3 movements Birds, Waves & Melody with 6 parts, you can read about the process and thoughts behind here:

Dacapo Records about the release

Composed by Nikolaj Hess, Cæcilie Balling solo violin, Danish Chamber Orchestra String Orchestra, Mikkel Hess drums, Anders Christensen bass, Carsten Seyer-Hansen conductor, Ragnheidur Johnsdottir recording mix.

Enjoy!

Link to streaming

trailer:

The post Violin Concerto Melody Out Now appeared first on Nikolaj Hess.

June 30th – July 9th 

Hess New York Quartet featuring Marc Mommaas & Francois Moutin, Nikolaj Hess Trio, Hessismore, Nikolaj Hess Solo, Spacelab Salon, Hess/Waidtløw/Høyer/AC, George Garzone Quartet, Nikolaj Hess Organ Trio, Hessismore Piano Chronicles

29/6 6.30pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Solo Piano Chronicles

29/6 7pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Apollonian Blackout

30/6 6.30pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Solo Piano Chronicles

30/6 7pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Apollonian Blackout

30/6 Midnight Apollo Bar Spacelab Salon Hess/AC/Høyer

1/7 6.30pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Solo Piano Chronicles

1/7 7pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Apollonian Blackout

1/7 Midnight Apollo Bar Spacelab Salon Hess/AC/Høyer

2/7 3pm Bartof Station Nikolaj Hess Trio with Lund & Franck

2/7 5pm H9 with Tolstoy, Waidtløw, Kihlberg, Ovesen

3/7 3pm Gården og Gaden Hess/AC/Hess

3/7 6.30pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Solo Piano Chronicles

3/7 7pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Apollonian Blackout

3/7 9pm H9 Hess/Waidtløw/Høyer/AC

4/7 3pm Gården og Gaden Hess/AC/Hess

4/7 6.30pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Solo Piano Chronicles

4/7 7pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Apollonian Blackout

4/7 9pm Bartof Station Hess/Garzone Quartet

4/7 Midnight Apollo Bar Spacelab Salon Hess/AC/Høyer

5/7 2pm Bartof Station Naja Rosa/Anders Holm/Nikolaj Hess

5/7 4pm Helle Henning/Daniel Franck/Anders Holm/Nikolaj Hess Drop Inn

5/7 6.30pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Solo Piano Chronicles

5/7 7pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Apollonian Blackout

5/7 9pm Bartof Station Hess/Garzone Quartet

5/7 Midnight Apollo Bar Spacelab Salon Hess/AC/Høyer

6/7 6.30pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Solo Piano Chronicles

6/7 7pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Apollonian Blackout

6/7 9pm Sofie Kælderen Hess/Mommaas Quartet with Francois Moutin & Osgood

6/7 Midnight Apollo Bar Spacelab Salon Hess/AC/Høyer

7/7 6.30pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Solo Piano Chronicles

7/7 7pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Apollonian Blackout

7/7 9pm Bartof Station Hess/Mommaas Quartet with Francois Moutin & Høyer

7/7 Midnight Apollo Bar Spacelab Salon Hess/AC/Høyer

8/7 2pm Bellahøj Kirke Nikolaj Hess with Marc Mommaas & Francois Moutin

8/7 4pm Enghave Plads Hess/Mommaas Quartet with Francois Moutin & Osgood

8/7 6.30pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Solo Piano Chronicles

8/7 7pm Sort/Hvid Hessismore Apollonian Blackout

8/7 9.30pm Cafe Pixie Hess Elektrisk Vand Trio with Francois Moutin & Peter Bruun

8/7 Midnight Apollo Bar Spacelab Salon Hess/AC/Høyer

9/7 1pm Bartof Station Solo Piano

The post Copenhagen Jazz Festival 2023 appeared first on Nikolaj Hess.

Thanks to Dorrit Matson for superb conducting, to Mayuki Fukuhara for moving and virtuoso soloist playing and to the Scandi Symphony for gorgeous orchestral colors.

The post New York premiere by Pastoral Impressions by Scandia Symphony in Fort Tryon Park Manhattan appeared first on Nikolaj Hess.

picture by Austin Donahue

Thanks so much to everybody involved from AFSMK, SMK, The Getty Museum, The Metropolitan Museum.

listen to the concert here:

https://nikolajhess.bandcamp.com/album/nikolaj-hess-live-at-the-getty-museum-beyond-the-light

The post Transformative Reflections concert at The Getty Museum Los Angeles appeared first on Nikolaj Hess.

Compositions, Improvisations – Reflections, Impressions, of Danish 19 century painters Hammershøi, LA Ring, Købke & Eckersberg.

Danish pianist/composer Nikolaj Hess has created solo piano music for the exhibition “Beyond The Light” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Getty Museum for his concerts April 11th and June 8th. The music takes inspiration and interest from the perspectives on Danish nature, and contrasting themes of light and dark, ideal and human, local traits and foreign influence, grand and small, existential perspectives and technical representations, and the cross-pollinations between art and science.

Hess has developed and worked with his personal methods for translating and drawing inspiration from painting to music, and reflecting back on the painting with composition and improvisation. The music for the concert is based on the perspectives and works in the exhibition, drawings and paintings by Eckersberg and Købke, and the enigmatic Dahl moonlight scenery of Copenhagens harbor. Hess will also incorporate some of his impressions from painters Hammershøi and LA Ring, whose works have been part of the collaboration between AFSMK and Hess.

The composition process based on paintings is seen from four different methodological categories, with the labels 1)Intuitive, 2)Element-Analytical, 3)Concrete, and 4)Idea-Analytical. Furthermore, there is a fifth perspective of the music reflecting back on the painting, seeking to create a dialogue between the sound and sight, and an experience of the two combined.

“I find immersing in the roots of the Danish painting tradition and how it grew into next generations all the way up to the present, inspiring. It feels still very relevant,  and besides being just stunningly beautiful, balanced and soulful, it seems at the same time like an important part of what might be seen as the big ongoing multi- and interdisciplinary artwork co-created by the past, present and future artists in different domains”

This collaboration with The Met is part of a far back reaching collaboration with the Danish National Gallery SMK and American Friends of SMK. In the fall 2023 Hess similarly created and performed a series of compositions and improvisations for the iconic Matisse painting at the Red Studio exhibition in 2022 at the Museum of Modern Art and SMK.

The music is connected to Hess’s research project Transformative Reflections, which is being funded by the Danish Ministry of Culture’s national program for artistic research (KUV) and being carried out as part of Hess’s tenure at The Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen as associate professor. The project has developed and worked with methods for translating and drawing inspiration from painting to music, and reflecting back on the painting with composition and improvisation.

You can listen to the Getty Live concert here:

the music only:

the concert with talk between the music pieces:

Link to the individual music pieces and introductions:

https://nikolajhess.bandcamp.com/album/nikolaj-hess-live-at-the-getty-museum-beyond-the-light

Listen here to the piece WHLARing, which is an impression of similarities between Hammershøi and LA Ring:

listen to WHLARing

Download-link to other pieces from the concert in different instrumentations, performed by Nikolaj Hess Trio, Prague Symphony, Nikolaj Hess and Strings:

download here

The post TRANSFORMATIVE REFLECTIONS BEYOND THE LIGHT WITH AFSMK AT THE MET AND THE GETTY appeared first on Nikolaj Hess.

Thanks so much to MoMA – Museum of Modern Art and AFSMK – American Friends of Statens Museum for Kunst for an incredible concert event. What a pleasure to collaborate with executive director Hanne Støvring AFSMK, chief curator and researcher Dorte Aagesen and art educator PhD Mette Houlberg SMK, and not least chief curator Ann Temkin MoMA, whose opening remarks were just superb.

Below some words on the composition processes of the music I wrote. This is based in my ongoing artistic research project Transformative Reflections supported by Rhythmic Music Conservatory Cph and the Danish Cultural Ministry, finishing in Spring 2023, about translating and getting inspiration from painting to music.

Really looking forward to the Copenhagen edition of the concert at SMK November 23rd and to have another slow looking experience at the exhibition when it opens in Copenhagen October 12.

see more about the event at AFSMK https://www.afsmk.org/exhibitions-and-events

Eight different perspectives on Red Studio

I chose eight short different perspectives on the Red Studio, based in the methods from my artistic research project Transformative Reflections (2022), about translating and generating inspiration from visual art to music. My general method falls in four main categories: intuitive, element-analytical, concrete, idea-analytical, and a fifth perspective reflecting the music back to the visual art, and being in dialogue with it and transforming the experience of both.

My musical perspectives on the Red Studio were based on a number of inductively chosen angles:

In the specific area, I was focusing on four rectangular parts with different atmospheres and attributes; the artworks in the artwork and the overall Venetian red; the circular movement and the different iterations of figures and elements; relations between the colors and between the underlying colors, and the figure/ground inversion.

From an underlying idea based perspective I worked with how I experience the artistic intuition and philosophy in the painting; the inspiration it has given to future visual art creation and music; a recurring feeling of suspension of space and time and balancing the figurative and the abstract; and the currents and music of the time of the painting.

Selected details
Basis

First, I let a short musical phrase or element represent each of the eleven artworks in in the painting with an underlying representation of the venetian red. Then I went to a piece created with the original underlying three main colors represented by three underlying tonal centers, resolving in a fourth, representing the final red.
I then took a very systematic and trip around the grandfather clock in the middle, with the colors from the works in the Studio translated to intervals in the music via the color circle and the circle of fifths, and the rhythmic placement translated from the spatial placement in relation to the clock face.

First transformation
That transitioned into the figure/ground inversion in the painting translated to musical reflection of that, on the accompanyment of an abstraction of the venetian red color, represented by an underlying harmonic connection to American composer Morton Feldman. Feldman made music for Mark Rothkos amazing monochromatic paintings in “Rothkos Chapel”, which again relates strongly to Matisses Red Studio.
Hereafter I made a quiet contemplation over the whole painting put into a sheet music system and read as such. This followed by RedS, a piece in four small sections, reflecting the moods of the four different rectangles in the painting, here starting in the left bottom. This piece was further unfolded in the finale with two grand pianos. Towards the end I reflected on the small but significant landscape painting, which I see both the light blue pens on the table and the gaze from the empty chair pointing towards. I represented this with a reworking and sketchlike version of an older five-note based composition “Trees”, which also contemplated the earthiness of the venetian red.

Second transformation

My final piece was an intuitive composition based on my state of mind after an early slow looking experience with the Red Studio, with the principle of look and wait for the music to appear in the imagination.
After first my and then Kris Davis’ individual different perspectives, we wanted to create a space for the artistic instinct. To me, this seems very present in Matisses sudden change of the painting in the end of the total process, possibly without him knowing exactly why he did it. We reflected this by planning a space for a completely unplanned free improvisation on the two grand pianos, except the idea of following the music in the moment, after hearing each others’ compositions and improvisations on the painting. Finally, we then landed in a double grand piano version with improvisation on the piece RedS.

—————————————————————————————————————-

Further reading from my unedited pre-performance notes:

I have written music from different perspectives on the Red Studio, based on my artistic research project transformative reflections, where I work on translating and getting inspiration from visual art to music. I work with 4 main categories of composing, that can flow into each other. The methods are intuitive, element analytical, concrete and idea analytical.

The inspiration I especially have taken from painting, is to focus more on what I see as equivalent to colors and spatiality in the music, and working with exploring this, even though there is also a storyline present at times.

Overall, I feel the Red Studio inspires to explore and expand ideas and look for new directions rooted in where I come from, and maybe first and foremost trust the artistic instinct and sensibility into unknown land.

I have aimed to both experience and understand the painting as much as possible, and have the music being close to that. There is also a strong element of making music that lives on its own premises, with the foundation in the inspiration from the Red Studio, and hopefully reflecting back on the painting.

So probably sometimes, you will find a slightly direct connection between composition, improvisation, and the visual image, and other times it will be more of an underlying concept, philosophy, idea, or mood, that hopefully still makes sense to you.

The inspiration I especially have taken from the Red Studio, is from the colors and sense of space, which I have translated into harmonic and rhythmic ideas in the music, with a sometimes melodic storyline present, representing the balance between the figurative and abstract.

I find there is both a meditative inspiration and a dramatic feeling in the Red Studio.

More on the methods and the pieces you will hear:

in the intuitive category, I have been sensing and absorbing the painting as much as I could, and written music from that state of mind and atmosphere. A daily process of looking at a representation of the painting and improvising and writing what my intuition tells me.

In the element analytical category, I have chosen some aspects from the Red Studio and translated to music elements and used these as foundation for the composition. For example the underlying blue, yellow ochre and pink and the final red on top of these, translated to 3 underlying tonal centers, ending in a fourth and final.

I combine this with a melodic and intervallic representation of the different lines and figures in the painting. I chose left hand intervals giving most possible harmonic color, and a lot of dimished chords, which have a lot of potential energy but not only one defined direction.

Finally have the aspect of four squares that have different undertones in mind, and the division by the arm-less clock in the middle.

where the final center only solidifies in the end, translating the color circle to an music circle of fifths)

combined with an on one hand intervallic approach representing squares and angles, and on the other hand more of a stepwise flow.)

In the concrete category, I have made a system for all colors in the artworks in the Red Studio translated to intervals using the color circle and the circle of fifths.

I have then strictly processed and placed these sounds rhythmically in the music correlating to where they are placed in relation to the clock in the middle.

I have a short meditative piece where I have placed the painting on sheet music and read it as such with the objects as musical notes.

in the idea analytical category which in a way also sums up the proces, I have

-reworked one of my previous pieces “Trees” based on a fundamental pentatonic scale, as a representation of the earthyness, drama and trance in the red color, and also pointing to the significance of the landscape painting in the Red Studio.

-worked with the idea of exploring the suspended time, 2 and 3 -dimensionality and figure ground relationships, translated into both rhythmic and harmonic perspectives.

-with inspiration from composer Morton Feldmans music for Rothkos monochromatic paintings, which as I understand it, is hugely inspired by the Red Studio.

-the idea of reversing the figure-ground relationship.

-working with the four squares of the painting, and the numbers of 12, 4 and 2 that are present in a number of ways.

-the relations, connections and repetitions in the figures, objects and subjects in the painting.

-not least the idea of “It has not turned out the way I originally imagined. I like it, but I don’t quite understand it; I don’t know why I painted it precisely the way I did”, which I relate to as letting the intuitive ideas guide the music, and a philosophy of playing what my aural imagination tells me.

-the phrasing and dynamics and the shaping in the improvisations, I relate to

brushstrokes markmaking almost nonchalant yet precise

A short excerpt from the end of the concert, in the middle of the last piece RedS by Hess:

Sound Check:

The post Solo and double piano concert at MoMA on Matisse Red Studio appeared first on Nikolaj Hess.

There is a long due revisit from Tony Scherr, Marc Mommaas and Jochen Rueckert, what an awestriking and scintillating amount of  unique musicality and highest level possible experience. Hope you will enjoy our concerts, here in categories with the NYC constellation, other collab projects,  of course Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab Salon at Apollo Bar most nights, Hessismore Piano Chronicles, and collectives.

There is new music in the repertoire, also from my artistic research project Transformative Reflections, with inspiration from paintings. We also found some not necessarily hidden, but nevertheless true gems jazz composition classics that we have worked on, and we see what happens during the week and go with that, too.  Really looking forward, I’ll Be Seeing You.

NYC project with Tony Scherr, Jochen Rueckert, AC & Marc Mommaas,

6/7 kl 21 Studenterhuset Quartet with Mommaas, Rueckert & AC

7/7 kl 17 Palæ Bar Nikolaj Hess Elektrisk Vand Quartet with Tony Scherr, Jochen Rueckert, Marc Mommmas

7/7 kl 21 Sofiekælderen Nikolaj Hess NYC Quartet with Tony Scherr, Jochen Rueckert, Marc Mommmas

8/7 kl 20 Bartof Station Nikolaj Hess NYC Quartet with Tony Scherr, Jochen Rueckert, Marc Mommmas

9/7 kl 15 Bellahøj Kirke Nikolaj Hess Trio with Tony Scherr & Jochen Rueckert

NH Collab Specials:

2/7 kl 21 H15 Sissel Vera Pettersen Nikolaj Hess Duo

3/7 kl 20 Bartof Station Nikolaj Hess Trio with Morten Lund & Daniel Franck

4/7 kl 15 Bartof Station Transformative Reflections solo piano

4/7 kl 22 Koncertkirken duo with Marc Mommaas

6/7 kl 17 Bellahøj Kirke duo with Marc Mommaas

Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab Salon Explorations:

28/6 kl 20 DR Koncerthuset Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab Science and Cocktails

2/7 kl 00.30 Apollo Bar Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab Salon

5/7 kl 00.30 Apollo Bar Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab Salon

6/7 kl 00.30 Apollo Bar Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab Salon

7/7 kl 00.30 Apollo Bar Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab Salon

8/7 kl 00.30 Apollo Bar Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab Salon

9/7 kl 00.30 Apollo Bar Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab Salon

10/7 kl 00.30 Apollo Bar Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab Salon

11/7 kl 00.30 Apollo Bar Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab Salon

Hess is More:

1/7 kl 20 Copenhagen Distillery Hessismore Piano Chronicles solo piano

2/7 kl 20 Copenhagen Distillery Hessismore Piano Chronicles solo piano

7/7 kl 20 Copenhagen Distillery Hessismore Piano Chronicles solo piano

8/7 kl 23.30 Copenhagen Distillery Hessismore Piano Chronicles solo piano nachtspiel

9/7 kl 20 Copenhagen Distillery Hessismore Piano Chronicles solo piano

9/7 kl 21 Copenhagen Distillery Hessismore Apollonian Circles special guest and solo piano nachtspiel

Collectives:

29/6 kl 20 Bartof Station Social Club feat Naja Rosa Koppel

2/7 kl 14 Frederiksberg HC, duo with Mads Vinding

3/7 kl 15 Central Hotel Gustaf Ljunggren Special

4/7 kl 20 Musikhuset København trio with Roland & Fryland

5/7 kl 20 H9 Portraits in Jazz with Waidtløw, Høyer & AC

8/7 kl 13 Cafe Parforce Marc Mommaas Project

10/7 kl 11.30 Skt Petri Claus Waidtløw Project

10/7 kl 15 Bartof Station 3xHess

The post Cph Jazz Festival 2022 with Marc Mommaas, Tony Scherr, Jochen Rueckert, Spacelab, Hessismore, SisselVP appeared first on Nikolaj Hess.

Beautiful Words from
Jazz Weekly & All Music

Excited to share these 2 recent reviews of the new album Nikolaj Hess, Spacelab & Strings

the articles are referring to the coming together of jazz trio Spacelab and string quartet Strings, as ‘subtly innovative’ and ‘rich and satisfying  (…) juxtapositions of jazz and classical’, describing Nikolaj Hess as a ‘nuanced improviser with deep classical chops’.

Jazz Weekly writes ‘Hess adroitly walks the balance of jazz piano and modern strings’ and All Music ‘few jazz albums so perfectly intertwine the classical side with the jazz improv side as Hess does on here’.

Jazz Weekly finishes off with the statement ‘Sublime, sophisticated and satisfying’ that’s now going to ring everywhere we display the album, and the uppermost perfect finishline is added by All Music ‘The title of Hess‘ album, Spacelab & Strings, is an apt description of the music on offer, but one that vastly underplays the scope and grand virtuosity he’s achieved.’

Thank so much for the thorough, and beautifully written reviews by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly and Matt Collar, All Music.

The post Beautiful Words from Jazz Weekly & All Music appeared first on Nikolaj Hess.

“Danish pianist/composer Nikolaj Hess returns, melding two ensembles on Spacelab & Strings. Interweaving a classical string quartet with a piano trio, the recombinant septet finds Hess delving into new abstractions, exploring color, tonality and time.”

Sunnyside Records https://sunnysiderecords.bandcamp.com/album/spacelab-strings

video of Ravel Impressions and ECM at https://www.danishjazz.com/spacelab-strings

“Simply put, these guys are the best piano trio in Denmark, and Nikolaj Hess is one of the most inventive jazz pianists working today” (Mitch Myers Magnet Magazine 2019)

Looking forward to the duo concert tour with Kira Skov / Nikolaj Hess September 2017!

Thanks for beautiful 2017 summer concerts with Marc Mommaas, Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab, Halvcirkel, The Savage Rose, George Garzone, Caroline Henderson, Kresten Osgood, Josh Ginsburg, Jacob Fischer, Peter Vuust, Social Club, 3xHess, Adam Nussbaum, Jay Anderson.

The post New Album Nikolaj Hess Spacelab & Strings appeared first on Nikolaj Hess.

Winther Jazz concerts coming up last half of February, presenting some beloved bands and projects, including creative improvising original artist Marilyn Mazur, international bass virtuoso Francois Moutin, cinematic, telepathic trance-in-the-attic Spacelab, family with 3xHess, Brooklinity Social Club, and grand piano only Solo Impressions plus Micro Chapters. Hope to see you out there!

Also looking forward to playing trio in Paris in March and revisiting Impressions of Bob Dylan in trio format in Istanbul in April.

Proud to have made the soundtrack and live music in the feature film “De Forbandede År” by Anders Refn which just premiered. Beautiful string orchestra by the Prague Symphony and Fames studio, and amazing playing by KT, AC and Mikkel Hess.

Also proud to have composed for Kongernes Fald by Mads Kamp Thulstrup and of course have my music and Spacelab represented in May el-Toukhys masterpiece “Dronningen”.

Looking forward to the duo concert tour with Kira Skov / Nikolaj Hess September 2017!

Thanks for beautiful 2017 summer concerts with Marc Mommaas, Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab, Halvcirkel, The Savage Rose, George Garzone, Caroline Henderson, Kresten Osgood, Josh Ginsburg, Jacob Fischer, Peter Vuust, Social Club, 3xHess, Adam Nussbaum, Jay Anderson.

Still working on new music for Hess & Strings, recording on its way:

new album!

Bugs – Spacelab Live In London, BBC recording of Spacelab (Nikolaj Hess, AC, Mikkel Hess) Live at the jazz club Pizza Express in London

The ongoing SMK collaboration Impressions Of Hammershøi:

new album!

Nikolaj Hess with Marilyn Mazur, Mikkel Hess, Anders Christensen, “Rhapsody” Impressions Of Hammershøi Cloud Jazz http://slowboattocloud.blogspot.dk/2016/03/blog-post.html

new album!

Hess/Mommaas Ballads And Standards Album at prestigious Sunnyside Records, first reviews: www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article_center.php?in_artist=mommaas&in_album=&in_label=&in_author=&in_type=0 and http://www.writteninmusic.com/jazz/marc-mommaas-nikolaj-hess-ballads-and-standards/

new album!!

Micro Chapters, Nikolaj Hess solo piano, effects, Praghs Symphony string section

Best jazz album of the year: Music For Mum And Dad!

Double nomination at Danish Music Awards, best jazz album of the year with
Hess/AC/Hess Spacelab & 3xHess Music For Mum And Dad!!!

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