Oscar Borg (11 June 1851 – 29 December 1930) 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 ...

composer and conductor. He is best known for his compositions of

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

for

wind band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

s. Alfred Oscar Johannessen Borg was born in

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish mun ...

, Norway. His father, Ole Peter Johannesen (1816–1890), was from the Borg farm in

Solør Solør is a Norwegian traditional district consisting of the valley between Elverum in the north and Kongsvinger in the south. It is part of Innlandet county and it includes the municipalities Våler, Åsnes, and Grue. Glomma valley Glommadal ...

, from which the family name originated. His father was music sergeant in the 1st Brigades Band of

Fredriksten Fredriksten is a fortress in the city of Halden in Norway. History This Fortresses was constructed by Denmark-Norway in the 17th century as a replacement for the border fortress at Bohus, which had been lost when the province of Bohuslän was ...

Fortress in Halden. Oscar Borg attended the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

(''Musikaliska Akademien'') in Stockholm, under the sponsorship of the Crown Prince of Sweden, later King

Oscar II of Sweden Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norwe ...

. He entered the Academy in 1869 and took the music director exam with top marks in the spring of 1872. He had a contractual obligation to return to his old band. He gave his first concert in his hometown as flautist and violinist during October 1872. When in 1881, conductor Friedrich August Reissiger resigned as director of the 1st Brigades Band, Oscar Borg was his replacement. Borg remained the director of the 1st Brigades Band in Halden until he resigned 11 June 1918.''Oscar Borg – utdypning'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref> Borg's compositions are characterized by good melodies, euphonious harmonies and skillful instrumentation. Oscar Borg composed 60 marches for military bands, 275 songs and about 170 arrangements. Among the marches most played are ''Kong Haakon VIIs Honnørmarsj'' (1905), ''Kronprins Olavs Honnørmarsj, Den Norske Løve'' (1894) and ''Norsk Turnermarsj'' (1886). He received the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in gold and was made a Knight 1st Class of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

. He was awarded the King Oscar II Medal in gold, and Kaiser Wilhelms Krieg Verdienstmedalje.

Personal life

Oscar Borg was married twice. In 1874, he married Emilie Göthilda Brunstedt (1853–1904). In 1906, he married Marie Gribsrud (1875–1907). Oscar Borg had 12 children, three of whom died early. Several of the children excelled in the artistic direction: Helge Borg (1894–1965) as a composer of dance music, Dag Borg (1893–1966) as architect and artist and his daughter Ellen (Ragnhild) Borg was a singer.

References

Other sources

* Hjorthaug, S. ''Oscar Borg. Hans betydning for musikklivet i Fredrikshald og hans mannskorsanger'' (University of Oslo: 1970) * Gundersen, E.A. ''Oscar Borg. Norges Marsjkonge'' (Skien: 1991) 1851 births 1930 deaths Norwegian classical composers Knights First Class of the Order of Vasa Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Musicians from Halden {{Norway-composer-stub