Edition Wilhelm Hansen
Corporate brand
UnclaimedEdition Wilhelm Hansen is a Copenhagen-based Danish music publisher founded by Jens Wilhelm Hansen in the mid-nineteenth century and now owned by Wise Music Group.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Edition Wilhelm Hansen is a Danish music-publishing company headquartered in Copenhagen. Its origins date to 1853, when Jens Wilhelm Hansen began issuing music from his home. The business was formally incorporated in 1857, when Hansen also opened a music shop and subscription library in Copenhagen. For most of its history, the company was owned and managed by descendants of its founder and developed from a local retail and publishing operation into one of the most influential music publishers in Denmark and a significant Nordic and European rights business. The company expanded substantially through acquisitions and international branches. In 1879 it acquired the established Copenhagen publishers C.C. Løse and Horneman & Erslev, a consolidation that gave Hansen a dominant position in Danish music publishing. The firm moved in 1880 to the former Løse premises at Gothersgade 11, which remained associated with the business for the rest of its independent history. In 1887 Hansen established a Leipzig branch, extending its activities into Germany; that office remained active until it was forced to close during the Second World War. Hansen also built a broader Nordic and European network. In 1908 it jointly acquired the Carl Warmuth publishing house with Brødrene Hals. Those interests were subsequently combined into Norsk Musikforlag, over which the Hansen family obtained full control in 1910. The company founded Nordiska Musikförlaget in Stockholm in 1915, created Wilhelmiana Musikverlag in Frankfurt in 1951, established the London publisher J. & W. Chester in 1957, and opened a Helsinki branch in 1986. These operations helped the Hansen publishing interests serve composers, performers, institutions, and music markets across Scandinavia, continental Europe, and the United Kingdom. Its catalogue has included works by major Nordic and international composers, including Carl Nielsen, Jean Sibelius, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Arthur Honegger, Francis Poulenc, Witold Lutosławski, Johan Svendsen, Hugo Alfvén, Vagn Holmboe, and many others. The company also published musicological and scholarly material, including works associated with the Danish scholar Knud Jeppesen. Its activities have therefore encompassed both commercial sheet-music publishing and the preservation, dissemination, and licensing of serious and contemporary repertoire. In November 1988, the majority of the Hansen business was sold to Music Sales Corporation, the company now known as Wise Music Group. At that point the publishing operation adopted the name Edition Wilhelm Hansen, distinguishing the modern corporate identity from the historical Hansen name. The Hansen family retained the Norsk Musikforlag imprint, which was the principal part of the family business not sold in the transaction. Edition Wilhelm Hansen continues as part of Wise Music Group's international publishing portfolio, with a historical identity rooted in Danish music culture and a catalogue extending across Nordic and European repertoire.
History
Jens Wilhelm Hansen began publishing music from his Copenhagen home in 1853. Four years later, in 1857, the operation was formally incorporated alongside a music shop and subscription library. The company remained in Hansen family hands for more than a century and became a central force in Danish music publishing. A decisive expansion occurred in 1879, when Hansen acquired C.C. Løse, founded in 1802, and Horneman & Erslev, founded in 1846. The transaction consolidated much of the Danish publishing market in Hansen's hands. In 1880 the company relocated to the former Løse premises at Gothersgade 11, its long-term Copenhagen base. International growth followed with a Leipzig branch in 1887. Hansen's Nordic strategy developed through a series of publishing ventures. In 1908 the company jointly purchased Carl Warmuth with Brødrene Hals. The businesses were combined into Norsk Musikforlag, which the Hansen family fully controlled from 1910. Hansen later founded Nordiska Musikförlaget in Stockholm in 1915, Wilhelmiana Musikverlag in Frankfurt in 1951, J. & W. Chester in London in 1957, and a Helsinki branch in 1986. The firm's catalogue included leading Scandinavian composers such as Carl Nielsen, Jean Sibelius, Hugo Alfvén, and Vagn Holmboe, as well as internationally prominent figures including Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Honegger, Poulenc, and Lutosławski. It also issued scholarly music publications. In November 1988, the majority of the company was sold to Music Sales Corporation, now Wise Music Group. The business was renamed Edition Wilhelm Hansen, while the Hansen family retained Norsk Musikforlag. The brand now forms part of Wise Music Group's international music-publishing operations.
- 1988
Majority acquired by Music Sales Corporation
[1]The majority of the Hansen business is sold in November and the company adopts the Edition Wilhelm Hansen name.
- 1986
Helsinki branch opened
[1]Hansen extends its Nordic network with a Finnish branch.
- 1957
J. & W. Chester founded
[1]The company establishes the London music publisher J. & W. Chester.
- 1951
Wilhelmiana Musikverlag established
[1]Hansen creates a Frankfurt-based publishing operation.
- 1915
Nordiska Musikförlaget founded
[1]The company establishes a Swedish publishing house in Stockholm.
- 1910
Full control of Norsk Musikforlag
[1]The Hansen family obtains complete control of Norsk Musikforlag after the earlier Carl Warmuth transaction.
- 1887
Leipzig expansion
[1]Hansen opens a German branch in Leipzig.
- 1879
Acquisition of C.C. Løse and Horneman & Erslev
[1]Two established Danish publishers are acquired, giving Hansen a dominant domestic position.
- 1857
Formal incorporation and Copenhagen shop
[1]The business is formally incorporated and opens a music shop and subscription library.
- 1853
Music publishing begins in Copenhagen
[1]Jens Wilhelm Hansen begins publishing music from his home.
Products and positioning
A heritage classical and contemporary music publisher with deep Danish and Nordic roots, an international European history, and a catalogue managed within Wise Music Group.
Printed music publishing · 1853
Classical and contemporary sheet music
The company's core activity is the publication and dissemination of serious and contemporary music. Its historical catalogue includes works by Danish, Nordic, and international composers, serving performers, teachers, ensembles, institutions, and music retailers through printed editions and related rights administration.
Performance materials
Orchestral, instrumental, and vocal scores
Edition Wilhelm Hansen's publishing activities cover performance-oriented materials for orchestral, instrumental, choral, and vocal repertoire. The catalogue is associated with composers such as Carl Nielsen, Jean Sibelius, Igor Stravinsky, and other major Nordic and European figures.
Musicology and reference publishing
Scholarly music publications
In addition to scores, the historical Hansen business published musicological and scholarly works, including publications associated with the Danish scholar Knud Jeppesen.
Brand decisions
1988
Sale of the majority business to Music Sales CorporationM&ABackground
After more than a century of family ownership and management, the Hansen business pursued a change in ownership.
Action taken
In November, the Hansen family sold the majority of the company to Music Sales Corporation, now Wise Music Group, and the business was renamed Edition Wilhelm Hansen.
Aftermath
The brand became part of an international music-publishing group, while the family retained Norsk Musikforlag as the principal unsold imprint.
1879
Consolidation of Danish music publishingM&ABackground
Hansen operated in a fragmented Danish publishing market with several long-established competitors.
Action taken
The company acquired C.C. Løse and Horneman & Erslev.
Aftermath
The acquisitions gave Hansen a dominant position in Denmark and were described as effectively creating a domestic publishing monopoly.
Sources1 sources
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