Alf Andersen (25 November 1928 - 24 June 1962) was a Norwegian flautist from

Notodden Notodden () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city and List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Øst-Telemark. ...

, acknowledged as the leading Norwegian flautist in his time and well known through broadcasting NRK and for his leading role in

Norwegian Radio Orchestra The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Norwegian, ''Kringkastingsorkestret'', abbreviated as KORK) is a radio orchestra affiliated with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (''Norsk rikskringkasting AS'', or NRK). Its principal base is the ''Store Studi ...

where he was solo flutist of the orchestra from the start in 1946 until his death in 1962.

Biography

He studied the flute under

Ørnulf Gulbransen Ørnulf Gulbransen (born 19 December 1916 in Kristiania (Oslo), Norway – deceased 20 February 2004 in Oslo) was a Norwegian Classical musician (flute), married 1945 to the violinist Elsa Lilian Gustavsen (b. 1921). Career Gulbransen had for ...

. He was employee

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Moz ...

Orchestra in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

for a period (1956), and over the years also a prominent chamber musician, often with pianists

Ruth Lagesen Ruth Lagesen (August 10, 1914 – April 7, 2005) was a Norwegian pianist and conductor. Biography Lagesen was born in Bagn in the Valdres Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudb ...

or Kirsti Hjort. With oboist Tom Klausen he had a close working relationship. He remained true to

. Despite tempting offers from big orchestras abroad. His follower as a solo flautist in Norwegian Radio Orchestra counts names like Hans Schøyen, Per Øien, John Tonsjø and Tom Ottar Andreassen. One of his chief interpretations were of Edgar Vareses ''Density 21.5'' whose title drawn attention to the instrument. Likewise

Finn Mortensen Finn Mortensen (January 6, 1922 – May 23, 1983) was a Norwegian composer, critic and educator. Finn Einar Mortensen was born in Oslo. His parents were publisher Ernst Gustav Mortensen (1887–1966) and Anna Marie Damnæs (1886–1 ...

s ''Sonata for flute'', a composition Andersen himself had ordered and premiered (Universitetets Aula, 1954). He also performed duets with

Magnetic tape Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magne ...

players, like Bruno Madernas ''Music per due dimensioni'' for flute and tape. The Swedish composer

Hilding Rosenberg Hilding Constantin Rosenberg (June 21, 1892 – May 18, 1985)Lyne Peter H. Rosenberg, Hilding (Constantin). In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London & New York, 1997. was a Swedish composer and conductor. He is commonly reg ...

dedicated ''Sonata for solo fløyte'' to Andersen, premiered in Sweden (April 1960). In Norway, it was performed by Andersen himself in Ny Musikks 7. subscription concert later that year. He also recorded a tune with the jazz musician

Willy Andresen Willy Andresen (18 October 1921 – 17 June 2016) was a Norwegian jazz pianist. He was born in Oslo, and was appointed at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from 1959 to 1991. He often backed singer Erik Bye during his performances in ...

, in aquartet with Per Nyhaug and

Håkon Nilsen Håkon Nilsen (16 April 1913 – 30 January 1976), Stavanger, Norway, popularly known as "Torpedo Nilsen", was a Norwegian war veteran and highly decorated allied naval torpedo commander of World War II. Draug He dramatically escaped Norway in ...

(1961). Andersen died 33 years old. He was a member of the

Norwegian Order of Freemasons Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

. The composer

Arne Nordheim Arne Nordheim (20 June 1931 – 5 June 2010) was a Norwegian composer. Nordheim received numerous awards for his compositions, and from 1982 lived in the Norwegian government's honorary residence, Grotten, next to the Royal Palace in Oslo. He ...

wrote ''Epitaffio'' for orchestra and tape to remind him (premiered in Stockholm in March 1964), and he was reminded of a week-long portrait at

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

radio (1971).

award prizes to young musicians from Alf Anderson Memorial Fund (1988–).

Honors

* 1st Prize in the Geneva International Music Competition 1958. * Princess Astrid Music Prize 1958 * 7th place in the 20th Century classical musician, shared with

Ole Edvard Antonsen Ole Edvard Antonsen (born 25 April 1962) is a Norwegian trumpeter, musician and conductor. Antonsen was born in Vang, Hedmark, now part of Hamar. He is best known as a solo trumpeter, active in different genres of music; classical music, chamber ...

Terje Myklebost
''Leif Ove Andsnes til topps''
at Klassisk Musikkmagasin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alf Andersen (1928-1962) 1962 deaths 1928 births Norwegian flautists Musicians from Notodden 20th-century flautists