Andy Pape spent his youth in California, moving to Denmark at the age of sixteen. He studied with Ib Nørholm at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. With a wide range of influences including avant-garde performance theatre, jazz and rock, his music is accessible without being patronising, often juxtaposing an infectious wit with tragedy. He is drawn to theatrical concepts: aside from his five operas – Houdini the Great, The Boxer, Leonora Christine, Till Death Us Do and Simsalabad – his concert works often contain dramatic scenarios, such as the power struggle between pianist and page turner in Variations on ‘Nearer My God to Thee’.
