Maj Sønstevold (born ''Lundén''; 9 September 1917 – 14 March 1996) was a Swedish composer who lived and worked in Norway.

Biography

Maj Sønstevold was born in

Sollefteå Sollefteå () is a locality and the seat of Sollefteå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 8,562 inhabitants in 2010. The earliest written account on Sollefteå is found in a script dating back to 1270. During this time the name o ...

, Sweden. She studied piano in Stockholm and with

Billy Mayerl William Joseph Mayerl (31 May 1902 – 25 March 1959) was an English pianist and composer who built a career in music hall and musical theatre and became an acknowledged master of light music. Best known for his syncopated novelty piano solos, ...

in London. She married Norwegian composer Gunnar Sønstevold and in 1945 moved to Norway, where she worked as a composer and music teacher. Later she and her family spent time in Vienna, where she studied with

Hanns Jelinek Hanns Jelinek (5 December 1901 – 27 January 1969) was an Austrian composer of Czech people, Czech descent who is also known under the pseudonyms Hanns Elin, H. J. Hirsch, Jakob Fidelbogen. Biography Jelinek was born and died in Vienna. His f ...

and Karl Schiske and graduated in composition in 1966 from the Akademisches Hauptseminar. From 1971 to 1985 Sønstevold taught in the Music Department of

Oslo University 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 ...

. In 1974 she and her husband founded The Maj and Gunnar Sønstevold Music Institute in

Rakkestad Rakkestad is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rakkestad. It is divided into the parishes of Rakkestad, Degernes, and Os. The municipality is the county's second largest b ...

. Søstevold held a number of positions on the Norwegian music scene and served as a board member of organisations Music Information Centre Norway, 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 ...

and 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 ...

Production

Maj Sønstevold composed jazz, light music and avant garde music for theatre, film, radio and television. She also composed for orchestra, chamber ensemble, choir and solo instrument.

Selected works

Film music

* ''

Skøytekongen ''Skøytekongen'' (The Skating King) is a black-and-white Norwegian drama film from 1953 directed by Nils R. Müller. The script was written by Sigbjørn Hølmebakk based on a concept by Bjørn Storberget. The film stars Lasse Kolstad and Sids ...

'' (1953) * '' Trost i taklampa'' (1955) * ''Toya'' (1956) * ''Elias Rekefisker'' (1958) * ''Lån meg din kone'' (1958) * ''Støv på hjernen'' (1959) * ''

Millionær for en aften ''Millionær for en aften'' (Millionaire for an Evening) is a Norwegian comedy film from 1960 directed by Øyvind Vennerød. It stars Henki Kolstad, Unni Bernhoft, and Willie Hoel. Jørn Ording and Vennerød arranged the screenplay, which was writ ...

'' (1960) * ''Venner'' (1960) * ''Villmarken kaller'' (1964) * ''Fjolls til fjells'' (with Gunnar Sønstevold) (1957) * ''Ann Magrit'' (with Gunnar Sønstevold) (1965) * ''Fridtjof Nansen'' (with Gunnar Sønstevold) (1965)

Music for stage productions

* ''Amor og Psyche'' (1968) * ''Bjurra'' (1969) * ''Frøken Rosita'' (1969) * ''Skandaleskolen'' (1969) * ''Selma Brøter'' (1970) * ''Dickie Dick Dickens'' (with G. Sønstevold) (1962) * ''Benoni og Rosa'' (with G. Sønstevold) (1975)

Orchestral works

* ''Sørlandssommer'' (1956) * ''Den gamle majors forunderlige drømmer'' (1969) * ''Balladen om Selma Brøter'' (1979) * ''Festouvertyre'' (1983)

Chamber music

* ''Tema med variasjoner for to diskantinstrumenter og slagverk'' (1965) * ''Ni haiku for fløyte, harpe og altstemme'' (1966) * ''Stillhet for åtte stemmer, fløyte, klarinett, fiolin, cello, klaver og slagverk'' (1978) * ''Ithaca'' for baryton, fiolin, cello, harpe, klaver (tekst S. Skard) (1983)

Piano

* ''Suite'' (1963) * ''Tema med variasjoner'' (1963) * ''Sonate'' (1964) * ''11 polytonale blues'' (1978) * ''Per apera ad astra'' (1983)

Choir

* ''I Nasaret'' for barnekor, Orff-instrumenter og fløyte (1980)

Discography

* Lars Lillo-Stenberg, ''Lars Lillo-Stenberg synger Prøysen'' (2006) * Jørn Simen Øverli, ''Prøysenvisene som forsvant'' (2005) *

Norwegian Radio Orchestra The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Norwegian, ''Kringkastingsorkestret'', abbreviated as KORK) is a radio orchestra affiliated with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (''Norsk rikskringkasting AS'', or NRK). Its principal base is the ''Store Studi ...

, ''Tono - 75 år for Musikken - Fremtiden er Uhørt'' (2003) * Alexandra Becker, Rolf Becker, ''

Dickie Dick Dickens ''Dickie Dick Dickens'' is a satirical radio play by and . The play, which tells the story of Dickie Dick Dickens' rise from simple pickpocket to gangster leader in Chicago, was first produced in Germany in 1959 by Bayerischer Rundfunk, which prod ...

- fjerde serie: Nå er han her igjen'' (2003) * Alexandra Becker, Rolf Becker, ''Dickie Dick Dickens - tredje serie'' (2001) * Alexandra Becker, Rolf Becker, ''Dickie Dick Dickens - andre serie'' (1999) * Alexandra Becker, Rolf Becker, ''Dickie Dick Dickens - første serie'' (1998) * Alf Cranner, ''50 Beste fra 40 år'' (2003) * Hanne Krogh, ''Hanne Krogh'' (2002) * Wenche Myhre, ''Du og jeg og vi to'' (2001) * Alf Prøysen, ''Velvalgte viser'' (1998) * Hilde Bekkevold, ''Kjerringkjeft og Pikekyss'' (1998) * Alf Prøysen, '' Prøysens sommer'' (1994) * Alf Prøysen, ''Blåklokkeleiken'' (1993) * Alf Prøysen, ''Alf Prøysen på grammofon III - komplette plateinnspillinger 1954-1957'' (1993) * Jørn Simen Øverli, ''Jørn Simen Øverli synger Prøysen'' (1992) * Kari Svendsen, ''Kari går til filmen'' (1991) * Lillibeth Lunde Elgstøen, ''Som dogg i måråsol: Lillibeth Lunde Elgstøen hos Alf Prøysen'' (1986) * Elisabeth Sønstevold, Per Øien, ''Romantic Flute and Harp'' (1985) * Geir Henning Braaten, ''Norwegian Pianorama'' (1984) *

Anne Lise Gjøstøl Anne Lise Gjøstøl ( born 6 July 1952) is a Norwegian singer, actress and visual artist. She was born in Oslo. She made her record debut in 1965 with the single "Nå er karnevalet over", and album debut in 1971 with ''Ta min drøm''. She was aw ...

, ''Kom, kom, skal jeg si deg no? '' (1980)

References

External links

List of works supplied by the National Library of Norway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonstevold, Maj 1917 births 1996 deaths 20th-century classical composers Swedish music educators People from Rakkestad Swedish classical composers Women classical composers Swedish women composers Women music educators 20th-century women composers 20th-century Swedish women