Nielsen made his first splash as a composer in 1889 with his Little Suite, Op. 1, which was enthusiastically received at its premiere at Copenhagen's Tivoli Concert Hall. Later that same year he accepted a post in the second violin section of the Royal Chapel Orchestra, and it was around this time that he wrote the two Fantasy Pieces. They were originally conceived for oboe and piano but have been transcribed for many other instruments, including clarinet, flute and violin. Nielsen dedicated the Fantasy Pieces to oboist Olivo Krause, who played their premiere with pianist Victor Bendix on March 16, 1891. The first piece, in simple ternary form, is very pretty, with a few characteristically Nielsen-like turns in the melody. The opening of the second bears some resemblance to the opening of Nielsen's Flute Concerto of nearly forty years later. It is charming and playful, with a cute flourish of an ending.

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