It is with deep sadness that Edition Wilhelm Hansen announces the death of renowned Danish composer Per Nørgård. Nørgård died peacefully on May 28, 2025, aged 92. He was born on July 13, 1932.
Per Nørgård was a musical icon and a giant in both Danish and international music life, with a career spanning more than 70 years. Perhaps the most prominent Danish composer since Carl Nielsen, Per Nørgård’s musical output included works in every genre including eight symphonies, six operas, solo concertos, choral music, a wide array of chamber pieces, as well as several scores for film and theatre - totalling almost 400 works.
Nørgård began private studies with Danish composer Vagn Holmboe before joining the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen to study with Holmboe, Finn Høffding and Herman D. Koppel from 1952 to 1955. After graduating, he undertook lessons with Nadia Boulanger in Paris (1956-57). Aged just 22, Per Nørgård signed with the publisher Edition Wilhelm Hansen and began a partnership that would last until the end of his life.
From the 1950s he worked within the Nordic tradition from Carl Nielsen and especially Sibelius, with whom he had some correspondence. In the 1960s, influenced by Vagn Holmboe’s ideas of metamorphoses and new serial techniques, he developed he developed his own fractal ‘infinity series’.
Nørgård's inspiration came from many different places. He found inspiration in the legends of Gilgamesh and Prince Siddharta, in the gamelan music of Bali, The Beatles, the sound of Brazilian birds, the fundamental tone of the sea, the traffic of the big city and the so-called mad artist Adolf Wölfli (1864-1930), who inspired his choral work Wie ein Kind (1980) and the opera The Divine Circus (1982). In 2014, Nørgård's Symphony No. 8 (2010-11) and his Symphony No. 1 (1953/1956) were performed and recorded by the Vienna Philharmonic.
As a teacher in composition, he significantly influenced generations of composers, first at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and then, from 1965, at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus. Among his students were Fuzzy, Hans Gefors, Hans Abrahamsen, Bent Sørensen and many others. Nørgård's inspiration can also be found in international composers such as Carl Davis, Sven-David Sandström, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Wolfgang Rihm, Thomas Adés and Julian Anderson.
Per Nørgård was also a music critic for the Danish newspaper Politiken (1958-1962) and throughout his career he proved a prolific writer of musical analysis and musical philosophy. His writings are now digitally available at The Royal Danish Library. He was highly active in music politics serving on committees within the Danish Ministry of Culture and the Danish Art Foundation. Through his many writings, seminars and talks Per Nørgård inspired musicians, conductors, poets and scientists alike. He enjoyed engaging with visionary musicians and providing guidance for understanding his unique musical way of thinking. Although fragile toward the end of his life, he continued to work with musicians and - at age 90 – even recorded an album of improvisational pieces. A musical pioneer until the end.
Among Per Nørgård’s many significant works his symphonies stand as monuments in Danish music, among these is his Symphony No. 3 (1972), which was selected as part of the ‘Danish Cultural Canon’ in 2005. Other works of note include the trio Spell (1973) the choral work Wie ein Kind (1980), I Ching (1982) for percussion solo, and his violin concerto Helle Nacht (1987), the opera Nuit des Hommes (1996) and the orchestral piece Terrains Vagues (2000).
He received a large number of honorary awards for his musical achievements, including the Léonie Sonning Music Prize in 1996, the Nordic Council Music Prize in 1974, The Sibelius Prize in 2006, The Marie-Josée Kravis Music Prize in 2014, the Wilhelm Hansen Foundation's Honorary Grant in 2006 and the Siemens Music Prize in 2016.
Loui Törnqvist, Managing Director of Edition Wilhelm Hansen comments: ‘Per Nørgård’s musical significance cannot be overstated. It has been a great honour to publish his music. Per will be remembered as one of the greatest Danish composers of all time and someone who endlessly developed his musical expression throughout his career. He often joked that he prided himself on being the company’s oldest employee. As a human being, he was kind, and we will all miss him deeply.’
Per will be dearly missed by the Edition Wilhelm Hansen and Wise Music teams, who pass their condolences to his family at this difficult time. Per is survived by his two children Ditte and Jeppe.
For further information contact:
Kate Johnson kate.johnson@wisemusic.com (London)
Jonas Bille Gamkjær jbg@ewh.dk (Copenhagen)
