Poul Ruders

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Poul Ruders (born March 27, 1949 in Ringsted) is a Danish composer.

Ruders trained as an organist, and studied orchestration with Ib Nørholm. He has written in a wide variety of styles, from the Vivaldi pastiche of his first violin concerto (1981) to the modernism of Manhattan Abstraction (1982). Ruders is probably the most-performed living Danish composer.

Other works include the operas Tycho (1986) and The Handmaid's Tale (1990), two symphonies, three string quartets and two piano sonatas. Ruders has also written several important pieces for the American guitarist and promoter of new music David Starobin: Psalmodies (1989) and Paganini Variations for guitar and orchestra (1999-2000), and Psalmodies Suite (1990), Etude and Ricercare (1994) and Chaconne (1996) for solo guitar. Ruders has also composed a Concerto in Pieces (1995), which is a set of variations on the "Witches' Chorus" from Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas.