Danish Humor

posted by Phil Johnson

ou'll get most of the following video just fine, even if you don't know Danish. It's an excerpt from Victor Borge's 80th birthday concert at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen in 1989. This was one of his most famous concerts, coming near the end of his performing career and about a decade before Borge died.

Here's an excerpt from Borge's obituary mentioning this concert:

Borge became an American citizen in 1948, but thought of himself as Danish. It was obvious from the numerous affectionate tributes and standing ovations at his 80th birthday concert in Copenhagen in 1989 that Danes felt the same way. In the concert at Copenhagen's Tivoli gardens, Borge played variations on the theme of "Happy Birthday to You" in the styles of Mozart, Brahms, Wagner and Beethoven—all executed with such wit that the orchestra was convulsed with laughter that a woman performing a piccolo solo was unable to draw breath to play. "Playing music and making jokes are as natural to me as breathing," Borge told Reuters in an interview after that concert.

The "woman performing a piccolo solo" is actually playing a recorder (not a piccolo). She is Michala Petri, famed Danish recorder virtuoso. She makes stunning recordings with her husband, Danish lutenist and guitar player Lars Hannibal. She's been performing to critical acclaim since she was a teenager.

I love the spontaneity of her performance with Borge, and the brave way she perseveres, even when he starts playing in a different key. The video is not subtitled, so I've included below the video a quasi-translation and keyed it to the time code for you:



To the concertmaster:
0:04: How does it begin?
0:08: Oh, you have to use the bow?
0:13: Please do that again.
0:17: You are very nervous; your hand is shaking!
0:22: One more time, please. You may shake, that is all right!
0:36: Yes, that was right!

To Michala Petri:
0:45: Does this key suit you?
0:48: What a great shame; I cannot stand that key.
2:26: Does this mean I have to play it all again?
3:56: You chose it yourself.
4:06: It sounds great. I am very happy about this. You spoil my birthday completely!
4:26: We try one more time; if it does not work I may take the flute from you.
4:38: Did you never consider playing the cello?
7:42: Is there a doctor here?
8:03: Would you like a glass of water?
8:20: I do that every morning.

---