in brieflive

White as a Wound

Barbara Hannigan, Laura Bowler, Copenhagen Phil: »The White Book«

In The White Book, author Han Kang circles around grief by describing white things – such as one’s breath on a winter morning or the cloth in which a newborn is wrapped. Drawing on this poetics, Laura Bowler has created a work of the same name, which received its Danish premiere at the Royal Danish Academy of Music’s Concert Hall in Copenhagen.

Bowler evoked the same oppressive sense of untouched stillness in her exploration of the white. The soloist was Barbara Hannigan, whose voice moved through a wide range of registers, techniques, and expressions, yet each phrase remained immediate and sincere. Copenhagen Phil played with captivating attention to detail, constantly pulling the listener into the music’s »white« sonic surfaces. In particular, Bowler’s disciplined use of extended techniques (unconventional playing methods), slow glissandi, and noise-generating percussion created this sense of elevation.

Even the most brutal sounds possessed a refined and disarming fragility. One particular »creaking« sound from the percussion section moved me so deeply that I struggled to put into words the feeling it stirred in me.

My only reservation concerned the literary layer. The melodies moved too slowly through the words for a truly poetic experience to emerge. For that reason, I listened with particular interest to Bowler’s reflections in the talk that followed. There, she described how the work grew out of the overwhelming affect she experienced upon encountering The White Book. At the same time, she explained that the noise sound I had noticed was intended as an expression of longing. That was it, I thought – the word I had been searching for.

playlist

31.08

My name is Pablo Fernández – would you like to see my playlist?

»Music is my life. It has accompanied me all the way and given me experiences, friendships and opportunities that I could never have imagined.«

Pablo Fernández is a Spanish musician and the new Head of Classical Music at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg. For many years, he was principal tuba player with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and has taught at higher music education institutions in Spain and Denmark. He is also active as a conductor, soloist, guest lecturer and jury member at international competitions. Fernández has extensive experience in the management and development of music projects, festivals and international collaborations. He has lived in Aarhus since 2014 and has been affiliated with the Royal Academy of Music since 2021.

playlist

29.08

We are Nightmaries – would you like to see our playlist?

»Music is, to us, a kind of closed club of nepotism, networking and Copenhagen cowboy energy. But in reality, it’s got nothing to do with expensive guitars or technical skill. For us, music is something you can feel in your chest, or something that gives you goosebumps. The best concerts are when someone screams so earnestly that the rest of us don’t have to. The best music expresses emotions in a way that would get you picked up by an ambulance if you did it out on the street. For us, music should fuck with the people who have it too comfortable, and give those who have it fucked a feeling that they’re not alone. Boom. And what the fuck is a chord and a key anyway? Kisses from Nightmaries.«

Nightmaries blend saws, guitars and voices into a dark-country, no-wave, cowboy-doom nightmare. They create the kind of soundtrack that feels like a fever dream you somehow don’t want to wake up from. As the world gets stranger and darker, Nightmaries lean into the madness, serving up slow-burning songs that creep under your skin like a poison that takes its sweet time. Put on your favourite steel-toe boots, dip your smoky eyes in an ashtray, and prepare yourself for sloppy doom with punk energy.

playlist

21.08

Mit navn er Fenja – vil du se min playliste?

»To me, music is love. I love how music allows you to skip the small talk and connect directly with people’s innermost selves. It is an extraordinary and moving way to meet one another.«

Fenja wrote her first song at the age of twelve – about a polar bear dying due to climate change – and themes of existentialism, nature, and her own sensitive nature came to define the lyrics and sound she has since developed. She released her debut album, Flugtdyr, in 2021, and in February 2026, she released the album Menneskedyr.

news

12.08

Sofus Forsberg (1970–2026)

Danish composer Sofus Forsberg has died at the age of 56. With his distinctive blend of melodic sensibility, electronic processing and rhythmic precision, he created a musical world that moved effortlessly between IDM, pop and the avant-garde.

playlist

11.08

Mit navn er Tue Track – vil du se min playliste?

»Music for me is my hobby, my job, my outlet, my mood, an endless source of discovering new music and new, old music, some of the best and can be some of the worst. And I love it!«

Track72 aka Tue Track aka Anders Lundby Brixen. Producer, DJ, rapper and more. Known for his role in the trio Malk De Koijn, which since the mid-1990s has created a personal universe in Danish hip-hop. Has performed in Ponyblod, Xtra Naan, Track Abdullah Rock, Booty Cologne and others.