Tak For Dit Brev (Thank You For Your Letter in Danish) is the musical project of Danish pianist-composer Simon Toldam that suggests fictional correspondence in which life’s small and large experiences – everyday events, important human encounters, and transformative moments – are manifested as written letters, with Toldam’s compositions representing responses. The projects began as a quintet with Swedish cornetist Tobias Wiklund, bass clarinetist Nils Berg, and double bass player Georg Riedel (who passed away in February 2024), and with Danish double bass player Anders Christensen and Toldam on piano and clarinet. The quintet released a self-titled debut album (Ilk Music, 2021).
Langsyn (Farsight) is Tak For Dit Brev’s sophomore album, now as a quartet, and it was recorded live at Gaarden & Gaden in Copenhagen on two late summer nights in September 2025. It offers a series of eight, chamber-like, openly emotional «sound letters», some uplifting and others disheartening, that are described by Toldam as «sounds and tones that need to meet souls and ears to exist», reflecting on his life experiences, and stressing the collective essence of this ensemble.
The playful, clever music is inspired by the urgency of jazz, the touching simplicity of Scandinavian folk songs, and the sound language of contemporary music, and is articulated as evocative, concise, and nuanced stories, performed with warm elegance and grace. «Lys» features Swedish poet (and Nobel prize winner for literature) Tomas Tranströmar reading his famous poem, «Den Halvfärdiga Himlen» (The Half-Finished Heaven), which corresponds with the album’s theme of togetherness («… Each man is a half-open door / leading to a room for everyone…»), beautifully accompanied by the Toldam and Wiklund. The album ends with a touching homage to the late Georg Riedel, «Brev Til Georg» (Letter to Georg).
The album’s cover artwork was designed by Andreas Omvik, with tests created by the audience, family, and friends, based on the prompt: What comes to mind when you hear or read the word «Langsyn»?
Eyal Hareuveni
Tobias Wiklund (cornet), Nils Berg (bass clarinet), Anders Christensen (double bass), Simon Toldam (piano, clarinet)
