Erling Møldrup (1943 - 2016) was a Danish

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

ist best known for championing Danish guitar music from all periods. Born in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, Møldrup grew up as an only child in Nørregade, in the

inner city The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

, in a music loving workers family. He started apprenticeship as a mason, like his father, but soon fell in love with the guitar. At the age of 15 he started to take classes at the Aarhus Folk Music School where he heard classical guitar music for the first time and his talent was spotted by the teachers. Later on, at the Danish

Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus The Royal Academy of Music (Danish: ''Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium'') in Aarhus and Aalborg, Denmark, is a conservatoire and state institution under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Culture, charged with responsibility for the further edu ...

, Møldrup received his initial training under Jytte Gorki Schmidt, obtaining his academy diploma in 1972. He has performed around the world as a soloist, chamber musician and with various orchestras. He has also toured as a guest lecturer. The first of many recordings by him appeared in 1975; among them are J. S. Bach's lute works and the complete guitar works of

Per Nørgård Per Nørgård (; 13 July 1932 – 28 May 2025) was a Danish composer and music theorist. Though his style varied considerably throughout his career, his music often included repeatedly evolving melodies, in the vein of Jean Sibelius, and a per ...

. He played repertoire from all periods — Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, '

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...

-style' and modern — and he commissioned a large number of works from living Scandinavian composers (see below). Møldrup also authored the book "''Guitaren, et eksotisk instrument i den danske musik''" (The Guitar, an exotic instrument in Danish music) and a number of articles.

Composers who have written works for Erling Møldrup

Erik Bach Erik Bach (born 5 January 1946) is a Danish composer and writer on music. Born in the small rural town of Mariager, Bach took his diploma in music theory and music history from the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus. As a composer, he claims the i ...

Axel Borup-Jørgensen Axel Borup-Jørgensen (22 November 1924 – 15 October 2012) was a Danish composer. He was born in Hjørring in Denmark, but grew up in Sweden. He died in Birkerød. He studied piano at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. As a co ...

* Ole Buck * John Frandsen * Ivar Frounberg *

Hans Gefors Hans Gefors (born 8 December 1952) is a Swedish composer. He was born in Stockholm and has lived in Lund since the mid-1990s. Selected works * ''La boîte chinoise'', for guitar (1975) * ''Poeten och glasmästaren'', chamber opera (1979, libretto ...

Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (21 November 1932 – 27 June 2016) was a Danish composer. Biography Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was the son of the sculptor Jørgen Gudmundsen-Holmgreen. He studied at the Royal D ...

* Svend Nielsen *

Tage Nielsen Tage Nielsen (16 January 1929 in Frederiksberg – 23 March 2003) was a Danish composer. He studied with Rued Langgaard and worked for Danish Radio DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service r ...

Ib Nørholm Ib Nørholm (24 January 1931 in Søborg, Gladsaxe Municipality – 10 June 2019) was a Danish composer and organist. Life and career Nørholm studied with Vagn Holmboe at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, where he later taught (from 1973), bec ...

Karl Aage Rasmussen Karl Aage Rasmussen (born 13 December 1947) is a Danish composer and writer. He was born in Kolding. Composition Quotation and particularly collage played an important role in his music from the early 1970s, but increasingly he used pre-existing ...

Poul Ruders Poul Ruders (born 27 March 1949) is a Danish composer. Life Born in Ringsted, Ruders trained as an organist, and studied orchestration with Karl Aage Rasmussen. Ruders's first compositions date from the mid-1960s. Ruders regards his own composi ...

Flemming Weis (Carl) Flemming Weis (15 April 1898 – 30 September 1981) was a Danish composer. He was born in 1898 in Copenhagen, Denmark and died in Hellerup, Denmark in 1981. When studying, he specialized in the organ. Music Weis was heavily influence ...

Timme Ørvad Timme is a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Timme Hoyng (born 1976), Dutch field hockey player *Timme Rosenkrantz Baron Timme Rosenkrantz (July 6, 1911 – August 11, 1969) was a Danish aristocrat, autho ...

Recordings

*''Music for Flute and Guitar from the Danish Golden Age'' with

Karl Lewkovitch Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl of Austria, last Austrian Emperor * Karl (footballer) (born 1993), Karl Cachoe ...

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

(Olga 1989) *''Estrellita: Spanish, French and Latin American Guitar Music'' (Olga 1990) *''The Frosty Silence...: Guitar Works by 6 Contemporary Danish Composers'' (Da Capo 1993) *''In Memory of...: Guitar Works by Per Nørgård'' (Kontrapunkt 1996) *''J. S. Bach: The Complete Lute/Guitar Works'' (Classico 1997) *''The Danish Classical Guitar'' (Kontrapunkt 1997) *''Ricordanza: Music for Cello and Guitar by Romantic Composers'' (Classico 1999) *''Jeanne D'arc: Musik for Carl Th. Dreyer's Silent Movie-Master Work "Jeanne D'Arc"'' (for soprano, guitar and orchestra) (Da Capo 1998-99) *''Early Morn: Guitar Works by 6 Danish Composers'' (Danacord 2002) *''El Delirio: Romantic Guitar Music'' (Classico, 2003) *''Album Leaves: 50 Pieces for Guitar by Henrik and Frederik Rung'' (Classico 2003) *''On the Track: Guitar Master Works by Seven Non-Guitarist Composers'' (with Thomas Jensen, flute) (Classico 2005) *''Per Nørgård: Tales from a Hand'' (4 suites for guitar) (Classico 2009) *''Bellmaniana'' (CDKlassisk 2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moldrup, Erling Danish classical guitarists Musicians from Aarhus 1943 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Danish classical musicians