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»A lot is projected onto music and making music – I'm careful, singing doesn't make you more intelligent and certainly doesn't make you a better person. It's like in sexuality. A lot of things go very consciously wrong for some people. Music like sex are means of communication, people come into contact and negotiate with each other and their instruments/tools and meet themselves in it. This is also the case when I listen to music – from every conceivable genre and context, even if I always notice that as a teenager I used to play a lot of jazz guitar.«

Bastian Zimmermann lives in Munich and works freelance in the areas of music and performance. As a dramaturge, he works with artists such as the soloist ensemble Kaleidoskop, Yael Ronen and Neo Hülcker. He is editor of the German speaking magazine Positionen – Texts on Current Music and curates projects such as »Music for Hotel Bars« and the festival Music Installations Nuremberg festival. His focus is on social aspects of making music, experimental music concepts and the questioning of bourgeois structures in contemporary music. In Spring 2025 he will take over the Wolke Verlag publishing house for books on music with Patrick Becker.

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»For me, music is incredibly important. It is music that reveals who I am and who I want to be. Music is my muse, my solace, and my paintbrush. It paints my state of mind, serves as a frequent topic of conversation among my friends, and – along with the lyrics – acts as my preferred form of expression. To me, music represents the colors and shapes of my life. I have a particular fondness for Danish artists such as C.V. Jørgensen, Elisabeth, Olesen-Olesen, Peter Sommer, and Gravens Rand.«

Søren Damm is an award-winning author known for the novels Transit, Melodrama, and Finland. He is also a singer and songwriter, having released, among other works, the album Håbet Er Den Største Last.

© Paw Ager

»For me, music is about curiosity and surprises – yet it’s also something in which you can feel right at home. Music resides within us all, in a physical way that sets it apart from any other art form. To me, music is something greater than the individual – something that will always outlive the individual. The good stuff, in other words ;) « 

Kaspar Kaae is an award-winning film composer, music producer, and songwriter, known for his work with bands such as CODY and Bug Chaser. He holds a Master’s degree in film composition from SDMK.  He has previously been a guitarist in a number of bands on the Danish indie scene, such as CODY, Broken Twin, and Bug Chaser. The latter is releasing the album My First Crippled Love in November. He was born in 1983 on Bornholm, but has lived in Copenhagen and Berlin throughout his adult life.

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»Music is like a black hole that sucks you in and shoots you out on the other side of the universe.«

Francesco Rista is a guitarist working across classical and electric guitar. His recordings have been reviewed by international music magazines and broadcast on BBC and RAI Radio 3. After studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and Lund University, he focused on studio recordings, exploring guitar repertoire from the Baroque and Romantic periods to contemporary music, as well as the instrument’s varied tonal possibilities. Rista is currently based in Iceland, where he teaches guitar, composes music, and collaborates with contemporary composers.

 

© Villads Hoffmann
© Villads Hoffmann

Percussionist and composer David Hildebrandt is honoured for his virtuosic work with new music and his efforts to push the boundaries of what rhythm can be.

David Hildebrandt is among the recipients of this year’s honorary awards from the Wilhelm Hansen Foundation. He receives DKK 200,000 in recognition of his uncompromising work with new music and multi-percussion, as well as his ability to challenge conventional ideas about rhythm.

© Thor Brødreskift
© Thor Brødreskift
The 2026 Nordic Council Music Prize goes to Norwegian composers Kristine Tjøgersen and Benedicte Maurseth for Elja, a suite for the Kronos Quartet and Hardanger fiddle.
 
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