Musician – cellist Toke Moldrup (and Fairytales by Hans Christian Andersen)
DANISH ART LINK
by Jovanka Višekruna Janković
Toke Møldrup
Cellist
Danish Cellist Toke Moldrup has been a guest of ArtLink Festival in Belgrade in two editions and is preparing his third appearance with Serbian pianist and festival Director Jovanka Višekruna Janković. It will be a Fairytale program created and curated by two artists. Two previous appearances of Toke Moldrup have been a kind of great achievement, for both the artist and the festival.
The first one happened during the period of COVID, when most European festivals were cancelled, when the courageous and visionary festival Director Jovanka Višekruna Janković managed to bring to Belgrade several international artists, among them Toke Moldrup, who gave an extraordinary recital with Danish pianist Tanja Zapolski. That was just an introduction for a new exciting festival story – Bach Marathon by Toke Moldrup that Jovanka Višekruna Janković managed to realise in Belgrade as a part of ArtLink Festival in 2022 at the riverbank of the Sava River.
Let’s launch crazy projects and perform as if our lives depended on it
It was an extraordinary music and sports event that presented the synergy of the artists’ endless energy and motivation, and resilience in achieving the extraordinary. It is the innovation, it is a challenge, a creation, a strength, the showcase of the power of dedication, a power of constant improvement through everyday practice and the power of energy of our mind, body and heart when they work as one.
ArtLink festival creates synergies and new stories among artists. If there is a talent and connection, if there is a potential and mutual understanding and recognition in terms of creation and artistry, there is always a new story. And here we come to a new one – Fairytale that is now a new work in process. Toke Moldrup has his Fairy tale program, but Serbian pianist has also her fairytale concept. And it goes back to their childhoods and to Hans Christian Andersen. The first dreams, first music and sounds started with that book of the most beautiful fairy tales!
The Little Mermaid, a symbol of the city of Copenhagen, is a famous fairytale that is a part of Danish cultural history and culture, but also a part of European collective consciousness. Two artists are creating a Musical Fairy tale program, but also a small Musical Marathon that will connect the symbol of Belgrade – Monument Victor – and the symbol of Copenhagen through the music performance and musical walk. Also, the castles – Belgrade Fortress and the beautiful castles that are the symbol of the Fairy tale, you can see in Denmark, they look like the cover of the book by H.C. Andersen.
What do you feel needs to be done to grow classical music audiences?
Now we have to come up with many more reasons why we do what we do. And great things have come of it. I think the answer to the question is: Let’s keep doing our best to get the music out there, creating visionary programming, exciting education on all levels. Let’s launch crazy projects and do what we are best at: performing as if our lives depended on it. And let’s be sure to get some statistics on the actual numbers of listeners in the concert halls. My dad used to complain about those numbers, too. But from my view here in Denmark, Europe, it seems like more and more people are getting interested in the wonderful world of classical music.
What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?
- Dream big and do all you can to achieve this dream. If your dream fails, dream a new dream.
- Learn when you are learning. Don’t ask questions all the time, follow along and see where it takes you. If you don’t feel that you are learning enough, consider changing teachers or institutions, but maybe wait until you’ve finished your next exam.
- Practise all the time. With the instrument and without it: read, see, understand, feel.
- Trust your instinct, it is usually right. If you are not sure about a decision, go to an isolated (maybe even dark) room for ten minutes, consider, make the decision and stand by it. If you have a girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse – by all means, run it by him or her!
Acclaimed as “A star” (New York Times), “Tomorrow’s man” and even a “A consummate perfectionist on the cello” (Politiken), Danish cellist Toke Møldrup has performed across Europe and the United States, South America, Australia, the Middle East and Asia for two decades. Møldrup’s concerts, social media presence, and his experimental and reflective approach to classical music captivate existing audiences while engaging new listeners.
Møldrup has performed in venues such as the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein, Daiichi Seimei Hall in Tokyo and the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. As a soloist, Møldrup has performed with Danish and international symphony orchestras under conductors such as Vincent de Kort, Santtu Rouvali, Lan Shui and Toshiyuki Kamioka, and at festivals such as the Bergen International Festival, Lincoln International Chamber Music Festival, Monte-Carlo Spring Arts Festival and Oberstdorf Music Summer.
Dream big, and if your dream fails, dream a new one
With a keen interest in developing the cello repertoire, he has premiered many works by contemporary composers, among them the European premiere of John Williams’ cello concerto, the world premiere of Geoffrey Gordon’s cello concerto and Christian Winther Christensen’s double concerto. His versatile approach to modern cello playing is demonstrated in his recent adding to the list of recordings: CONSOLATION – dedicated to the victims and heroes of the pandemic with pianist Tanja Zapolski, Beethoven’s complete sonatas and variations with pianist Yaron Kohlberg, CELLO LIBRIS – chamber and concerto works for cello by Geoffrey Gordon and last but not least the 6 suites for solo cello by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Among many national and international prizes, Toke Møldrup has received Queen Ingrid’s Honorary Award for his achievements on behalf of Danish music as well as the Augustinus Foundation’s Anniversary Grant. Due to his busy concert schedule and his position as a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Møldrup has recently left his position as principal cellist of the Copenhagen Philharmonic, one of Denmark’s top orchestras and famous for its inspirational and successful initiative to attract new audiences to the world of classical music. He is now continuing this important work as artistic director of the annual Svanekegaarden International Cello Masterclass.
Important influences on Møldrup’s artistic development include cellists Valter Dešpalj, Hans Jensen, Ralph Kirschbaum, Yo-Yo Ma, Harro Ruijsenaars and Morten Zeuthen as well as Prof. Tim Frederiksen and The Alban Berg Quartet, under whose mentorship he studied as a member of the Paizo Quartet, winner of the Grand Prize at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition in his early career.
Toke Møldrup plays a David Tecchler cello (Rome, 1697) courtesy of the Augustinus Foundation.