Human creativity is versatile and endless. If we enthuse about something we feel a need to convey that enthusiasm to others – to quote, to recite. Creativity is thus closely bound up with inspiration. One of the oldest and most resilient ways of fostering cultural life is to “borrow” ideas. In music this has been normal practice as long as there have been songs and singers to sing them. In the Romantic period this musical borrowing became an art form in its own right, with world-famous virtuosos and composers leading the way. But there are also artists today who relish this art form. Meet two of them here!

Music by Edvard Grieg, Kosaku Yamada, Dmitry Shostakovich, Geirr Tveitt and Carl Nielsen transcribed and performed by Wolfgang Plagge and Ole Edvard Antonsen.