''Entry March of the Boyars'' ( no, Bojarenes Inntogsmarsj) is an orchestral composition, written in 1893 from the pen of the

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 ...

Johan Halvorsen Johan Halvorsen (15 March 1864 – 4 December 1935) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Life Born in Drammen, he was an accomplished violinist from a very early age and became a prominent figure in Norwegian musical life. He r ...

(1864–1935). It is one of the most popular works of the composer, and quickly became an international success. The piece has an occupational inspiration behind it. Halvorsen was offered a post at Bucharest Conservatory but he declined. He became however interested about the city and read about it and the entry of the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars wer ...

into

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

in the 18th century. The scene almost "forced" him to compose music out of it. The music was first used as stage music at the

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

theatre where he worked as the director of music. Two years later Halvorsen published an arrangement of the piece for symphony orchestra. The melody has been used as a signature tune for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's weekly radio program ''

Ønskekonserten ''Ønskekonserten'' ( en, Listeners' choice) is a radio program produced by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). It has been broadcast weekly since January 1950. The signature tune is '' Entry March of the Boyars'', composed by Johan Halv ...

'' since its start in 1950. It is used as incidental music in the play by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

, '' The Dance of Death'', in which Edgar asks Alice to play it for him on the piano.

References

Sources

* Dybsand, Øyvin 2010: ''Johan Halvorsen: Orchestral Works, Volume 1.'' D liner notes.Chandos CHAN 10584. {{Authority control Compositions by Johan Halvorsen 1893 compositions