Stigmatised by the critics...

Langgaard was naturally a favourite victim of one of the most active musical cartoonists of the time, P.E. Johannessen. Here we see a double caricature from the journal "Musik", 1918, entitled "Vaarbrud" ("Break of Spring") (left) and "Fall of the Leaf" (right) - following the titles of Langgaard's 2nd. and 4th. Symphonies.

Gustav Hetsch, who wrote for the newspaper, the Nationaltidende, was one of Langgaard's most persistent critics. Reviewing one of Langgaard's works in 1919, he wrote as follows, reflecting the general attitude of the critics to Rued Langgaard, who at this time was in his mid-twenties:

"... In general the work... as is ususally the case with Langgaard, is wrongly conceived. It has an exceedingly pretentious form, which the musical content cannot fill out; a pathological urge to fix on and continually repeat a phrase without any obvious artistic necessity and with a puffed-up prolixity that quickly tires any listener who is of normal intelligence and reasonably quick on the uptake. For the umpteenth time we have to regret that was was originally a very promising musical talent was not caught in time, put through the discipline of rational training, and taught how to economise on notation..."

Now and then Langgaard replied to this criticism; he was very hurt by it, and in the long run it probably helped to push him off the rails.