Overview of all courses

Study Levels: Undergraduate, Postgraduate
Faculty: Dr. Søren Schauser
Royal Danish Academy of Music

Nordic Noir – Structure and Melancholy in Nordic Music

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is an introduction to the late Romantic and early 20th Century music of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland.

Participants will study important works of prominent Nordic composers of the period, such as Carl Nielsen, Edvard Grieg, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Jean Sibelius and Jón Leifs. Through this, participants will reflect upon whether traits such as the highly unusual orchestration in Nielsen’s symphonies (occasionally described as clumsy) or the dark timbre in Sibelius’ symphonies can be considered “Nordic” – and whether the argument that “national traits” exist in absolute music can be considered to be valid.