Birgitte Grimstad (born 15 December 1935) is a Danish-born Norwegian singer, guitarist, composer and writer.

Personal life

Grimstad was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark, the daughter of

Aksel Schiøtz Aksel Schiøtz (1 September 190619 April 1975) was a Danish tenor and later baritone, who was considered one of Europe's leading lieder singers of the post-World War II period.Alan Blyth"Review: The Singer and His Art by Aksel Schiøtz" ''The Musi ...

and Gerd Haugsted. She was married to ambassador Per Øystein Grimstad from 1958 to 1988.

Career

Grimstad studied theatre and mass media at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, United States. She moved to Norway in 1959, and produced television shows for the

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

(NRK), including children's programs and shows with performers such as

Alf Prøysen Alf Prøysen () (23 July 1914 – 23 November 1970) was a Norwegian author, poet, playwright, songwriter and musician. Prøysen was one of the most important Norwegian cultural personalities in the second half of the 20th century. He wor ...

and

Lalla Carlsen Lalla Carlsen (née Haralda Petrea Christensen) (17 August 1889 – 23 March 1967) was a Norwegian singer and actress. She is regarded as one of the most legendary female revue artists in Norway. Personal life Lalla Carlsen was born in Svelvik ...

. She made her musical debut in 1966 with the single "Det første som jeg ønsker meg", with lyrics by Alf Prøysen, and "Å være barn en sommerdag" (lyrics by

André Bjerke Jarl André Bjerke (30 January 1918 – 10 January 1985) was a Norwegian writer and poet. He wrote a wide range of material: poems (both for children and adults), mystery novels (four of them under the pseudonym Bernhard Borge), essays, and arti ...

). That same year, she issued the album ''Birgitte Grimstad synger viser''. Her first Danish album was ''Viser er så meget'', released in 1968. Her folk album ''Nordlysun'' (1972), in cooperation with

Geirr Tveitt Geirr Tveitt (born Nils Tveit; 19 October 1908 – 1 February 1981) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. Tveitt was a central figure of the national movement in Norwegian cultural life during the 1930s. Life Early years Tveitt was born in Be ...

, earned her a

Spellemannprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizati ...

. Other albums from the 1970s are ''Viser i vinden'' (1972), ''Ej Blot til Børn'' (1973), ''Ord over grind'' (1977), and ''Songs of Scandinavia'' (1978). She published the songbooks ''Fra Birgitte Grimstads repertoar'' in 1969 and ''Menneskeviser'' in 1972. She took the initiative in establishing the song quartet ''Ballade!'', which consisted of herself,

Åse Kleveland Åse Maria Kleveland (born 18 March 1949) is a Norwegian singer, guitarist, politician and activist. A well-known folk singer and traditional guitarist in Norway, she was appointed Minister of Culture in Norway in 1990, and held the position u ...

Lars Klevstrand Lars Klevstrand (born 30 September 1949) is a Norwegian singer, guitarist, composer and actor. He was born in Drammen, Buskerud, the son of Olav Klevstrand and Grethe Sofie Larsen, and was brought up in Bærum. Career His debut album was ''Vi ...

, and

Lillebjørn Nilsen Bjørn "Lillebjørn" Falk Nilsen (born 21 December 1950) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and folk musician. He was born in Oslo, and is considered by some to be the leading "voice of Oslo", thanks to numerous classic songs about the city from th ...

. The group toured Denmark and Norway. Their concert album ''Ballade på turné'', released in 1978, became very popular. The quartet's second album, ''Ekstranummer'' from 1980, was awarded a

. Later in the 1980s she performed

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's ''Geistliche Lieder'' and the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

ballad '' Draumkvedet'' in churches in Denmark and Norway. Her album ''Pas på de vilde fugle'' from 1983 included a Danish version of Prøysen's "Vise for gærne jinter",

Nordahl Grieg Johan Nordahl Brun Grieg (1 November 1902 – 2 December 1943) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, dramatist, journalist and political activist. He was a popular author and a controversial public figure. He served in World War II as a war corresponde ...

's poem "

Til Ungdommen ''Til ungdommen'' (English: "To the Youth"), also known by the words of the first line ''Kringsatt av fiender'' ("Surrounded by Enemies"), is a poem from 1936 by Norwegian poet and writer Nordahl Grieg (1902–1943) . It was set to music in 1952 b ...

" to

Otto Mortensen Otto Hübertz Mortensen (18 August 1907 – 30 August 1986) was a Danish composer and conductor. He also played the organ and piano. For a number of years he worked at the Royal Danish Theatre as a rehearser for the opera, and later worked at A ...

melody, and a translation of the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

hit " Love Me Tender". Later albums are ''Wondering And Calling'' from 1986, and ''Love Is A Flow'' from 1996. She was awarded a ''Musikkritikerprisen'' in 1972, and a ''Prøysenprisen'' in 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimstad, Birgitte 1935 births Living people Musicians from Copenhagen University of Minnesota alumni Danish emigrants to Norway 20th-century Norwegian women singers 20th-century Danish women singers Norwegian composers Spellemannprisen winners