Eva Sidén

Eva Sidén, born in 1957, grew up in Norrköping, where she attended music-focused classes and an arts-oriented high school. During her school years, she studied piano at the municipal music school and later with Stina Sundell and Ellfride Kolbe-Dobrowlny in Stockholm. Even as a student, she was active as a pianist in both music and theatre, taught piano and music in community settings, and began composing. In 1977, she also studied at the Elementary School for Artistic Education in Stockholm—early signs of the versatility that has come to define her artistic practice.

Sidén primarily composes chamber music, often marked by a personal and poetic sound world. Her works frequently feature unconventional instrumentation, sometimes incorporating her own unique instruments. One such piece is EBB (1993), written for piano and glass percussion, first performed at Enkehuset in Stockholm. Music critic Erik Wallrup described it as “a strange world of sound—completely new to my ears.”

Another notable work is Luften (2002), for piano, percussion, and audio tape/surround, commissioned for the opening of the Dieselverkstaden cultural center in Nacka. This piece exemplifies Sidén’s acoustic-spatial and conceptual approach—rooted in a sensitive exploration of place, history, and everyday phenomena.

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