Niels Finn Høffding (10 March 1899 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

– 29 March 1997 in Copenhagen) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

composer. Høffding studied composition under

Knud Jeppesen Knud Jeppesen (15 August 1892 – 14 June 1974) was a Danish musicologist and composer. He was the leading scholar of the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, about whose life and music he wrote numerous studies. Biography Jeppesen demons ...

and

Thomas Laub Thomas Linnemann Laub (5 December 1852 – 4 February 1927) was a Danish organist and composer. Notable works *1888 ''80 rytmiske Koraler'', en enstemmig samling *1889–1891 ''Kirkemelodier'', tre hæfter med firstemmige udsættelser *1890 ...

, and then under

Joseph Marx Joseph Rupert Rudolf Marx (11 May 1882 – 3 September 1964) was an Austrian composer, teacher and critic. Life and career Marx was born in Graz and pursued studies in philosophy, art history, German studies, and music at Graz University, earn ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

from 1921-22. His works first became well known in Denmark in the 1920s, particularly the piece ''Karlsvognen'' (chorus and orchestra, 1924). He began to study

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

about 1930, and founded the Copenhagen School of Folk Music in 1931. From 1931 he also taught at the

Royal Danish Academy of Music The Royal Danish Academy of Music, or Royal Danish Conservatory of Music ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium), in Copenhagen is the oldest professional institution of musical education in Denmark as well as the largest, with approxima ...

, where he served as director after 1954. In 1956 and 1958 he was awarded the Nielsen Prize. His pupils include

Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (21 November 1932 – 27 June 2016) was a Danish composer. Biography Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was the son of the sculptor Jørgen Gudmundsen-Holmgreen. He studied at the Royal ...

Vagn Holmboe Vagn Gylding Holmboe (, 20 December 1909 – 1 September 1996) was a Danish composer and teacher. Life Vagn Holmboe was born in Horsens, Jutland, into a merchant family of dedicated amateur musicians. Both parents played the piano. His fa ...

Bent Lorentzen Bent Lorentzen (11 February 1935, Stenvad – 3 October 2018, Copenhagen) was a Danish composer. He was one of the outstanding figures in contemporary Danish music. His works are frequently performed at festivals at home and abroad, and he had estab ...

, and

Leif Thybo Leif Thybo (12 June 1922 – 24 January 2001) was a Danish organist and composer. He studied theory with Vagn Holmboe before entering the Royal Danish Academy of Music where he was taught instrumentation by Poul Schierbeck, organ by Emilius Bange ...

. In addition to composing, Høffding also wrote several theoretical treatises.

Works

''Note:This list is incomplete''

Opera

*''Kejserens nye klæder'' (1928) *''Kilderejsen'' op. 15 (1942)

Choral

* ''4 DIAPSALMATA'' (Søren Kierkegaard words, four diapsalmata (aphorism) from Either/Or vol. I. 1977 *''Karlsvognen'' (chorus and orchestra, 1924) *''Christofer Columbus'' (1937) *''Kantate til Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatoriums årsfest'' (1948) *''Giordano Bruno'' (1968)

Orchestral

*''Romance for Violin and String orchestra'' (1918) *Concerto grosso (strings, piano and harp – 1920) *''Symphony No. 1'' "Sinfonia impetuosa" op. 3 (1923) *''Symphony No. 2'' "Il canto liberato" op. 5 (1924) *Suite from ''Kejserens nye klæder'' (''The Emperor’s New Clothes'') op. 9 (1927) *''Symphony No. 3'' op. 12 (1928) *Overture for small orchestra (1930) *Overture for amateur orchestra op. 18 (1931) *Concerto for oboe and string orchestra (1933) *''Symphony No. 4'' "Sinfonia concertante" for piano, wind quintet and string orchestra op. 25 (1934) *''Evolution'', Symphonic Fantasy No. 1 (1939) *Fanfare, concert piece for orchestra (1939) *''Det er ganske vist'', Symphonic Fantasy No. 2 (1940) *''Fire minespil,'' suite for orchestra (1944) *''Majfest'', Fantasy on Danish folk dances (orchestra 1945) *''Fantasia concertante'' op. 67(1965)

Chamber music

*''String Quartet No. 1'' op. 2 (1920) *''String Quartet No. 2'' op. 6 (1925) *Chamber piece for soprano, oboe and piano (1927) *Dialoger for oboe and clarinet op. 10 (1927) *''Wind Quintet'' op. 36(1940) *Sonata for oboe and piano (1943) *''Familien Vind,'' quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon op. 53 (1954)

Piano

* Syv lette klaverstykker (Seven light piano pieces) op. 15 (1931) * Tre lettere klaverstykker (Three lighter piano pieces) op. 16 (1931) * Sonatine in C (piano 1951) * 7 små episoder for piano 4 hands (piano 1951) * 20 små episoder for piano (1954) * Kanon for piano (1959) * Fem klaverstykker (five piano pieces) (1965)