Nielsen since 1980

The History of the Carl Nielsen International Music Competition goes back to 1980 when the first violin competition was held in Odense. It has since taken place every four years in Odense and, on a very special occasion, in 1999 in New York City as part of the Danish Wave, and important festival of Danish culture.

In 1997 and 1998 the first wind competitions were organized, for clarinet and flute, respectively, and on January 1, 2009, Odense International Organ Competition became part of our organization that now hold international music competitions every year.

In 2009 another important thing happened: the Carl Nielsen Festival was included in the programme, and will continue to appear as an annual cultural event during the competition period and leading up to the celebration of Carl Nielsen's 150 years birthday on June 9, 2015.