Mogens Wöldike (Conductor)

Born: July 5, 1897 - Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: October 20, 1988 - Copenhagen, Denmark

The illustrious Danish conductor, Mogens Wöldike, was renowned particularly for his readings of music from the Classical and Baroque eras. He studied with Thomas Laube and Carl Nielsen in Copenhagen, where he also attended the University in 1920.

Mogens Wöldike played a major role in Denmark from the 1920's to the 1960's as a conductor, organist, choirmaster, and scholar. In 1931 he became organist at the Christiansborg Palace Church, which post he held at the Copenhagen Cathedral from 1959 to 1972. He became the director of the Copenhagen school of singing and boys' choir in 1924; in 1937, the choirmaster of the Danish State Radio; from 1943-1945 the conductor for Swedish radio, and after that he toured widely as a guest conductor. In the second half of his career, after becoming throughly established in his native Scandinavia, he toured extensively in Europe and America

His reputation as an interpreter of Classical and Baroque music was heightened by his recordings, ‘Masterpieces of Music before 1750’, and the complete cantatas of Dietrich Buxtehude.

Mogens Wöldike was Knight of the Danish Order and of the Swedish Order of Vasa. In 1950 he was made a member of the Royal Academy of Stockholm. His organ chorale compositions were published in 1943, 1960 and 1982. With his son-in-law, Jens Peter Larsen, he edited the hymnbook of the Danish Church (1954, 1973).

Source: Liner notes to the CD ‘Bach: Cantatas BWV 12 & 29’ conducted by Mogens Wöldike (Vanguard Classics, 1998); Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (May 2001)

Mogens Wöldike: Short Biography | Recordings of Vocal Works | BWV 244 - M. Wöldike

Links to other Sites

Holmes Kirke - Musikalske Portræter [Danish]