The Music —

The year 2015 celebrates the 200th  anniversary of the birth of Herman Severin Løvenskjold, the composer of La Sylphide.

When celebrated Danish balletmaster August Bournonville planned to do his La Sylphide,  he surprised many by turning to 19-year old nobleman Herman Severin von Løvenskjold, a talented pianist and fledgling composer. The score became  Løvenskjold’s greatest success, combining a sense of narrative and character leitmotifs with lively dance sequences.

It is said that Bournonville’s decision to use Løvenskjold’s as the composer for his new ballet had met with some opposition; apparently his detractors had even planned to boo at the première.  In the end the music proved so lovely that a protest never materialised. It is now one of the oldest Romantic ballet scores still being performed.