To mark the opening of the Carl Nielsen Centre at Museum Odense, an international hub
for Nielsen studies, all aspiring and established Nielsen scholars are invited to attend the
International Carl Nielsen Conference 2026: Carl Nielsen and Beyond. Music,
Musical Cultures and Future Nielsen Studies
Date: Thursday, 22 October 2026 – Saturday, 24 October 2026
Venues: Carl Nielsen Centre, Museum Odense, H.C. Andersen Centre, SDU Odense, and the
Danish National Academy of Music (Syddansk Musikkonservatorium), Odense.
Conference committee: David Fanning (University of Manchester, UK), Christopher
Tarrant (Newcastle University, UK), Bjarke Moe (Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen),
Thomas Husted Kirkegaard (Aarhus University), and Michael Fjeldsøe (Museum Odense,
Carl Nielsen Centre, editor-in-chief of Carl Nielsen Studies).
Call for Papers:
The conference welcomes contributions for open sessions on topical issues related to
Carl Nielsen and his musical environment as well as contributions to the specific themes
mentioned below.
Theme 1. CREATIVE PROCESSES AND PERFORMATIVE PRACTICES: The creation of
musical works and beyond
Theme 2. INCORPORATING THE PAST: Counterpoints. ‘The Culture of the Line’
Theme 3. RE-CREATING HISTORIOGRAPHY: Marginalized composers in musical
cultures of Nielsen’s time.
Theme 4. FUTURE NIELSEN STUDIES
Deadline and contacts
Deadline for abstracts: 5 June 2026, approx. 300 words, in English, please mark if it is
for an open session or relates to one of the specific themes. Please send to: Michael
Fjeldsøe, mfj@museumodense.dk, cc. Jonas Faurholt Høegh, jfh@museumodense.dk.
Accompanying events
22 October at 7pm: Odense Symphony Orchestra 80th Birthday Concert
Concert programme: J. Nordin: Tillykke! – John Frandsen: Concert for Orchestra (world
premiere) – Carl Nielsen: Symphony No. 5, cond. Christian Øland.
23 October at 5 pm. Concert with Christina Bjørkøe and pupils and friends, with lieder and
instrumental music by female composers, Nielsen and maybe Rosenhoff.
Until 24 October. Exhibition of 47 Nielsen letters, sealed until 2026, Museum Odense.
Free admission to the Carl Nielsen Museum and the Carl Nielsen Childhood Home.