Simon Steen-Andersen

In a 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000, the number of total votes received by Steen-Andersen's pieces was the second highest (35), surpassed only by the compositions of Georg Friedrich Haas (49).

A work that typifies his playing with, and challenging of, existing conventions is Black Box Music (2012). The piece is scored for percussion solo, amplified box, 15 instruments and video, yet the conductor is the percussionist and carries out their duties with their hands in the amplified ‘black box’. The ensemble performs not on the stage but in three locations around the audience, being conducted by a video projection of the conductor that takes up the stage.

His output ranges from instrumental music, which typically employs a whole range of performance techniques and electronic elements, to video installations such as RunTime Error (2009). Other works of particular note include Rerendered (2004), written for pianist and two assistants; On And Off And To And Fro (2008), for soprano saxophone, vibraphone, double bass, and 3 players with megaphones; and Ouvertures (2010), for Chinese guzheng soloist, sampler, and symphony orchestra.

Beginning with his String Quartet (1999), he has received numerous awards over recent years. In 2017 he received the Mauricio Kagel Music Prize and the Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize. In 2014 he was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize for his work Black Box Music and he received the SWR Orchesterpreis 2014 for his Piano Concerto. In 2013 he was awarded the honorary Carl Nielsen Prize. Back in 2010 he was the first Dane ever to win first prize at the International Rostrum of Composers in the category of composers over 30. After being a featured composer at the Ultra Schall Festival für neue Musik in 2011, Dacapo Records released portrait-CD of his compositions performed by the Norwegian ensemble asamisimasa. Selected other honours include: the Holmboe prize (2008), Présences China (2008), Kranichsteiner Musikpreis (2008), Sonning Music Foundation Talent Award (2006), Arts Foundation's 3-year working grant (2006), Bisballes Artist Prize (2005).

He studied composition with Karl Aage Rasmussen, Mathias Spahlinger, Gabriel Valverde, and Bent Sørensen in Aarhus, Freiburg, Buenos Aires and Copenhagen from 1998 to 2006. He was the resident composer with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra between 2004-2005 and the Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen between 2006-2007. Since 2008 he has taught composition at The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus. Since 2018 he has held the position as professor in the Composition and Music Theatre department at Bern University of the Arts. He currently lives in Berlin.

Simon Steen-Andersen (born 1976) is a Danish composer and installation artist.