Rolf Wallin (born 7 September 1957) is a Norwegian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, trumpeter and avant-garde performance artist.

Biography

Wallin was born in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, where he studied with

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 (1886–1 ...

and

Olav Anton Thommessen Olav Anton Thommessen (born 16 May 1946) is a Norwegian contemporary composer who has been one of the foremost modernist composers in Norway since the 1970s. His main compositions include ''Et glassperlespill'' and ''Gjennom Prisme''. He was a pro ...

. He later studied at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

where his teachers included

Roger Reynolds Roger Lee Reynolds (born July 18, 1934) is a Pulitzer prize-winning American composer. He is known for his capacity to integrate diverse ideas and resources, and for the seamless blending of traditional musical sounds with those newly enabled by t ...

and

Vinko Globokar Vinko Globokar (born 7 July 1934) is a French-Slovenian avant-garde composer and trombonist. Globokar's music uses unconventional and extended techniques, places great emphasis on spontaneity and creativity, and often relies on improvisation. Hi ...

. Wallin’s music combines an intuitive freedom with a rigorous mathematical approach, such as use of fractal algorithms to construct melody and harmony, resulting in a music that often hints at the influence of Ligeti, Xenakis and Berio. In 1998 he was awarded the

Nordic Council Music Prize The Nordic Council Music Prize is awarded annually by NOMUS, the Nordic Music Committee. Every two years it is awarded for a work by a living composer. In the intervening years it is awarded to a performing musician or ensemble. The Nordic ...

Career highlights

* 1976–82 – studied at the Norwegian State Academy of Music. * 1987 –

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 ...

Award for ''…though what made it has gone''. * 1991 – developed ‘crystal chord’ technique for generation of harmony in ''ning''. * 1998 – awarded

for ''Clarinet Concerto''. * 2000 – portrait CD Boyl released on Aurora label; wins Norwegian Spelemann prisen. * 2001 – featured composer at Stockholm International Composer Festival.

Key works

* ''…though what made it has gone'' (1987; mezzo-soprano, piano) * ''Stonewave'' (1990; percussion) * ''Boyl'' (1995; chamber ensemble) * ''Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra'' (1996) * ''Ground'' (1996; cello, strings) * ''Act'' (2004; orchestra) * ''Strange News'' (2007; actor; orchestra; video-projection; electronics)

Selected recordings

''Act; Das war schön!; Tides''
– Ondine ODE 1118-2
''Boyl; Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra; Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra; Ground''
– Aurora ACD 5011
''Solve et coagula; ning; Stonewave; …though what made it has gone''
– Hemera HCD 2903
''Phonotope I''
– Aurora ACD 5035

References

External links

Rolf Wallin's homepage at Chester Music

Personal homepage
1957 births 21st-century classical composers Living people Norwegian classical composers International Rostrum of Composers prize-winners Spellemannprisen winners Norwegian male classical composers 21st-century Norwegian male musicians {{norway-composer-stub