A prominent exhibition of J.F. Willumsen’s main pieces at Musée d’Orsay is the outset for two concerts by the Danish string quartet Paizo. Paizo will be playing Carl Nielsen’s String Quartets no. 2 and 3 at Maison du Danemark 28 June and Musée d’Orsay 29 June. Furthermore, four leading Danish organ players will be playing four concerts at the Notre Dame Cathedral in July.

Carl Nielsen’s music played within the frames of J.F. Willumsen’s art is a little glimpse back in time. Carl Nielsen met his future wife the artist Anne Marie Brodersen in 1890 in Paris. At this time Willumsen (1863-1958) was posing for her, and a life-long friendship arose between all three of them. The exhibition at Musée d’Orsaytakes place 26 June – 17 September, and the concerts with Paizo are organised in parallel with the exhibition to draw the attention towards the time of Willumsen, and illustrate the profound originality of Carl Nielsen’s chamber music.

The Paizo Quartet was formed in 1999, and already in 2000 the Quartet won first prize at the Trondheim International Music Competition. The Quartet’s international breakthrough came in 2003 when it won first prize and Grand Prize in the Fourth Melbourne International Chamer Music Competition. Besides concerts in Australia this has led to numerous performances at festivals an venues throughout Europe. The Quartet consists of Mikkel Futtrup, violin Kirstine Futtrup, violin, Magda Stevensson, viola, Toke Møldtrup, cello.

Danish and French music will also meet in Paris when the four organ players Bine Katrine Bryndorf (2 July), Grethe Krogh (9 July), Jens E. Christensen (16 July), and Flemming Dreisig (23 July) play concerts at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. All programmes consist of pieces by Danish and French composers, from Buxtehude, Carl Nielsen, Rued Langgaard to Bent Lorentzen, Fuzzy, and Messien.

2 July: Bine Bryndorf
Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707) - Prelude in d
J. P. E. Hartmann (1805-1900) - Sonata in g minor, op. 58
Franz Adolf Syberg (1904-1955) - Prelude, Intermezzo, Fugue
Vagn Holmboe (1909-1996) - Fabula II
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) Les Corps Glorieux
- Force et Agilité des Corps Glorieu
- Les Eaux de la Grâce

9 July: Grethe Krogh
Bent Lorentzen (1935) - Saturnus
Fuzzy (1939)- Contemplations d'un tableau de J.F. Willumsen (world premiere)
Rued Langgaard (1893-1952) - Toccata (Hommage à Niels W. Gade)
Niels W. Gade (1817-1890) - Choral
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) - Festival prelude
Gottfred Matthison-Hansen (1832-1909) - Concert for organ, op. 15

16 July: Jens E. Christensen
Rued Langgaard (1893-1952) - Like lightning will be the coming of the Son of Man
"Som lynet er Christi genkomst”
Jehan Alain (1911-1940) - Le jardin suspendu
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) - Commotio, op. 58

23  July: Flemming Dreisig
Charles Tournemire (1870-1939) - Suite évocatrice, op. 74
Niels Viggo Bentzon (1919-2000) - Organisazione Populare no.2 op. 350
Benna Moe (1897-1983) - Alpe-suite, op.  12