»Music is like an ancient mineral, containing a history of wisdom reaching over centuries, stratifying and evolving into new forms. It is like a black hole, wrapping around us and allowing us to temporarily escape the noise of the world.
An emotional safe zone, a place for solace, a bringer of light, a unifying factor. It is us.«
 
NEKO3 is a Copenhagen-based experimental music group consisting of: Fei Nie, Lorenzo Colombo and Kalle Hakosalo. The group is working towards the creation of a new musical language, flexibly moving between various performance media and artistic expressions. Continuously collaborating with composers and other creators of art, it seeks to integrate music and other forms of art into one conceptual whole.

NEKO3 has performed at Festival Internacional de la Imagen, SONICA Glasgow, cresc... Biennale, Time Of Music, Rondò, MINU festival, Copenhagen Light Festival, Unerhörte Musik and Spor Festival. They have been featured as soloists with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Aarhus Sinfonietta, and given workshops and presentations at ie. Standford University, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, University of California San Diego and Kungliga Musikhögskolan (SE). The ensemble has recorded multiple EP’s and released their first full length album Angel Death Traps in collaboration with Alexander Schubert in 2024.
© 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.

© PR

»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.
 
Rationale
© Carsten Seidel

»Who ever said that music is ‘just’ music? To me, it is anything but that: an urge to understand and explain it all. A piece of jewelry I wear every single day. A joy that can, at times, run deep. An ever-changing imprint of millions of stitches in my heart. A longing to disappear.«

Henrik Marstal is a musician, author, and music researcher. He holds a PhD in musicology, is a senior lecturer at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory, and frequently appears in the media as an expert source on music. His areas of interest include contemporary music, such as electronic music. This winter, he will release both a new album with the pop group ibens and a book about Else Marie Pade, published by the British publishing house Bloomsbury.