lncluding empty spaces in your compositions can sometimes convey very concrete information about the subject matter of a piece. You can imagine when you describe in notes a wide open landscape, that creating open space in your music is a very good tool. You can think of other situations where leaving some space in between … Read more

Sometimes a great effect can be created by choosing extreme tempi. Choosing a very fast tempo can make otherwise perfectly ordinary notes, suddenly seem special in a way. And the same goes for an almost absurdly low pace. It gives the notes something extra, provided the tune can withstand the slow pulse. There is a … Read more

New Moon. ln former days taking piano or violin lessons pretty much always included learning how to compose and how to improvise. Bach taught his students how to improvise, unless they seemed to be entirely tonedeaf, according to his son Carl-Philipp lmmanuel. Beethoven was an excellent improviser, Mozart was also an improviser. There is a … Read more

All kinds of composers have tried to create new and remarkable sounds on a piano, by laying objects on top of the strings, or by attaching things to the string. A well known pioneer in this field is John Cage who wrote several pieces for the so-called ‘prepared piano’. Beer caps, clothes pins and pieces … Read more

Once upon a time when l was a physical marvel and a visual delight (not), l had a seemingly not very meaningful experience that would nevertheless emerge in my work as a composer later on. l was eightteen years old and we had just taken our final exams in high school. The results hadn’t come … Read more