Cæcilie Balling

Taking the director’s life and artistic universe as its point of departure, the concert unfolds the musical inspirations that shaped his work. String orchestra, jazz ensemble, vocal soloists, video art and readings by Karen-Lise Mynster meet in a musical portrait of the person behind some of Danish cinema’s most beloved stories. The concert performance was presented at The Black Diamond and DR Koncerthuset.

Concept, artistic development and concertmaster: Cæcilie Balling · Music director: Nikolaj Hess · Visual universe: Kaspar Vig & Markus Willis

Created for the Royal Danish Library’s exhibition Between Heaven and Earth. Through voice, violin, electronics and improvisation, Verbrannt enters a world inspired by folklore, ritual and feminine intuitive power. Music, light and video art merge with the architecture of the Atrium.

Composition, artistic concept, violin and vocals: Cæcilie Balling · Vocals/synthesizer: GRETA · Lighting and video design: Vertigo

Melody moves between classical composition, the rhythmic freedom of jazz and improvisation. Cæcilie Balling takes the role of both soloist and creative collaborator in open passages where composition and spontaneity merge. The work was released in its final form by Dacapo Records in 2024.

Composer: Nikolaj Hess · Soloist: Cæcilie Balling · Danish Chamber Orchestra · Conductor: Carsten Seyer-Hansen · Drums: Mikkel Hess · Double bass: Anders “AC” Christensen

Beginning with Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor, new improvised passages emerge as echoes, reflections and continuations of the work’s universe. Five movements and four improvised interludes unfold as one continuous musical journey for solo violin. The project will be released by OUR Recordings in spring 2027.

Violin and artistic concept: Cæcilie Balling · To be released by OUR Recordings in 2027

The ensemble explores the meeting point between the written and the spontaneous, historical material and contemporary sound-making. The music moves between the intimate and the expressive and was most recently presented at Copenhagen Jazz Festival with live visuals.

Cæcilie Balling: violin and vocals · Mathæus Bech: cello · Kirstine Elise Pedersen: double bass · Live visuals: Kaspar Vig

From J.S. Bach’s iconic Chaconne through INVENTIONS — an improvised encounter with Bach’s Two-Part Inventions created with cellist Josefine Opsahl — to the premiere of Nikolaj Hess’ Melody. The concert concluded with George Enescu’s String Octet in C major, Op. 7.

Soloist: Cæcilie Balling · INVENTIONS with Josefine Opsahl · Melody with string orchestra and rhythm section