Eyvind Alnæs (29 April 1872 – 24 December 1932) was a

Norwegian 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and choir director.

Personal life

Alnæs was born in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...

, as the son of headmaster Johannes Jørgen Lauritz Alnæs (1835–1916) and Elise Martine Hansen (1851–1931). He married Emilie Thorne (1882–1976) in 1903. He was the father of author Lise Børsum, and grandfather of novelist

Finn Alnæs Finn Alnæs (20 January 1932 – 3 November 1991) was a Norwegian novelist. He was born in Bærum. He made his literary debut with the novel ''Koloss'' (1963). Alnæs was awarded the Norwegian Booksellers' Prize and the Norwegian Critics Pr ...

and artist

Bente Børsum Bente Børsum (born 21 June 1934) is a Norwegian actress, probably best known for her roles in the movies "''Mors hus''" (1974) and "''Reisen til julestjernen''" (1976). Børsum had her debut in the movie "''Jakten''" in 1959, and worked at Osl ...

Career

In 1888 he was enrolled at the Music and Organist School in Oslo (''Musikkonservatoriet i Oslo''). Alnæs studied piano with Westye Waaler, organ with Peter Brynie Lindeman as well as harmony, counterpoint and composition with

Iver Holter Iver Paul Fredrik Holter (13 December 1850 – 27 January 1941) was a Norwegian composer. He was conductor and music director of the Oslo Philharmonic for a quarter century. Biography Iver Paul Fredrik Holter was born in Gausdal, Oppland, N ...

. In April 1892, after Alnæs had finished his studies in Oslo, he studied in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

with

Carl Reinecke Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (23 June 182410 March 1910) was a German composer, conductor, and pianist in the mid-Romantic era. Biography Reinecke was born in what is today the Hamburg district of Altona; technically he was born a Dane, as ...

and, after the première of his first symphony in 1896, 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 Julius Ruthardt. For many years he played the organ in several churches and

conducted Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties ...

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

s. During the years 1895-1907 he was organist at

Bragernes Church Bragernes Church (''Bragernes Kirke'') is a parish church at Drammen in Viken county, Norway. It was designed by Ernst Norgrenn (1839-1880) in Neo Gothic style and built of brick. It was consecrated in 1871. The old Bragernes church (''Gamle Br ...

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken (county), Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and village ...

. From 1907-16 he was at

Uranienborg Church Uranienborg church is a parish church in Oslo, Norway. The church is situated in the neighborhood of Uranienborg, next to Uranienborg Park behind the Royal Palace. Both the church and Uranienborg school just below were constructed in 1886. The ...

in Oslo and between 1916-32 at

Oslo Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Oslo Cathedral.jpg , imagesize = 230px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = Oslo Cathedral from St ...

. He helped found the Norwegian Composer's Union (''Norsk Komponistforening'') in 1917 and served as chairman from 1921-23. Alnæs wrote music in a late Romantic style; his output included two

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

, one set of symphonic

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individuals ...

, a

piano concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

, pieces for

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, chorale preludes for organ, choral works, and

art songs An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

(in

, ''romanser''). Alnæs received the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

(''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') in gold in 1922, and in 1932 was appointed a Knight 1st Class in the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

. He died in 1932 and was buried at

Vestre gravlund Vestre Gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located next to the Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway. It was inaugurated in September 1902 and also contains a crematorium (''Vestre kre ...

cemetery in the

Frogner Frogner is a residential and retail borough in the West End of Oslo, Norway, with a population of 59,269 as of 2020. In addition to the original Frogner, the borough incorporates Bygdøy, Uranienborg and Majorstuen. The borough is named after ...

borough of

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 ...

Discography

A number of songs by Alnæs have been recorded by the likes of

Kirsten Flagstad Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad (12 July 1895 – 7 December 1962) was a Norwegian opera singer, who was the outstanding Wagnerian soprano of her era. Her triumphant debut in New York on 2 February 1935 is one of the legends of opera. Giulio Gatti-Casaz ...

and

Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; April 12, 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass v ...

. In 2007 the first recording of Alnæs's Piano Concerto in D major, Op. 27 (published c. 1919) was released; it featured

Piers Lane Piers Lane (born 8 January 1958) is an Australian classical pianist. His performance career has taken him to more than 40 countries. His concerto repertoire exceeds 75 works. Early life Lane's English father and Australian mother met while au ...

as the piano soloist and the

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is a Norwegian orchestra based in Bergen. Its principal concert venue is the Grieg Hall. History Established in 1765 under the name ''Det Musicalske Selskab'' (The Musical Society), it later changed its name t ...

conducted by

Andrew Litton Andrew Litton (born May 16, 1959, New York City) is an American orchestral conductor. Litton is a graduate of The Fieldston School. He studied piano with Nadia Reisenberg and conducting with Sixten Ehrling at the Juilliard School of Music in New ...

. In early 2010 the premiere recording of his two symphonies - no.1 in C minor, Op.7 and no.2 in D major, Op.43 - was released, with the

Latvian National Symphony Orchestra The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO; lv, Latvijas Nacionālais simfoniskais orķestris) is a Latvian orchestra based in Riga. Its primary performance venue is the Great Guild Hall in Riga. In addition to regular symphonic concert ...

conducted by Terje Mikkelsen.

References

External links

*
Brief biography from Norwegian Melodies
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alnaes, Eyvind 1872 births 1932 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century conductors (music) 19th-century Norwegian composers 19th-century Norwegian organists 20th-century classical composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Norwegian male musicians 20th-century Norwegian composers 20th-century Norwegian organists Burials at Vestre gravlund Male conductors (music) Male classical organists Norwegian classical composers Norwegian classical organists Norwegian classical pianists Norwegian conductors (music) Norwegian male classical composers Norwegian Romantic composers Oslo Conservatory of Music alumni Musicians from Fredrikstad Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal