Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Edvard Grieg Experiences
» Troldhaugen, Bergen
» Open-air concerts, Bergen
» Grieghallen, Bergen
Music
Classical Music
The 19th century was an extraordinarily rich time for Norwegian music. It was at this time
that Edvard Grieg, who is regarded as one of history's greatest composers, emerged. Of
arguably equal importance was the virtuoso violinist Ole Bull, known throughout Europe
as the 'Nordic Paganini'. Bull is credited with critically encouraging the careers of Edvard
Grieg and Henrik Ibsen, bringing the Hardanger folk fiddlers to Bergen concert halls and
reviving Europe-wide interest in Norwegian folk music.
There are fine philharmonic orchestras in Oslo, Bergen (dating from 1765), Trondheim
and Stavanger; the Norwegian Opera Company (established in 1958) is based in Oslo. In
addition to Grieg, watch out for works by his contemporaries Halfdan Kierulf and Johan
Svendsen,ormorerecentcomposerssuchasDavidMonradJohansen,GeirrTveitt,Fartein
Valen, Pauline Hall and Ketil Bjørnstad (
www.ketilbjornstad.com
). Modern Norwegian
compositions often bear unmistakable traces of folk-music roots.
Music from Norway (
www.musicfromnorway.com/default.aspx
)
is a thorough overview of Norwegian
music, with biographies and informative summaries of the most popular musical forms as well as album
releases and concert tours.
Folk Music
Folk music is another central pillar of Norwegian music, and the Hardanger fiddle - which
derives its distinctive sound from four or five sympathetic strings stretched out beneath the
usual four strings - is one of Europe's best-loved folk instruments.
Some of the hottest folk acts include Tore Bruvoll and Jon Anders Halvorsen, who per-
form traditional Telemark songs
(Nattsang);
the live Norwegian performances of Bukkene
Bruse(heavyontheHardangerfiddle;
Spel
);Rusk'simpressivelywiderepertoireofmusic
from southeastern Norway
(Rusk);
Sigrid Moldestad and Liv Merete Kroken, who bring
