We are thrilled to celebrate composer Anders Nordentoft as a recipient of this year's Honorary Prize by The Wilhelm Hansen Foundation.
The Wilhelm Hansen Foundation's Honorary Prize (Wilhelm Hansen Fondens Hæderspris) is one of Denmark's most prestigious cultural awards. Each year, five 200,000 DKK awards are given to honour outstanding individuals and ensembles who have significantly enriched the Danish cultural landscape.
Anders Nordentoft is considered one of the most important Danish composers of his generation and has composed over 80 published works for forces of all sizes and configurations. Nordentoft studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen with Ib Nørholm and Hans Abrahamsen and at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus with Per Nørgård. A strong rhythmic emphasis characterized many of Nordentoft’s earlier works such as his dramatic breakthrough piece, Entgegen (1985). Later, his focus became more introverted and lyrical with works including Hymne (1996). For two years from 2020, Nordentoft was composer-in-residence with Denmark’s foremost contemporary music ensemble, Athelas Sinfonietta who recorded the feature album Balcony Stream (Dacapo Records, 2023) with Robert Houssart as conductor. In recent years, Nordentoft has composed four symphonies - Symphony No. 1, Night Windows (2025), Symphony No. 2, Torn Sky (2025) Symphony No. 3, Rejoice, Earth (2025) and Symphony No. 4, Seen with the Mind (2026) as well as a large collection of solo and chamber works. Read more about his catalogue here.
Established in 1995 by Hanne Wilhem Hansen, the Wilhelm Hansen Foundation is an independent, non-profit Danish cultural foundation which supports music, dance and theatre through grants, guest performances and honorary awards. The award ceremony will take place at a festive event at Dansehallerne on 18 November 2026.
Congratulations to Anders Nordentoft and the other recipients of the prestigious honour! Read more here.
