Editing Carl Nielsen (section)

=== Studies and early career ===
[[File:Carl Nielsen - 1879.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|alt=photograph of young Nielsen in band parade uniform with two brass instruments|Nielsen, aged about 14, in Odense, 1879]]
In 1881, at the age of 16, Nielsen began to take his violin playing more seriously, studying privately under Carl Larsen, the [[Sexton (office)|sexton]] at [[Odense Cathedral]]. It is not known how much Nielsen composed during this period, but from his autobiography, it can be deduced that he wrote some trios and quartets for brass instruments, and that he had difficulty in coming to terms with the fact that brass instruments were tuned in different keys. Following an introduction to [[Niels Gade|Niels W. Gade]], the director of the [[Royal Danish Academy of Music|Royal Academy]] in Copenhagen, by whom he was well received, Nielsen obtained his release from the military band at short notice,<ref name="mmio" /> and studied at the Academy from the beginning of 1884.{{sfn|Ahlgren Jensen|2008}}

Though not an outstanding student and composing little, Nielsen progressed well in violin under [[Valdemar Tofte]] (1832–1907), and received a solid grounding in [[music theory]] from [[Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann]] as well as from [[Orla Rosenhoff]] (1844–1905), who would remain a valued adviser during his early years as a professional composer.{{sfn|Ahlgren Jensen|2008}} He also studied composition under [[Niels Gade|Gade]], whom he liked as a friend but not for his music. Contacts with fellow students and cultured families in Copenhagen, some of whom would become lifelong friends, became equally important. The patchy education resulting from his country background left Nielsen insatiably curious about the arts, philosophy and aesthetics. But, in the opinion of the musicologist [[David Fanning (musicologist)|David Fanning]], it also left him "with a highly personal, common man's point of view on those subjects".{{sfn|Fanning|2001|p=888}} He left the Academy at the end of 1886, after graduating with good but not outstanding marks in all subjects. He then went to stay with the retired Odense merchant Jens Georg Nielsen (1820–1901) and his wife at their apartment on Slagelsegade as he was not yet in a position to pay his own way.<ref name=studyyears>{{cite web |title=Study years |work=Carl Nielsen 2015 |url=http://carlnielsen.dk/pages/biography/study-years.php |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-date=6 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406031958/http://carlnielsen.dk/pages/biography/study-years.php |url-status=live }}</ref> While there, he fell in love with their 14-year-old daughter Emilie Demant.<ref name=timeline>{{cite web |url=http://www.carlnielsen.org/en/timeline |title=Timeline |date=9 November 2014 |publisher=Carl Nielsen Society |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-date=18 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518114354/http://www.carlnielsen.org/en/timeline |url-status=live }}</ref> The affair was to last for the next three years.{{sfn|Fellow|2005}}

On 17 September 1887, Nielsen played the violin in the [[Tivoli Concert Hall]] when his ''Andante tranquillo e Scherzo'' for strings was premiered. Shortly afterwards, on 25 January 1888, his String Quartet in F major was played at one of the private performances of the {{lang|da|Privat Kammermusikforening}} (Private Chamber Music Society).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://carlnielsen.dk/pages/biography/young-and-promising.php|title=Young and promising|publisher=Carl Nielsen Society|access-date=16 May 2015|archive-date=6 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406032033/http://carlnielsen.dk/pages/biography/young-and-promising.php|url-status=live}}</ref> While Nielsen considered the Quartet in F to be his official debut as a professional composer, a far greater impression was made by his ''Suite for Strings''. Performed at [[Tivoli Gardens]], Copenhagen on 8 September 1888, it was designated by Nielsen as his Op. 1.{{sfn|Fanning|2001|pp=888–889}}

By September 1889 Nielsen had progressed well enough on the violin to gain a position with the second violins in the prestigious Royal Danish Orchestra which played at Copenhagen's [[Royal Danish Theatre|Royal Theatre]], then conducted by Johan Svendsen. In this position he experienced Verdi's ''[[Falstaff (opera)|Falstaff]]'' and ''[[Otello]]'' at their Danish premieres. Although this employment sometimes caused Nielsen considerable frustration, he continued to play there until 1905. After Svendsen's retirement in 1906, Nielsen increasingly served as conductor (being officially appointed assistant conductor in 1910).<ref name=timeline /><ref name="OCM-Layton">{{harvnb|Layton}}. ''Oxford Companion to Music''.</ref> Between graduation and attaining this position, he made a modest income from private violin lessons while enjoying the continuing support of his patrons, not only Jens Georg Nielsen but also Albert Sachs (born 1846) and Hans Demant (1827–1897) who both ran factories in Odense.<ref>{{cite web |title=Carl Nielsen & Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen |language=da |publisher=Odense Bys Museer |url=http://museum.odense.dk/viden/carl-nielsen-anne-marie-carl-nielsen/publikationer-/spillemand-cn |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-date=18 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518193715/http://museum.odense.dk/viden/carl-nielsen-anne-marie-carl-nielsen/publikationer-/spillemand-cn |url-status=dead }}</ref> After less than a year at the Royal Theatre, Nielsen won a scholarship of 1,800 kroner, giving him the means to spend several months travelling in Europe.{{sfn|Fanning|2001|pp=888–889}}
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