Jon Mostad (born 21 April 1942) is a composer from
Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the ...
,
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 the ...
. He received the Norwegian state three-year scholarship for artists from 1982 until 1984.
Musical style
In his early compositions Mostad is moving from a linear-expressionist style to a more timbre-oriented line of thinking where both modernist and romantic music are inspiring his work. From around 1975 the timbre/harmonic aspect of his music becomes more related to the harmonic series. During the 1980s and 1990s he combines this with other types of modal and free compositional techniques, sometimes utilising modal techniques as well as more overtone-oriented harmonic spectra within the same composition.
At the same time he has also been experimenting with untraditional structuring of his material, both in works of one movement and in cyclical works. Many of Mostad's instrumental works as well as vocal music, are inspired by Judæo-Christian texts which often influence the structuring of the music. For instance in "And the light shines in darkness" a massive dark sounding layer with much rhythmical unrest gradually gets introduced to a lighter sounding chord with notes from the harmonic series.
Mostad has written chamber music, solo pieces for piano, guitar, organ and utilised electronics, both pre-recorded and live with interaction with live musicians, but his main focus has been orchestral and vocal music. His longest composition is the work "
Were you there, when they crucified my Lord?" for choir, recitation, solo voices and orchestra.
Performances
The music of Jon Mostad has been played by leading orchestras in Norway (Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim...) as well as performed at
Bergen International Festival
Bergen International Festival ( no, Festspillene i Bergen) is an annual international music and cultural festival in Bergen, Norway.
Biography
The Bergen International festival is the largest festival in the Nordic countries in its genre and ha ...
, the Elverum Festival, Music Factory in Bergen and Dartington International Summer School in Totnes, England among other festivals. In 2010 he was featured composer of the Vinteriss festival in
Østfold
Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side ...
(a region in Norway). He has been represented at
Nordic Music Days and has been played on radio in the
Nordic countries, former Jugoslavia and England. His "2 psalms" for choir has been sung numerous times in Japan, England and Norway.
Mostad's music has also been performed by local amateur ensembles. Music ranging from small chamber pieces to the multimedia show
Terje Vigen
''Terje Vigen'' is a poem written by Henrik Ibsen, published in 1862. Much of the story and setting is from the area around the town of Grimstad in southern Norway where Ibsen lived for a few years in his youth. It describes the dramatic saga o ...
based on texts by
Henrik Ibsen and theatrical music for Ibsen's
Peer Gynt were written for local ensembles in
Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the ...
.
Mostad has also got commissions from Ny Musikk,
NRK
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 ...
radio and TV,
Ungdomssymfonikerne
The Norwegian National Youth Orchestra ( no, Ungdomssymfonikerne) is the national youth orchestra of Norway, founded 1973 in Oslo.
The orchestra has played with conductors and soloists including Juanjo Mena, Vasily Petrenko, Christian Vásquez, ...
, Det Norske Blåseensemble, Amsterdams Gitaartrio and Oslo Sinfonietta as well as from local ensembles in Fredrikstad.
Mostad plays the piano, but has seldom been involved in performing his own music. Occasionally he has improvised pre- and postludes when substituting as organist in local churches and from time to time he has also played some of his smaller works for piano (with or without electronics) live at concerts. During the 2010 Vinterriss festival he was playing the live electronics part at the premiere of his piece "Ikke helt solo" ("not quite solo") for cello and quadrophonic live electronics.
Recordings
The music of Jon Mostad has been recorded by
The norwegian Soloist's choir, The
Oslo Philharmonic
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 18 ...
,
Øystein Birkeland and
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. His orchestral works "House", "The light shines in darkness" and "Concerto for cello and orchestra" were chosen by a jury of the
Norwegian Society of Composers
The Norwegian Society of Composers ( no, Norsk Komponistforening) was founded in 1917. The Society's main objectives are to promote its members' music and secure their rights.
As of today the Society counts 185 members who meet regularly for discu ...
to be recorded on the Aurora label, resulting in the CD "The light shines in darkness" with
Oslo Philharmonic
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 18 ...
, cellist
Øystein Birkeland and conductor
Michel Swierczewski
Michel may refer to:
* Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name)
* Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers)
* Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...
.
Education
Theological candidate 1965. Music and pedagogy 1969. Diploma in composition at the
Norwegian Academy of Music
The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the ...
(ending in 1974). Main teacher:
Finn Mortensen
Finn Mortensen (January 6, 1922 – May 23, 1983) was a Norwegian
composer, critic and educator.
Finn Einar Mortensen was born in Oslo. His parents were publisher Ernst Gustav Mortensen (1887–1966) and Anna Marie Damnæs (1886– ...
. An important inspiration during his studies were the private seminars in sonology and on Mahler by
Olav Anton Thommessen. Shorter courses in studio work at NSEM, Høvikodden (1975/76), EMS
Stockholm (1983).
Other activities
In addition to composing, Jon Mostad was teaching arrangement and composition, music and religion at high schools in
Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the ...
and
Moss (years 10-12 or 11-13 in the Norwegian school system) until he retired in 2006. Among his many students were film director
Harald Zwart
Harald Zwart (born 1 July 1965) is a Dutch- Norwegian film director.
Life and career
Although born in the Netherlands, Zwart was raised in Fredrikstad, Norway. By age eight, he had started making short films. He attended the Dutch Film Academy ...
and composer
Frank Tveor Nordensten
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curre ...
.
He has also been active in organisations such as Ny Musikk Østfold, the regional branch of an organisation promoting contemporary music,
Norwegian Society of Composers
The Norwegian Society of Composers ( no, Norsk Komponistforening) was founded in 1917. The Society's main objectives are to promote its members' music and secure their rights.
As of today the Society counts 185 members who meet regularly for discu ...
and
TONO
TONO is a Norwegian corporation that administers copyrights for music in Norway.
It is owned and governed by its members; composers, music publishers and text-writers. Through the managing agreement the originators give TONO an exclusive right to ...
.
Mostad is a devout Lutheran and has done volunteer work in Christian organisations such as being a Sunday school teacher, visiting prisoners, helping find funding and equipment for a hospital in Nigeria and delivering humanitarian aid to a village in Russia shortly after the fall of the Soviet bloc.
External links
Jon Mostad's official homepageJon Mostad biography - Norwegian Music Information CentreUK premiere of "The Lord is my sheppard" from "2 psalms"Discography from Musikkonline & Norwegian Society of ComposersRecording of Mostad's "2 psalms" with The Norwegian Soloist's choir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mostad, Jon
1942 births
20th-century classical composers
21st-century classical composers
Living people
Norwegian classical composers
Performing arts in Norway
Norwegian male classical composers
20th-century Norwegian male musicians
21st-century Norwegian male musicians
Musicians from Fredrikstad