Awards
Edition·S is the proud publisher behind composers and works that have received acknowledgements and awards in 2024. Bára Gísladóttir received the very prestigious international Composer Prize 2024 from the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung. Gísladóttir also received the Icelandic Music Award for her orchestral work COR.
Simon Steen-Andersen’s opera Don Giovanni’s Inferno won Opera of the Year at the Reumert Award, the most important Danish award celebrating excellence in Danish theatre, as well as the Music Publishers’ Association’s Carl Prize.
New publications
We are delighted to have expanded our catalogue with several new works from three new composers who enrich our repertoire in each their own way. Loïc Destremau writes expressive music that explores philosophical questions, Adrianna Kubica-Cypek’s music balances between a delicate, withheld calmness and an insisting intensity, and Sandra Boss has a strong interest in the hidden sonic potentials of instruments and technologies.
A new sub-edition was added to the catalogue in the beginning of 2024: The Research Edition initiated in collaboration with The Royal Danish Academy of Music. The first project included in the edition was the publication of Danish Diction in Art Song, an anthology of 56 Danish songs that combines scores with IPA transcriptions and translations making the Danish songs available to singers from all over the world.
With a significant grant from the Augustinus Foundation, the further development of the DCM (Danish Classical Music) series has been made possible adding chamber pieces by Nanna Liebmann and Tekla Griebel Wandall’s opera Kong Hroars Skjalde to the catalogue in 2025. In the meantime, a large selection of works by Hilda Sehested, Tekla Griebel Wandall, and Nancy Dalberg have now been published, and several of these are already making their way into concert programs in Denmark and abroad.
New initiatives, collaborations and events
2024 has truly been a year of new initiatives, inspiring collaborations and festive events. In collaboration with Dacapo Records we launched the event series ‘Kunstpauser’, conversations about contemporary art music and its roots in literature, philosophy and existential questions. The five events took place in Thiemers Magasin and formed the basis for a series of podcasts available here.
Also in collaboration with Dacapo Records, we launched Musikklubben — a new membership community celebrating classical and contemporary music. Members receive offers on concerts and events throughout the year in collaboration with Danish ensembles, festivals and orchestras, discounts on CDs and sheet music, as well as new inspiration for the next musical experience.
Together with Art Music Denmark and Danish Composers' Society we launched an Open Call for the new project 'Genstart'. Here, musicians, composers and ensembles could apply for financial support to reperform already existing works and experiment with developing new concert formats. 14 musicians, composers and ensembles were selected, and we look forward to following the development of their concert projects in 2025.
The young students at OrkesterEfterskolen have also been rethinking the concert format, and we are very proud that several pieces from our Educate·S series were included in masterclasses and a concert at OrkesterEfterskolen, facilitated by initiator of the series Østen Mikal Ore.
In the fall we had the great pleasure of hosting an amazing, moving, beautiful and funny evening of performances and socializing at our office event ‘Fortsat go’ weekend’ curated by Second Sound. The staff at Edition·S even took on a completely different role than we're used to - as performers for the occasion.
2024 marked Else Marie Pade’s 100th birthday, and throughout the year this has been celebrated with performances, album releases, a book releases, sheet music releases, new interpretations of old works and even world premieres of original works from the archives of Else Marie Pade. On the date of her birth, 2 December, she was celebrated with a beautiful tribute concert at the Danish Radio Concert House.
Pade wasn’t the only remarkable composer born in 1924. So was Axel Borup-Jørgensen and his 100 years were celebrated with an album release, a release event and the publication of a new edition of two of his works.
Selected premieres and performances
The works published by Edition·S have been featured in numerous concerts throughout 2024. These performances have showcased the talent of our composers and the versatility of Danish contemporary music, and we would like to mention just a few highlights.
Simon Steen-Andersen’s No Concerto was premiered by Rei Nakamura and the WDR Symphony Orchestra. Ejnar Kanding’s Fragile Fortitude inspired by the art of Giacometti was premiered by Rudersdal Kammersolister. Århus Sinfonietta took on Mette Nielsen’s musical game of power, Rules for Playing, and Ensemble intercontemporain premiered Amoeba proteus but make it metal, bringing together two of Bára Gísladóttir’s interests: microorganisms and metal music. At the Royal Danish Theatre, Simon Steen-Andersen’s opera Don Giovanni’s Inferno received its Danish premiere.
Athelas Sinfonietta premiered Morten Ladehoff’s piece in pieces: Stückwerk, and Sinfonia Varsovia made Niels Rønsholdt’s new cello concert, Western, come to life together with soloist Jakob Kullberg. When Emmanuel Pahud received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2024 he premiered the solo piece Lazy Venus Syndrome by Bára Gísladóttir and joined the ensemble Viibra and more than 50 flutes in the performance of her piece Ms. Ephemeris Abyss. Viibra also premiered Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard’s Softenings for 7 flutes, and at SPOR festival, Lorenzo Colombo premiered Mads Emil Dreyer’s Repeater, quietus.
Steingrímur Rohloff was composer in residence at Katrina Chamber Music Festival with the world premiere of his String Quartet no. 2 and additional performances. Veil of Stone, The Deity In Disguise by Bára Gísladóttir was premiered at the Icelandic festival Skálholt Summer Concerts where she was composer in residence, A new chorale cantata LOVSYNGER HERREN by Matias Vestergård marked the opening of the Nordic Church Music Symposium, and Athelas Sinfonietta celebrated Erik Højsgaard with a portrait concert. Simon Steen-Andersen joined together two iconic machines, the Leslie speaker and the orchestra, in grosso premiered at Donaueschinger Musiktage by SWR Symphonieorchester and Yarn/Wire.
Line Tjørnhøj’s choral work Fifth was premiered by Theatre of Voices, and Juliana Hodkinson’s Here’s your Milk for cello and percussion was premiered by Ume Duo in Zürich. Mads Emil Dreyer closed off 2024 in style with three world premieres in a row Miniature 1, Chimera pt. 2 and Interlude.
We are very grateful for the support and dedication of our composers, performers, partners, foundations and audience members who enable us to continue our work of bringing innovative and compelling works to music stands and ears all over the world.
We wish you all happy holidays and a prosperous New Year.