Klaus Schønning (born 1954) is a Danish musician, known as a pioneer in the
new-age genre.
Schønning was born in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
in 1954 and began composing music as a child.
He studied music at the
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University.
...
. His work is notable for its deft orchestration and a wide variety of featured instruments, including
harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...
,
zither
Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body.
Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...
,
dulcimer
The term dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments.
Hammered dulcimers
The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...
,
bouzouki
The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...
,
glockenspiel
The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the v ...
, and
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
s.
Klaus Schønning was also one of the first musicians to release his music independently. In the late seventies not many labels understood this new genre and hence they were reluctant to sign the then unknown composer. Instead of accepting the rejections, Klaus Schønning released his two first albums himself, and distributed them by bike to the Copenhagen record shops. Later he was signed to major labels such as Sony Music.
Discography
Studio albums
* Lydglimt (1979)
* Cyclus (1980)
* Nasavu (1982)
* Locrian Arabesque (1985)
* Arctic Light (1987)
* Symphodyssé (1988)
* Symphodyssé II (1989)
* Symphodyssé III (1990)
* Symphodyssé IV (1992)
* Magic Café (1993)
* Endless Corridor (1995)
* Copenhagen (1996)
* Rune Quest (1997)
* Mysteries Of The Past (1998)
* Stars In The Night (2000)
* Invisible Worlds (2002)
* Fairytales (2005)
* Flow (2009)
* Spirit Of Sports (2010)
* Sacred Moments (2011)
* City (2012)
* Sanctum (2014)
* Papua New Guinea (soundtrack) (2014)
Wellness series
* Symphonies of Wellness (2006)
* Melodies of Wellness (2007)
* Harmonies of Wellness (2008)
* Christmas & Wellness (2008)
Recordings with the Band ''The North''
* The North (1999)
* The Full Moon Concert (2000)
* Illusions (2013)
External links
Official Website
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schonning, Klaus
1954 births
Living people
Danish composers
Danish male composers
Date of birth missing (living people)