Jesper  Koch

Jesper Koch

(1967-)

Jesper Koch began composing when he was 11 years old. His sonority-based musical idiom, which sometimes tends towards the minimalist, has a personal tone that testifies to a poetic disposition. A performance at the Fifth Danish Composers' Biennial of his tone poem Alice under Skies from 1998 was accorded the praise that one could almost hear little rabbits hopping across the meadow! As the title suggests, the work was inspired by Lewis Carroll's famous children's book Alice in Wonderland. The work was premiered by Collegium Musicum and Owain Arwel Hughes in the year of its composition.

Koch has studied with among others Andy Pape, Karl Aage Rasmussen, Olav Anton Thommesen and Colin Mathews. In 1992, with the work Ice-Breaking for two accordions and percussion, he won First Prize at ROSTRUM in Paris in the category for composers under 30. He was awarded the Carl Nielsen Grant for Composers in 1988, and six years later he received the three-year working grant of the National Arts Foundation.

At the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen he studied composition with Ib Nørholm, Hans Abrahamsen and Ivar Frounberg. Jesper Koch made his official debut from the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Aarhus in 1997. His debut concert demonstrated the broad palette with which Jesper Koch paints: Images of Lorca for piano solo, Dreamchild for flute, viola and harp, Down The Rabbit-Hole for wind quintet, Three portraits with shadows for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble to texts by Lorca. And last but not least - Jabberwocky for solo accordion, an instrument of which Jesper Koch is particularly fond. Ice-Breaking has already been mentioned, but Diversions for accordion and orchestra should also be mentioned. Since his debut Koch has composed many works, commissioned for example by the Odense Symphony orchestra, Collegium Musicum Copenhagen and most recently the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra. In 2001 he was appointed composer-in-residence for the South Jutland Symphony Orchestra. Several of Koch's chamber works have been released on the Kontrapunkt label under the title Jesper Koch, Chamber Music 1.

Besides the Nordic countries, Jesper Koch's music has been performed in Austria, Holland, Canada and France. "With its deep fundamental tone and its vocal and instrumental articulation, the work extends beyond the concept of Danish music, and has a wide international horizon," Professor Jan Maegaard has said of his music. The ability to elucidate musical structures from different angles and the coloristically aware interplay of harmony and instrumentation demonstrate a compositional scope with a convincing inner logic. His works are carefully conceived with a sure sense of form and structure, where all superfluous formulations have been peeled away so that the idea appears as the overall unifying factor.

The reviewers have long agreed on his great imaginative storytelling talent and humorous elements. But the humour is combined with a rigorous aesthetic that makes Koch careful in his choice of resources. Perhaps that is precisely why his stories are so distinctly outlined. "Modernism with atmospheric images" could be the heading for Koch's music.

Available Works

All categories Solo 2-6 Instruments 7+ Instruments Choir Orchestra Educational Music

  1. Tombstones

    2018 • Jesper Koch

    2-6 Instruments

    20 minutes

    Soprano and piano

  2. I en trævl af tvivl

    2017 • Jesper Koch

    2-6 Instruments

    14 minutes

    Soprano and guitar

  3. Fragmenter af en stemning

    2014 • Jesper Koch

    2-6 Instruments

    15 minutes

    Soprano and piano

  4. Drei Romantische Lieder

    2017 • Jesper Koch

    2-6 Instruments

    10 minutes

    Mezzo-soprano, violin, cello, piano

  5. Poesien er mørket i lyset

    2019 • Jesper Koch

    7+ Instruments

    22 minutes

    Tenor and 13 instruments (1.1eh.1.0/1.1flhn.0.0/2perc/arp/hps(or clst)/1.1.1.1.1)

  6. Vingeslag af vægge

    2015 • Jesper Koch

    Choir

    12 minutes

    Choir (SATB)

  7. …og her til vinter nu

    2013 • Jesper Koch

    Choir

    8:30 minutes

    Choir (SATB)

  8. Fem somre

    2015 • Jesper Koch

    Choir

    9 minutes

    Choir (SATB)

  9. Epidemi af mørke

    2014 • Jesper Koch

    Choir

    10 minutes

    Choir (SMATBB/SATB)

  10. Fantastic Variations on a theme of Knightly Character

    2018 • Jesper Koch

    Educational Music

    Cello solo

  11. String Quartet No. 3

    2019 • Jesper Koch

    2-6 Instruments

    15 minutes

  12. Parts-apart

    2019 • Jesper Koch

    Solo

    9 minutes

    Accordion

  13. Mysterious Gondola

    2014 • Jesper Koch

    2-6 Instruments

    8:30 minutes

    Clarinet and string quartet

  14. Bread-and-Butterfly & The Gnat

    2018 • Jesper Koch

    Educational Music

    Accordeon solo

  15. Galakseflager

    2015 • Jesper Koch

    Choir

    4:30 minutes

    5-part choir (SMATB)

  16. Imellem to blikke

    2016 • Jesper Koch

    Choir

    4:30 minutes

    4-part choir (SATB)

  17. Arcadia Lost

    2016 • Jesper Koch

    Orchestra

    23 minutes

    Solo violin and orchestra

  18. Maze

    2015 • Jesper Koch

    Solo

    5:30 minutes

    Violin solo

  19. Birkebark

    2012 • Jesper Koch

    Choir

    9 minutes

    Mixed choir

  20. Fanfare - in vano?

    2013 • Jesper Koch

    2-6 Instruments

    2:30 minutes

    2 trp in C, 2 horns in F, 2 Ttrb, 1 Btrb, timp

  21. Danmarks Drømme

    2011 • Jesper Koch

    Choir

    15 minutes

    Mixed choir

  22. Trio

    2011 • Jesper Koch

    2-6 Instruments

    15 minutes

    Vn, vlc, pno

  23. Lonesome

    2013 • Jesper Koch

    Orchestra

    18 minutes

    Clarinet solo + strings, harp and perc

  24. Eintritt-Abschied

    2009 • Jesper Koch

    2-6 Instruments

    20 minutes

    String Quartet

  25. Shadow-play

    2009 • Jesper Koch

    2-6 Instruments

    8 minutes

    cl, perc

  26. Arabesque

    2009 • Jesper Koch

    Solo

    8 minutes

    Clarinet solo

  27. Twofold

    1991 • Jesper Koch

    2-6 Instruments

    25 minutes

    4 acc, timp, perc, cb

  28. To sange for kor

    2006 • Jesper Koch

    Choir

    25:25 minutes

    mixed choir

  29. Puslingelandet

    2009 • Jesper Koch

    Orchestra

    45 minutes

    2 Voices, Narrator solo + mixed choir, 3.3.3.3/4.3.3.1/timp/3 perc/arpa/pno/archi

  30. Dreamscapes

    2007 • Jesper Koch

    Orchestra

    27 minutes

    Vc solo + 2.2.2.2/2.2.2.0/2 perc/arpa/pno,cel/archi

  31. 4 Meditationer

    2007 • Jesper Koch

    Choir

    9 minutes

    8 part mixed choir

  32. Clair de Lune

    2007 • Jesper Koch

    Solo

    4 minutes

    Piano solo

  33. “...zwischen Welt und Spielzeug...”

    2007 • Jesper Koch

    Orchestra

    42 minutes

    3.3.3.3/4.3.3.1/timp/3 perc/arpa/pno (+cel)/archi

  34. “...thi roserne vokse i dale”

    2005 • Jesper Koch

    Orchestra

    16 minutes

    3.3.3.3/4.3.3.1/3 timp/arpa/pno/archi

  35. Concerto for Accordion and 15 Instruments

    2003 • Jesper Koch

    7+ Instruments

    20 minutes

    Accordion solo + 1.1.1.1/1.1.1.0/perc/arpa/pno(Honky-Tonk piano + celesta)/1.1.1.1.1

  36. Snedronningen

    2004 • Jesper Koch

    Orchestra

    28 minutes

    3.3.3.3/4.3.3.0/perc/arpa/pno/archi

  37. Ice-Breaking

    1991 • Jesper Koch

    2-6 Instruments

    9 minutes

    acc, 2 perc




Advanced works search

News

  1. Work Grants from the Danish Arts Foundation 2023

    nominations / awards

    Work Grants from the Danish Arts Foundation 2023

  2. Work Grants from the Danish Arts Foundation

    general

    Work Grants from the Danish Arts Foundation

  3. 5-star album review · Jesper Koch

    reviews

    5-star album review · Jesper Koch

  1. Selected summer performances

    general

    Selected summer performances

  2. Interview · Jesper Koch

    interviews

    Interview · Jesper Koch

  3. Album release and concert · Jesper Koch

    releases

    Album release and concert · Jesper Koch

  4. Composers and Edition·S works on Danmark Nu

    general

    Composers and Edition·S works on Danmark Nu

  5. Significant grants for Edition·S composers 2020

    general

    Significant grants for Edition·S composers 2020

  6. Jesper Koch · Dreamscapes · Reviewed

    general

    Jesper Koch · Dreamscapes · Reviewed

  7. Jesper Koch · World Premiere & CD-release

    general

    Jesper Koch · World Premiere & CD-release

  8. World premiere · Morten Olsen · The Heart of Darkness

    general

    World premiere · Morten Olsen · The Heart of Darkness

  9. Two pieces by Jesper Koch are world premiering in July

    general

    Two pieces by Jesper Koch are world premiering in July

  10. Save 25% on all solo pieces

    general

    Save 25% on all solo pieces

  11. Edition·S works nominated for Danish music prize

    general

    Edition·S works nominated for Danish music prize

  12. Jesper Koch in the Round Tower

    general

    Jesper Koch in the Round Tower

  13. Accordion extravaganza at RDAM

    general

    Accordion extravaganza at RDAM

  14. Significant work grants for Edition·S composers

    general

    Significant work grants for Edition·S composers

  15. 3 world premieres at Jesper Koch 50th birthday concert

    general

    3 world premieres at Jesper Koch 50th birthday concert

  16. Danish Arts Foundation grants for Edition·S composers

    general

    Danish Arts Foundation grants for Edition·S composers

  17. The Danish National Vocal Ensemble Performs Music by Jesper Koch

    general

    The Danish National Vocal Ensemble Performs Music by Jesper Koch

  18. Edition·S composers home and abroad

    general

    Edition·S composers home and abroad

  19. World premiere of Jesper Koch’s Cello Concerto

    general

    World premiere of Jesper Koch’s Cello Concerto

  20. Hymnia Chamber Choir premieres Jesper Koch's work

    general

    Hymnia Chamber Choir premieres Jesper Koch's work

  21. Simon Steen-Andersen and Jesper Koch on ISCM Festival next week

    general

    Simon Steen-Andersen and Jesper Koch on ISCM Festival next week

  22. Steen-Andersen and Koch on ISCM program 2009

    general

    Steen-Andersen and Koch on ISCM program 2009

Show More News

Calendar

  1. November 2021
  2. 12

    November

    Jesper Koch: Korbogen (Excerpts)

    time19:30

    location Trinitatis Kirke, Copenhagen, Denmark

    performed by The Danish National Vocal Ensemble

  1. April 2023
  2. 11

    April

    Jesper Koch: Shadow play

    time19:30

    location Musikforeningen Utzon, Bagsværd Kirke, Denmark

    performed by Trio Spell