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Anders Koppel was born in 1947 to a family with many children, as the son of a Polish-Jewish second-generation immigrant and a girl from Funen. The home was an enclave of art, free-thinking cultural radicalism and social commitment, and since Anders’ father, Herman D. Koppel (1908-1998, composer and pianist), was one of the most significant Danish composers and pianists of his generation, music of course played a crucial role in the upbringing of the children. Their father shared his joy in music with them, encouraged them to develop their skills, and discussed music with them whenever the opportunity arose. Anders Koppel grew up with the music of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, but also of Stravinsky, Bartók and his father. He sang in the Copenhagen Boys’ Choir, took piano lessons from his sister Therese, then later from his father, and he learned to play the clarinet, after which his father wrote a variation work for him. In his youth he also developed an appetite for other interests: Anders Koppel painted, went to the film museum and saw silent films, wrote a novel, worked with his father on the texts for his major vocal works, and had his ears opened to rock’n’roll. In 1967 Anders Koppel and his brother Thomas formed the rock group Savage Rose, which very quickly gained a large audience. For the next seven years the band toured all over Europe, the USA from coast to coast with appearances at the Newport Festival in 1971, and recorded eight albums in London, Los Angeles, Rome and Copenhagen. In 1974 Anders Koppel left the group and began a new life as an independent musician and composer. The great classical tradition with which Anders Koppel was imbued during his childhood also plays an important role in Koppel’s life today. Beethoven is a daily encouragement and morale-booster; the same applies to technical compositional factors like form and subject development. Prokofiev and Jolivet were added through the mediation of his father and are still part of his baggage. Jazz and rock have been inseparable travelling companions, South American folk music has been a similar revelation in the form of the classic Argentine tango, Cuban dance music and Brazilian choro, just as Balkan music has entered his blood. “Go for diversity!” music seems to have whispered in the ears of the musician and composer. Another element has been important to him: melody. It is fundamental to his own music, so it is also important for him to express himself in a tonal idiom that takes its point of departure in major and minor tonalities. Anders |