Frederick Delius and Friends
A British-Danish Music Festival
June 18-20, 1998, in Aarhus and Palsgaard, Juelsminde
Around the time when Frederick Delius at last achieved his musical breakthrough in England in 1907/8, he and his wife Jelka established a warm friendship with a Danish couple then living in London, Einar and Elisabeth Schou. Einar was a successful industrialist and Elisabeth a music-lover and a patron and friend of musicians. Although they were to retain many links with England, the Schous shortly after moved back to Denmark, where they bought Palsgaard – an estate in Jutland on which stood an imposing manor house. Here the Deliuses came to spend their holidays in 1909 and 1915 and here Elisabeth welcomed many other artist friends, among others Frederic Austin. Although not a visitor – as far as can be established – to Palsgaard itself, Percy Grainger collected folksongs in that part of Denmark, and it was at Aarhus that he took part in his last concert in Europe, in 1957, which included his Suite on Danish Folksongs as well as the Grieg Concerto, Grainger himself being the soloist.
This so-far-unsung and unknown British-Danish connection is celebrated at concerts at both Aarhus and Palsgaard in Juelsminde. The festival contains three elements – a symphonic concert in Aarhus, an invitation chamber concert at Palsgaard and an open-air concert at Palsgaard.
Festival Directors
The festival is organised in cooperation with
The festival is supported by