Performers & composers

Niels Rosing-Schow

Niels Rosing-Schow, born 1954 in Copenhagen, studied musicology at the University of Copenhagen from 1972 to 1979. In 1984 he passed the diploma examination in music history and music theory at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where he now teaches theory classes and composition. From 1984 to 1987 he studied composition with Ib Nørholm, and afterwards in France in 1987.

Niels Rosing-Schow has never been attracted by specific aesthetic schools or groupings in musical life. Although he admits the influences of composers including Stravinsky, Xenakis and Murail, each new work presents new challenges and new experiences. Rosing-Schow attaches great importance to sensuality and ambiguity. His aim is to connect with the spirit of the times in order to create something that is personal, but which reaches beyond the subjective to express something more profound and universal.

Peinture du temps (14')

Premiered 5. april 2005.

Time is the dimension of music and musical form can generally be described as a number of time segments of varied quality of experience. Metaphors from visual impressions, impressions of space and sense perception are often used to describe musical impressions. For example, we talk of “a bright tone”, “high” and “low” notes, or a “cutting” dissonance.

In the quintet Peinture du temps (painting of time or time painting) I have, in terms of the formation of the quality of time segments, moved to a deeper level than the mere inspiration from light and colour metaphor. There are striking parallels: white light is the mix of all colours – white noise is the presence of all frequencies, a colour is defined by its wavelength – a timbre is defined by a set of frequencies in an ordered relation; one actually speaks of the ‘spectrum’ of the sound.
In Peinture du temps one finds the ‘pure’, harmonic centre and six different distorted, inharmonic spectres (three compressed and three dilated spectres) each in its own transposition. These spectres (colours) appear in different concentrations and patterns, sometimes turning into noise (white). The musical memory – the recollection – is the canvas on which the music – time – paints its picture.