Violinkoncert nr. 1, Op. 70 (1951)
(Violin Concerto No. 1)

Niels Viggo Bentzon’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 70 was written in 1951 and premiered June 15, 1951. After probably a couple of performances in the 1950’s, the sheet music disappeared from circulation and the concerto effectively vanished.

Now, more than seventy years after it was written, the concerto has been reconstructed and prepared for performance again: a rare opportunity to bring back a singular work that nearly slipped out of Danish music history altogether.

Bentzon’s son, the musician and composer Nikolaj Bentzon, found a piano score of the violin concerto among his father’s papers. In a separate stroke of luck, the solo violin part was found with the heirs of the concerto’s first soloist, Charles Sanderovitz. Incidentally, a historic recording from the original performances also exists, with Thomas Jensen conducting the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra featuring Charles Sanderovitz as soloist. The recording was only released commercially in recent years.

Together, these sources have made it possible to reconstruct the concerto bringing back a violin concerto from the 1950’s from one of the most interesting Danish composers of the twentieth century.

Jonas Bille, 2026