Else Marie Pade was one of the pioneers of electronic music in Denmark. From the beginning of the 1950s, she, in close co-operation with technicians and assistants on The Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), produced a substantial amount of concrete and electronic music, partly in the shape of independent works for radio broadcasts, partly in the shape of accompaniments to various radio dramas.
She began by taking private lessons in composition from both Vagn Holmboe, Jan Maegaard and Leif Kayser. In 1952 she discovered the works of Pierre Schaeffer, the originator of the new movement within the French field of electronic music: musique concrète.
After visiting Schaeffer in 1952, she began to study the aesthetics and techiques of musique concrète. In the latter half of the 1950s, Pade, together with Lauridsen, organised an interimistic electronic sound studio at DR, where one could work with both concrete and synthetically produced sound material - a synthesis which was also a prominent issue in the new Italian sound studio, Studio de Fonologia Musicale, where people like Luciano Berio, Henri Posseur and John Cage were working.
From 1957 until the middle of 1970s, Pade experienced a productive period in which she created a long series of electronic works and thereby made a name for herself, both in Denmark and to a certain extent in international electronic circles.
With the change of century Else Marie Pade experienced a rising popularity from the new generation of composers and electronic music listeners. In her essay "The Compositional Possibilities are Endless", Else Marie Pade writes about her music and dramatic life.
Podcasts
Listen to The Lake's Podcast Kender du Else Marie Pade?
Or Edition·S’ Kunstpauser podcast with 3 episodes on Else Marie Pade (in Danish).
Following funds have supported the digitalization of Else Marie Pade's scores, parts, tapes and the making of the podcast series by The Lake Radio possible: Augustinus Fonden, A.P. Møller Fonden, Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond, Konsul Georg Jorck og Hustru Emma Jock's Fond, Kodas Kulturelle Midler, Sonning Fonden, Statens Kunstfond - projektstøtteudvalget.
