Kasper Rofelt stands out in his generation of composers by the fact that he is not afraid to write in a melodic and tonal, harmonic style, and at the same time he dares to experiment with the most basic elements of classical music.
Nevertheless, many of his works are atonal and very abstract. It is characteristic of Rofelt's music that he often creates an expressive space open to interpretation. The music evokes drama and implicit stories, but the story is always defined by the listener.
Kasper Rofelt's upcoming portrait album is recorded by Danish Chamber Players and released at Dacapo Records.Opposition and contrast are keywords to the aesthetics of Kasper Rofelt, and the album title, Dichotomy refers to the musical techniques that can be heard across the recording.
One of Rofelt's noteworthy works is the cello concert Night Phase (2017) premiered by Odense Symphony Orchestra with Jakob Kullberg as the soloist. Quite unusually, Night Phase includes passages of improvisation. The work was created in close collaboration between Rofelt and Kullberg and emerges from their interest in breaking down the usual hierarchy of composer and musician. The work was awarded by the Danish Arts Foundation as one of the most significant orchestral works of the year and it was nominated for Carl Prisen 2019.
In 2012, Rofelt's first portrait album was released, The song I'll never sing, containing solo and chamber works dedicated to the Danish accordionist Bjarke Mogensen. The accordion is a rather 'young' instrument in the world of classical music and Bjarke Mogensen described it as "fantastic to collaborate with someone as inquisitive as the composer Kasper Rofelt, who has an urge to go on excursions into the practically endless and still un-explored musical possibilities presented by the accordion."
Kasper Rofelt has studied composition and music theory at the Royal Danish Academy of Music with Bent Sørensen and Niels Rosing-Schow and has also studied with Per Nørgård, Simon Bainbridge and Philippe Leroux. He furthermore has a bachelor's degree in Musicology and English. Besides his work as a composer, he teaches composition, music theory and musicology.
The release of Dichotomy is to be celebrated with a release concert on Wednesday 20 April at 17.00 in Musikhuset København at Vesterbrogade 59, where the ensemble and conductor Anne Marie Granau will perform two works from the new album. The concert will be introduced by a conversation between composer Kasper Rofelt and the artistic adviser of the ensemble, Toke Lund Christiansen. Read more and reserve a free ticket here.