Paul Ludvig Irgens-Jensen (13 April 1894 – 11 April 1969) 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 ...

twentieth-century composer. Irgens-Jensen studied

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 keybo ...

with

Nils Larsen Nils Larsen (19 June 1900 – 29 September 1976) was a Norwegian sea captain. Larsen is perhaps most associated with the Norvegia expeditions of Antarctica. Larsen was born in Sandar, and became a noted whaler, captaining a number of whali ...

while a

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

student at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

. He began composing in 1920, and the radical nature of his work attracted some interest. Irgens-Jensen's oratorio '' Heimferd'' (for solo choir and orchestra) won first prize in a national competition, and is considered a national monument of sorts for

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 ...

. The song ''Altar'' is one of his most familiar works. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Irgens-Jensen composed several songs and orchestral works to

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

texts; due to the restrictions imposed by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s, these works had to be distributed anonymously and illegally. Irgens-Jensen is often characterized as a neo-Classical composer.

Works

*''Violin Sonata in B-flat'' (1923) *''Tema con variazioni'' (1925) *''Piano Quintet'' (1927) *''Passacaglia'' (1927) *''Heimferd'' (1930) *''Der Gott und die Bajadere'' (1932) *''Partita Sinfonica'' (1938) *''Pastorale religioso'' (1939) *''Symphony in D minor'' (1942) *''Canto d'omaggio'' (1950) *''Japanischer Frühling'' (1957) *''Air'' (1959)

Discography (selected releases)

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, s ...

, ''Symphony in d minor ; Air ; Passacaglia'' (2011) *

Solveig Kringlebotn Solveig Kringlebotn () (4 June 1963), better known outside Norway as Solveig Kringelborn, is an internationally known Norwegian operatic soprano.Listen to Norway v1-3 Norsk musikkinformasjon – 1993 "Two of these are CD recordings featuring tw ...

, ''To a Friend'' (2003) * Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Ragnhild Heiland Sørensen,

Eivind Aadland Eivind Aadland (born 19 September 1956) is a Norwegian conductor and violinist. He has been concert master of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Aadland was Chief Conductor and Artistic Leader of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra between 2004– ...

, ''Japanischer Frühling'' (2002) *

Trondheim Symphony Orchestra The Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Opera ( Norwegian: ''Trondheim Symfoniorkester & Opera'') is a Norwegian orchestra based in Trondheim, Norway. Its principal concert venue is the Olavshallen. The orchestra is organised as a trust and receives p ...

, ''Heimferd'' (1994) *

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra 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 187 ...

, ''Ludvig Irgens-Jensen, Tema con Variazioni - Sinfonia in Re - Japanischer Frühling'' (1993) *

, ''Ludvig Irgens-Jensen, Passacaglia & Partita Sinfonica · Sonata for Violin and piano'' (1988)

References

Music Information Centre Norway

External links

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1894 births 1969 deaths 20th-century composers Norwegian composers Norwegian pianists University of Oslo alumni 20th-century pianists {{norway-composer-stub