Anne-Marie Ørbeck (1 April 1911 – 5 June 1996) was a Norwegian

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Biography

Anne-Marie Ørbeck was born in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

in 1911 to Anton Ørbeck (1866–1927) and Inga Louise Larsen (1874–1948). Her brother Gunnar Ørbeck was a violinist. She studied piano in Oslo and in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with

Sandra Drouker Sandra Droucker (Drouker or Droucher) (7 May 18751 April 1944) was a Russian concert pianist, composer and music pedagogue. Life and career Sandra Droucker was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, the daughter of a Jewish German father and a mother wh ...

. She continued her studies in music and composition under teachers including

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and Darius Milhaud. She made her debut as a pianist in Oslo in 1933 with the

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 187 ...

. In 1939 Ørbeck married engineer Helge Smitt (1906–1985). Her career as a musician and composer was interrupted by World War II, but her song cycle "Vonir i blømetid" (Hope at Blossom-Time) won a prize in 1942 from the Norwegian Society of Composers. In the 1950s, she studied composition again with

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Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and later with

Hanns Jelinek Hanns Jelinek (5 December 1901 – 27 January 1969) was an Austrian composer of Czech descent who is also known under the pseudonyms Hanns Elin, H. J. Hirsch, Jakob Fidelbogen. Biography Jelinek was born and died in Vienna. His father was a ma ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Her ''Symphony in D Major'' was premiered in Bergen in 1954, making her the first female Norwegian symphonic composer. She died in Bergen in 1996.

Works

Ørbeck composed works for orchestra, chamber ensemble and solo instrument, but specialized in vocal works, including songs, choral works and psalm compositions. Selected works include: Orchestral works: *''Concertino for Piano and Orchestra'', 1938 *''Melody, Miniature Suite'', 1940 *''Symphony in D major'', 1944 *''Rune March'', 1946 *''Pastorale and Allegro for Flute and Strings'', 1959 Piano and chamber works: *''Concert Event of R. Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier from Rollers'' for piano, 1935 *''Cadenzas for piano concertos by Haydn and Mozart'', 1967 *''Sonatina'', 1967 *''Valse piccante'', 1971 *''Marcia indomabile'', 1973 *''Violin and Piano: Norwegian springar'', 1928 *''Melody'', 1931 Songs: *''Vonir in blømetid'', 7 songs to poems by HH Holmes, 1942 *''So they rowed fjordan''(text: A. Vaa), 1954 *''Wild-Guri'' (text: T. Jonsson), 1955 *''The rock'', 1955 *''A hustavle'' (text: A. Overland), 1957 *''Snow'' (text: A. Overland), 1959 *''Star Song'' (text: I. Krokann), 1964 *''Choir: A pine'' (text: HH Holmes), 1946 *''Ovspel'' (text: HH Holmes), 1952 *''Our country'' (text: A. Overland), 1954 *''Summer Night'' (text: A. Overland), 1956 *''Psalm about the art'' (text: L. Kvalstad), 1964

Discography

Ørbeck's compositions have been recorded and issued on CD, including: *''The Norwegian Flute'', BIS *''Kittelsen, G.'': Festduett/Hegdal, M.: Aleatoric Construction for Piano/VEA, K.: Trio for Flute, Alto Saxophone and Piano (BIT 20 Ensemble), Aurora *''Orbeck, A'': Symphony/Songs (Hirsti, Royal Philharmonic, Dreier), AuroraAlbum listing
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References

1911 births 1996 deaths 20th-century classical composers Musicians from Oslo Norwegian classical composers Norwegian classical pianists Women classical composers 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century Norwegian musicians Women classical pianists 20th-century women composers 20th-century women pianists {{Norway-composer-stub