Insektarium (Insectarium)

Insektarium (Insectarium) (1917), subtitled "9 Puzzle Pictures", describes the following insects:

In these small pieces Langgaard - perhaps for the first time in the history of music - requires the pianist to play directly on the strings of the piano (Movements 1 and 7) and to rap with his knuckles on the lid of the piano (6^th Movement). In 1917 no one realised that Langgaard in these works was thinking along untraditional lines - Insektarium was not performed for the first time until 60 years later, and was not published in print until as late as 1993.

Listen to Ulrich Stærk playing excerptrs of the work on a recording specially made for this website.