Leif Kayser

Leif Kayser (1919-2001) had a very versatile professional career. For many years he taught instrumentation at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen, and he is a pianist, organist and conductor. His own teachers included Poul Schierbeck, Nadia Boulanger and Hilding Rosenberg. In the 1940s Leif Kayser studied theology in Rome, and in 1949 he was ordained as a Catholic priest. For some years he worked in this capacity in Copenhagen. He has written a very large number of works. It aroused great attention when he had his First Symphony performed for the first time in Sweden at the age of 19; later another four have followed. In general Kayser's work is dominated by sacred music such as oratorios, a cappella works and several organ works. He has also written chamber music, didactic music, piano transcriptions of Romantic music and works for accordion.