Ejnar Kanding turns 60 and can look back on a musical landscape where he has pushed the boundaries between the acoustic and the electronic, the structured and the spontaneous.
Kanding graduated in composition and music theory from the Royal Danish Academy of Music in 1993 and continued his studies with courses at IRCAM in Paris and music theory studies with Lev Koblyakov in Jerusalem. Since his debut concert in 1996, he has specialized in live electronics and real-time processing, where the computer becomes an instrument on equal footing with acoustic ones. His virtuoso use of software such as Max/MSP has made him a pioneer in the field and has led to collaborations with prominent ensembles worldwide.
Musical Reflections and Streaming Successes
Kanding’s music is like a journey into ambiguity, where the familiar and the unknown intertwine. He describes acoustic sound as the real domain, while electronics add a reflection or transformation—a surreal layer that opens up multifaceted experiences. This is particularly evident in his trilogy of Nordic works, where he explores the tonal and atmospheric aspects of Nordic nature and mentality. Works such as Nordic Broken, Nordic Extraction, and Nordic Fragments reflect this sensitivity, where sonic landscapes of wind, birdsong, and complex electronic microtonal textures create a dreamlike musical experience.
Ejnar Kanding's music has been released on numerous albums—especially in the past five years, during which more than ten albums have reached all major streaming services. A remarkably large audience attests to the fact that Kanding, with his combination of structural rigor and sonic sensitivity, has succeeded in creating music that is not only visionary and intellectually challenging but also sensually captivating.
Visionary Ensemble Leader and Educator
Beyond his compositional work, Kanding has played a crucial role as artistic director of the ensemble Contemporánea and as curator of the electroacoustic concert series EarUnit. He has helped present electronic chamber music—both his own and that of others—on unconventional stages worldwide, from nightclubs in Buenos Aires to intimate apartment concerts in New York and the raw concrete structure of DR Byen when only its supporting framework was completed. His efforts to bring new music into new contexts have made him an important figure in the international contemporary music scene.
As Ejnar Kanding reaches 60, he remains an artist who continuously reinvents himself and challenges our perception of music. His contributions to electronic and acoustic music will undoubtedly continue to inspire, and as an educator at various institutions, he passes on his knowledge to the next generations of composers and musicians. Since 1991, he has taught theory, composition, and electroacoustics at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, and for several years he has also taught at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts Southern Denmark, the Rhythmic Music Conservatory, and the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus