Carl Nielsen's Juvenilia et Addenda. Reflections, Practices and Experiences, or How to Complete a Complete Edition

Abstract

The article is a result of the completion of Carl Nielsen’s collected works, whose last volume consists of Juvenilia and a number of other compositions. The article discusses how a collected edition is to handle unfi nished or incomplete works, or works of doubtful authenticity. It is argued that the inclusion of such works among other works approved by the composer may be problematic and may give a distorted picture of the composer’s abilities; but also that they may provide a more complete picture of the composer and his working process. It is furthermore stressed that concepts such as completeness (meaning to what extent the work is finished) and authenticity must be well defined in each case; the same goes for provenance and a subjective – though vague –parameter like personal style, which may neither be ignored nor given too much importance.