“I want to zoom in on the small worlds that open up in the friction between two tones – when they drift apart and come together again – and invite the audience right into the microtonal world of timbre and harmony.”
Mette Nielsen is a composer who, with great curiosity, explores the subtle shifts in sound – what she herself calls “the imperfect unison.”
A recurring feature of her compositions is the balance between control and chance. In several works, she has let the musicians receive instructions via iPods on shuffle, and in the work Rules for Playing the piece is built around a game board and a set of rules, unfolding with the players’ moves and countermoves.
Movement through sound
Among her notable works is the orchestral piece Bevægelser (Movements), premiered by Odense Symphony Orchestra in 2023. Here she worked from the idea of sound as a sculptural element through which the audience moves, bringing us directly into the orchestral sound. A reviewer from Kristeligt Dagblad called the premiere a revelation and concluded that “a new Nielsen in Danish symphonic music is born.”
That same year saw the release of her debut album Frozen Moments, featuring works that explore different ways of entering sound, pausing time, or altering it altogether. The album presents a collection of chamber works that challenge the listener to reflect on the nature of time and sound.
Birthday with a choral concert
Currently, Mette Nielsen’s music can be heard in a series of concerts in Denmark and abroad where the vocal ensemble Ars Nova performs her nyew choral work Skræl og kød (Peel and Flesh). Once again, she unfolds her distinctive sensibility for vocal timbres and tensions – this time with one of Scandinavia’s leading vocal ensembles. On the composer’s birthday, 28 September, the new work will be performed in Trinitatis Church in Copenhagen. Her ongoing projects include a new piece for the guitar ensemble CRAS, where she continues her exploration of game-like structures, as well as a new solo work for clarinetist Jonas Frølund.
New music for new musicians
Alongside her many works for professional musicians, Mette Nielsen has also engaged in music for children and young people. She has contributed several pieces to Edition·S’ publishing series Educate·S, aimed at music school students, and she has written orchestral works specifically for youth ensembles.
Mette Nielsen was born in Odense. She studied at both the Royal Danish Academy of Music and the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, and her teachers included Simon Steen-Andersen, Hans Abrahamsen, and Bent Sørensen. Her music has been performed by ensembles such as Odense Symphony Orchestra, the DR Vocal Ensemble, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Adapter, FIGURA Ensemble, SCENATET, and Athelas Sinfonietta. She has received the Pelle Prize, the Axel Borup-Jørgensen Composer Prize, the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Talent Award, the Hakon Børresen Grant, the Ancker Grant, and a scholarship from the Astrid and Aksel Agerby Memorial Fund.