Herman Løvenskiold

Herman Severin Løvenskiold (1815–1870) was a Danish composer and pianist, remembered almost exclusively for one work: the score he composed at the age of twenty for August Bournonville's La Sylphide (1836). Born into an aristocratic family, Løvenskiold showed early musical talent and studied in Copenhagen and abroad, impressing Bournonville with his ability to compose fluent, atmospheric music suited to the choreographer's vision.

Bournonville had seen the original Paris production of La Sylphide in 1832, with choreography by Filippo Taglioni and music by Jean-Madeleine Schneitzhöffer, and created his own Danish version for the Royal Danish Ballet in 1836. Løvenskiold's score — lighter and more transparent than Schneitzhöffer's — proved ideal for Bournonville's style and has remained inseparably associated with his version, which survived in the Royal Danish Ballet's repertoire when the Paris original was lost, and is now the standard staging worldwide.

Beyond La Sylphide, Løvenskiold's career was largely undistinguished. He served as court chamberlain and composed some songs and piano pieces, but none achieved lasting recognition. His immortality rests entirely on that one commission.