Niels Lyhne Lokkegaard

Music for Krügerrand is a quartet piece written for eight gold bullion coins and eight oscillators, in which the materiality of bullion gold coins and the sonic properties of gold are investigated.  The quartet piece was commissioned by the G((o))ng Tomorrow festival and was premiered at Copenhagen Contemporary on November 7th, 2018.

Music for Krügerrand was performed by an ensemble which featured Danish billionaire Lars Seier Christensen alongside Ying-Hsueh Chen, Jaleh Negari and the composer of the piece, Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard. 

The following gold bullion coins where used:  Krügerrand, 1 oz. (1978, 1980, 1981, 1983) American Eagle, 1 oz. (2017) 100 Corona (1915, 1915) 50 Pesos Centenario (1947) 

The purity of a gold coin can be determined by the sound emitted when the gold coin is struck with another gold coin. The sound generated is a high frequency tone with a verylong sustain, and depending on the diameter, thickness and alloy of the gold coin, a tone with a specific pitch and timbre is given.  Music for Krügerrand –Quartet for gold bullion coins studies the materiality and the sonic properties of gold, and moreover it deals with man's age-old fascination with the precious metal; what could be described as the psychology of gold.