Best known as the founder and most important member of the enigmatic Danish progressive rock group Savage Rose, Thomas Koppel was also a composer of contemporary classical music and a solo recording artist. Although he had studied classical piano and composed serious pieces from an early age, he concentrated on rock from the time Savage Rose formed in 1967. He did continue to work outside of rock music via compositions for the theater and ballet, including the mostly instrumental Dodens Triumf (which was credited to Savage Rose). Although Savage Rose remained active in the 1990s, Koppel gravitated more toward orchestral composition by this time, writing symphonic works for various orchestras and winning the equivalent of the Danish Oscar for film music. ~ Richie Unterberger