Ludolf Nielsen

Karl Henrik Ludolf Nielsen (29 January 1876 – 16 October 1939) was a Danish composer, violinist, conductor, and pianist. Today he is considered one of the most important Danish composers of the early 1900s (together with the more famous Carl Nielsen). Life Nielsen was born in Nørre Tvede, Denmark. Although his family lacked any musicians, Ludolf took to music at a very young age. After a few years of violin lessons from local fiddlers, at eight he was playing at local festivals and other country occasions. In his mid-teens, he moved to Copenhagen, which exposed him to a much broader musical milieu. At 19, he won a scholarship to the Danish Royal Academy of Music. There, he studied violin, piano, and music theory. His composing talents were apparently self-developed. When about 20, Nielsen started composing, at the same time as Tivoli Orchestra hired him as a violinist. Some of his works were performed in 1899, but his first major success was with the symphonic poem Regnar Lodbrog, which gained him an additional scholarship that gave him the opportunity to spend time in the musically rich city of Leipzig, where he composed a few string quartets and had them published. He returned to