Friedrich Daniel Rudolph Kuhlau

Composer (1786-1832)

Hear Kuhlau’s music as recorded by Dacapo Records.

Ironically, it was the German composer Kuhlau whose music for the play Elverhøi (The Elfin Mount)  became the best known and most Danish of compositions. The play dates from 1828 and won immediate popularity, especially the overture and the final royal anthem, Kong Christian stod ved høien Mast (King Christian Stood by the Towering Mast). Elverhøi was the first Danish national romantic play and was a concealed act of homage to absolute monarchy.

Kuhlau was born just south of Lüneburg, but came to Copenhagen in 1810. Here, like Weyse, he became one the most important composers of the early 19th century. His breakthrough came in 1814 at the Royal Theatre with the Singspiel Røverborgen (The Robbers’ Castle) to a libretto by Oehlenchschläger. Alongside the dramatic works, Kuhlau wrote several compositions for flute and a large number of works for piano. The short pieces for piano (sonatinas) in particular enjoyed great popularity both in Denmark and abroad, and several generations have learned to play the piano using his music.

More About Kuhlau

• Charles K. Moss. Article by Gorm Busk
• The Society for the Publication of Danish Music. English and Danish biography
• Dacapo Records. Biography