! The recital contains three works from Beethoven’s middle period, all performed with a winning mixture of gusto, reflection and formal/structural awareness.
The opp. 35 and 34 variation sets, respectively, present the pianist as a lover of refreshingly asymmetrical detail in context. Even the opening E chord of the Eroica variations is a miniature exercise in controlled fire. Riisager rolls it slightly without sacrificing its net effect, a gesture leading equally convincingly into the hushed but expectant theme. His Puckish delivery is well-served by the B♭ with which he ends the first two phrases, curtailed in a way that increases whimsical anticipation. Like the opening of the first symphony’s fourth movement, this is Beethoven at his most deeply humorous, and Riisager adds a bit of variety, like seasoning, to each repetition. The way it all leads, say, to the left-hand virtuosity of the fourth variation, or, much later, to the pathetic E♭ minor variation and its succeeding combination of chorale and aria, demonstrates the range of his approach.
In a fundamental way, Riisager presents the other variation set as a contrast in microcosm, which it certainly is. He brings similar introspective attention to his voicing of the F-Major theme and brings the transition to D-Major off with particular success, lightening the mood without resorting to caricature. His transitions are gradual rather than forced or pointlessly overemphasized. All of this leads very naturally to the more strident B♭ variation, with its disorienting syncopations and registral and chromatic contrasts. All of the humor, introspection, and pathos from the Eroica set is here but scaled down, or distilled.
If Riisager’s treatment of the op. 57 sonata doesn’t crackle with the virtuosic energies of certain celebrated performances, such as those from Richter or Gilels, all of the traits informing the rest of the disc place the interpretation well beyond average. Each trill is rendered as if it were the first, and each moment takes its place afresh in the narrative. Listen to the E-Minor contrast emerging at 3:24 into the first movement, sweeping aside its just-stated parallel major with force but with that exquisite voicing so important to the pianist. This is certainly the case in the second movement’s beautifully resolute opening melody: Rissager’s gravitas leads to a beautifully shaped multi-tiered narrative arc, and ultimately to the diminished chord complex at 6:47. Again, if fire doesn’t burn the final movement to a cinder, there’s more than enough moment-to-moment intrigue to maintain interest.
None of this is to suggest any inability on Riisager’s part to navigate the larger forms, and when he reaches the last minute and a half of the sonata, the larger picture slams into sharp focus as the tempo increases. Even then though, he’s accenting the highest note of the left-hand arpeggiations, another nod to the detail too often neglected by many pianists. It sets him apart and goes a long way toward making this disc, a journey built around variation on multiple levels, the success it is. © 2023 Fanfare
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Fotos: Julia Eva Severinsen