Our Story
Klassiske Dage – Holstebro's International Music Festival is
a unique concert and cultural event for children and adults
ranging from Aarhus in the east to Thorsminde on the North
Sea in the west. Since 2005 every year in
September/October, the festival has invited a long list of highly competent classical musicians to Holstebro, seeking to be the best possible ambassador to Holstebro.
Klassiske Dage has expanded significantly since its
foundation, and since 2018 has also been active in the season
around Christmas with a large Christmas choir concert.
Sinde 2022 this concert has expanded with several
concerts in collaboration with young talents in side-by-side
projects.
BACKGROUND
Behind Klassiske Dage is the internationally recognized, award-winning flutist Janne Thomsen, who performs with many of today's most remarkable musicians and enjoys the honour of bringing many of these wonderful colleagues to the festival.
Klassiske Dage takes place annually for a week in autumn when Holstebro and the region can experience classical music on the highest level, including projects with hundreds of children and young talents, who spend many weeks in preparation and rehearsing for the events.
In addition, satellite concerts are organized throughout Central and Western Jutland, and The Danish National Radio transmits concerts from the festival.
"KNUDSEN'S"
Built 1900, Renovated by Inger and Valdemar Birn 2004
THE MAIN VENUE: "KNUDSEN’S"
Since the festival’s beginning, the heart and soul has been the splendid teatre and concert hall
"Knudsen's" in the city centre of Holstebro.
The hall was built back in 1900. At that time it
was used as a dance hall at the hotel, which in
1921 changed its name into “Knudsens Hotel". The
hall had lived in neglected oblivion for many
years, until it was bought by Inger and Valdemar
Birn, who thus rescued the hall from demoliton,
carried out a thorough renovation of the hall in
2004, expanding it with a foyer. In the
autumn of 2004 Inger and Valdemar Birn handed it over to the citizens and the city of Holstebro as a donation. Furthermore, many festival events also take place in a large number of other locations, both regionally and in Holstebro.
MORE ABOUT THE FOUNDER
As mentioned above, Klassiske Dage was founded by Janne Thomsen, a highly sought-after soloist and chamber musician and an international prize winner from competitions in Prague, Paris, Bayreuth, Rome, Vienna and Boston. From the age of 4 a student at the local Holstebro Music School, which was followed by studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Paris Conservatory. Janne Thomsen enjoys dedicated collaborations with leading composers and free-flowing cross-over music and also, she has taught for several years at the "Mozarteum" University of Music in Salzburg and has been a guest professor at Lucerne Conservatory of Music in Switzerland.
For more information about flutist and artistic director Janne Thomsen of the Klassiske Dage festival,
please refer to this link: https://klassiskedage.dk/en/about/janne-thomsen/
WORLD-CLASS ARTISTIC EXPERIENCES AND PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATION
MUSICIANS
Klassiske Dage's musicians are exquisite international players. Among the artists who have visited the festival over the years are:
Violin
Isabelle Faust, Viktoria Mullova, Priya Mitchell, Daniel Rowland, Hugo Ticciati, Cecilia Zilliacus,
Ivry Gitlis, Elina Vähälä
Viola
Lars Anders Tomter,
Lise Berthaud, Rachel Roberts, Andres Kaljuste,
Nicholas Algot Swensen, Yuval
Gotlobovich
Cello
Andreas Brantelid, Torleif Thedéen, Christian Poltera, Anne Gastinel, Julian Arp
Bass
Rick Stotjin, Zoran Marković
Piano
Katrine Gislinge, Christian Ihle Hadland, Denes Varjon, Alexander Melnikov, Olli Mustonen, Marianna Shirinyan, Bengt Forsberg, Nicholas Angelich, Silke Avenhaus and
Ralf Gothóni
Recorder
Michala Petri, Maurice Steger
Flute
Janne Thomsen, William Bennett
Oboe
Olivier Doise
Clarinet
Christoffer Sundqvist, Reto Bieri Bassoon
Bram van Sambeek
Horn
Sarah Willis, Hervé Joulain
Trumpet
Håkan Hardenberger
Ensembles and more
Volker Eisenach, conductor Tamás Vetö, the Borodin Quartet, the Modigliani Quartet,
the Danish String Quartet and the English Chamber Orchestra, the composers Peteris Vasks, Bent Sørensen, Philippe Hersant and many others.
INNOVATION
In terms of genre, Klassiske Dage strives to be innovative, inclusive and have invited wonderful
jazz and folkmusicians, and since 2022 in a yearly collaboration with Jazz Nights Holstebro and
Subhuset at the local cultural hub ”Slaughterhouse I/S - Holstebro”.
The festival has a strong focal point, supporting the entire ”musical food chain”, so to speak – from the smallest children, who are met with exuberant inspiration from the festival's educational consultant Sigurd Barrett, to conservatory students and talented junior academy students, who get to open their musical horizons through masterclasses and workshops with great masters on their
instruments.
In addition, side-by-side interactions are always arranged, in projects where the young talents play together with the invited soloists of Klassiske Dage.
THE YOUTH
3 years after the festival's first founding years, there was,
in 2008, finally surplus to run interactive children's projects
as a permanent part of the festival. Their goal is to convey
music to elementary school students and other young
people in a time when the commercial mainstream culture
is so strong that an artistic counterbalance is needed.
Klassiske Dage has thus, since the festival's infancy, undergone a rather expansive development.
Many well-known musicians have visited Holstebro and thousands of children and young people
have participated side by side with the invited musicians from abroad, all of whom take the task of playing for and with children very seriously. Remember, all musicians have been children once. They haven't forgotten that music is an easy access to preserve the child in all of us.
FEATURED COMPOSERS
Every year Klassiske Dage commissions a piece to be premiered at the festival. Following composers have contributed over the years:
2005 Peter Helms, Denmark
2006 Michael Berkeley, England
2007 Willy Stolarczyk, Denmark
2008 Philippe Hersant, Frankrig
2009 Frans Winther, Denmark
2010 Karsten Fundal, Denmark
2011 Yuval Gotlibovich, Israel
2012 Eric Tanguy, Frankrig
2013 Fuzzy, Denmark
2014 Karsten Fundal, Denmark
2015 Jacob Lorentzen, Denmark
2016 Pēteris Vasks, Latvia
2017 Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, Denmark
2018 Anders Mogensen (jazz), og Harald Haugaard (folkemusik), Denmark
2019 Bo Holten og Frederik Zeuthen, Denmark
2020 Bent Sørensen, Denmark
2021 Artur Tuźnik, Polen
2022 Søren Monrad, Denmark
2023 Olli Mustonen, Finland
LOCAL COOPERATION
Klassiske Dage widely embraces and collaborates with all the local and private schools, Holstebro
and Struer High School, Danish Talent Academy, Holstebro Music School, OrkesterEfterskolen
(Denmark’s only boarding school for classical music), The Danish Royal Ballet School in Holstebro,
Holstebro Dance Company, Orchestra MidtVest, Ensemble MidtVest, Northwest Jutland Music Society, Big Bio and Holstebro Film Club.
From 2023 a new collaboration with the Danish National School of Performing Arts, which will open in August 2023 when the institution places a part of its education from Copenhagen to Holstebro.
KLASSISKE DAGE IS FOR ALL
Concerts of high international quality are offered at very reasonable prices, many with free entry and this right in the middle of Holstebro - everyone is welcome!
Music is a global language in itself, and can facilitate and innitiate contact, it brings life within any culture, religion, nationality, origin, age and gender. Anyone can experience the joy of listening and open up to the vast treasure of experiences that lie in the world of music.
One of Klassiske Dage's strong focal points is therefore interactive projects for those, who do not yet know classical music, and makes sure that invitation is extended, so as to allow a maximum of people to share all the magic that music can bring, when shared together both on and off stage.
Every year, one or more of the festival's soloists teach the most talented instrumentalists from the Danish music academies.
The festival is financed by national funds, Holstebro Municipality, Ministry of Culture, private sponsors and ticket revenues.
We are grateful for every contribution.
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