Egil Ragnar Monn-Iversen (14 April 1928 – 7 July 2017
/ref>) was a Norwegian musician, one of the most influential modern composers in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He has had many important roles in Norwegian

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

and

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

. For some time he had so much influence in Norwegian culture that he got the nickname ''The Godfather'', even though he always considered himself a down-to-earth musician. Monn-Iversen owned a film production company, a record label, and an agency for musical artists, he was the founder of the vocal group

The Monn Keys ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, he was the CEO at the

Chat Noir Chat Noir (French for 'black cat') is a cabaret and revue theatre in Oslo, Norway. It was established in 1912 by Bokken Lasson. The current director is Tom Sterri. Establishment Chat Noir was established as a cabaret in 1912 by singer Bokken Las ...

theatre, chairman at The Norwegian Opera and from the 1960s until his death in 2017 worked in

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 ...

(Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) and Det norske teatret (The Norwegian Theatre). He composed scores to over 100 Norwegian movies and TV series. Monn-Iversen was married to the Norwegian actor and singer

Sølvi Wang Sølvi Valborg Wang (28 August 1929 – 31 May 2011) was a Norwegian singer, actress and comedian. She was born in Bærum, Akershus, to the jazz musician Yngvar Wang and the singer Marie Gulbrandsen. Already at an early age she sang with ...

until her death in 2011.

Ownership and positions

Egil Monn-Iversen established and owned the Norwegian movie studio EMI Produksjon AS'. The studio produced more than 20 Norwegian feature movies. Monn-Iversen founded the vocal group, The Monn Keys, and in cooperation with the group's members he established the company Egil Monn-Iversen A/S. This company focused mainly on being a music record company, publishing records on several different labels. In 1957 the company reached 23% market share in the Norwegian music industry. In addition "Egil Monn-Iversen A/S" had activity in business areas such as

music publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...

, running

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

es around the country - and as a producer of concerts, movies and stage productions. In 1983, Monn-Iversen founded Thalia Teater A/S, a company producing musicals,

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

s and

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

s in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

. ''Selection of Monn-Iversen's other positions in Scandinavian culture and entertainment:'' * Conductor at the Chat Noir Theater,

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 ...

(1954–1963) * CEO at the Chat Noir Theater, Oslo (1959–1963) * Chairman at The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, Oslo (1981–1996) * CEO at

Chinateatern Chinateatern or commonly known as ''"China"'' (in English: ''The China Theatre'') is a private theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, located at Berzelii Park in Stockholm city. Originally built 1928 as a movie theatre but has over the years simultaneo ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

(1997) * Chairman for Norsk Konsertdireksjon * Member of Arbeiderpartiets Kulturutvalg (Labor Party's Cultural Committee) * Member of

Norsk Kulturråd The Arts Council Norway ( no, Norsk kulturråd, often shortened to ''Kulturrådet'') is the official arts council for Norway. Based in Oslo, it is a Norwegian state institution created in 1965 as a result of a parliamentary decision in 1964. Art ...

s musikkutvalg (Norwegian Art Council's Musical Committee) * Head of Music at

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 ...

(from the 1960s) * Head of Music at

Det Norske Teatret Det Norske Teatret ( en, Norwegian Theater)Moe, Jens. 2011. ''My America: The Culture of Giving''. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, p. 133. is a theatre in Oslo. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg and Edvard Drabl ...

(The Norwegian Theater) (from the 1960s)

Awards

*2002 Axel Waldemars Minnepris (Award in Memory of Axel Waldemar) *1999 The Jury's Award of Honor from Edvard-prisen *1998 Æres- Amanda (Honorary award from The Norwegian Movie Award) *1998 Knight of First Class of Order of St. Olav *1990 Gammleng-prisen in the category veteran *1973 The Jury's Honorary Award at Spellemannprisen 1972 for the musical Bør Børson Jr. *1972 Hulda Garborgs minnepris *1967 Aamodtstauetten *1961 Norsk filmkritikerlags (Norwegian movie critic association) award for the music to the feature film "Line"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Monn-Iversen, Egil 1928 births 2017 deaths Norwegian composers Norwegian male composers Norwegian film score composers Male film score composers Eurovision Song Contest conductors Spellemannprisen winners Norwegian male pianists