Hakon Børresen

Hakon Børresen was one of the foremost Danish composers of the 20th century. He learned to play violin, cello and piano as a child, and then studied composition at the Royal Danish Conservatory. Børresen’s style and musical language was primarily late Romantic, with little or no influence from more modern tendencies. He was instead inspired by Danish cultural ideas and folk melodies. He wrote, amongst others, Operas, the ballet Tycho Brahes Dröm and three symphonies.

Børresen became an important organizer of several Danish music festivals and served as the president of the Danish Composers Union between 1924 and 1949. He was widely regarded as one of Denmark’s most important musicians, but did not become known outside his own country.

The work submitted in 1932 may have been his Olympisk Hymn (or a draft for it) as it was not published and first performed before 1940. It is an orchestral work subtitled “based on a Pythian hymn by Pindar from the year 520 BC”.