Christian Westergaard

Christian Westergaard is a Danish pianist and accompanist who trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Music under Amalie Malling, Niklas Sivelöv, and Tove Lønskov.

Westergaard regularly collaborates with renowned international vocalists such as soprano Elsa Dreisig, baritone Bo Skovhus, and soprano Mari Eriksmoen, as well as numerous leading Nordic singers. He has performed concerts at prestigious venues including London’s Wigmore Hall, Hamburg’s Musikhalle, and throughout France, Italy, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.

In 2021, Westergaard garnered international acclaim for his monumental CD box set release, Peter Heise: The Song Edition, on Dacapo Records, comprising 11 CDs and standing as one of the largest Danish classical new releases to date. His Dacapo Records album, Tangos, Waltzes and Cinema Music (2010), featuring piano works by Jacob Gade, also received international recognition.

As a musical entrepreneur and programmer, he has made a mark with Liedkompagniet, which for several years was a central concert venue for Lieder in Denmark and on several occasions commissioned premieres of new Danish music. In 2008, the festival Herman and David presented a complete performance of Herman D. Koppel’s songs over three concerts. Together with bass-baritone Jakob Bloch Jespersen, Westergaard has launched the project New Danish Songs, which has led to premieres of Danish music for voice and piano by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Niels Rosing-Schow, Simon Steen-Andersen, Jexper Holmen, Nicolai Worsaae, and Simon Løffler.

As a solo pianist, Westergaard holds a special affinity for Danish piano music, having cultivated an extensive repertoire of core works by Niels W. Gade, Carl Nielsen, Herman D. Koppel, and Niels Viggo Bentzon.