Ruth Lagesen (August 10, 1914 – April 7, 2005) 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 the ...

pianist and conductor.

Biography

Lagesen was born in

Bagn Bagn is the administrative centre of Sør-Aurdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in the Begnadalen valley, about to the southeast of the town of Fagernes. The river Begna runs through the village on its way thro ...

in the

Valdres Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudbrandsdalen and Hallingdal. The region of Valdres consists of the six municipalities of Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre ...

district. She started studying in 1933 with

Mary Barratt Due Mary Louise Barratt Due (9 April 1888 in Bergen, Norway – 24 December 1969 in Oslo, Norway) was known as one of the most influential Norwegian pianists in the 20th century. She was the daughter of the preacher Thomas Ball Barratt, and the mothe ...

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 whalin ...

, and Erling Westher 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 ...

, and she debuted as a pianist 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 ...

Aula The Canadian Aviation Regulations define two types of ultralight aircraft: basic ultra-light aeroplane (BULA), and advanced ultra-light aeroplane (AULA). Definition Regulation of ultra-light aircraft in Canada is covered by the Canadian A ...

Hall in 1935 with 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 ...

. After further study in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, in 1938 she settled in

Larvik Larvik () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality ...

, working for the

Treschow family Treschow is a family originating in Denmark and with branches in Norway and Sweden. The family name means "wooden shoe-maker" and the family later counted many merchants in the 17th century and priests in the 18th century. A member of the family ...

Fritzøehus Fritzøehus is a private estate and palace located in Larvik, Norway. It is the largest privately owned estate in Norway. History The estate has traditionally been associated with various members of the Treschow family. Fritzøehus was built for ...

. After the Second World War, she established the town's

Cecilia Society Cecilia is a personal name originating in the name of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. The name has been popularly used in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Italy, where in 2018 it was the 43rd most popular name for girls born ...

in 1945 and served as the head of

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

's junior orchestra from 1947 to 1951. Lagesen was often featured by NRK as a soloist with the

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 ...

and she also appeared on TV abroad. She distinguished herself in 1949 as Norway's first female orchestra conductor. She was known for conducting a number of large-scale works, including

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

's ''Messiah'' and

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and pro ...

. In 1977 she conducted Bach's ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of t ...

'' from

Kongsberg Church Kongsberg Church ( no, Kongsberg kirke, nn, Kongsberg kyrkje) is a building and congregation of the Church of Norway located at Kongsberg in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Kongsberg Church, a large baroque church, w ...

in three programs on NRK Television. After studying in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

and

Eugène Bigot Eugène Bigot (28 February 1888 – 17 July 1965) was a French composer and conductor. Life Bigot was born in Rennes, Brittany, and taught at the Conservatoire de Paris where his notable pupils included Émilien Allard, Louis de Froment, Henri ...

from 1955 to 1957, with classmates

Per Nørgård Per Nørgård (; born 13 July 1932) is a Danish composer and music theorist. Though his style has varied considerably throughout his career, his music has often included repeatedly evolving melodies—such as the infinity series—in the vein o ...

and

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He Film score, scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek (film) ...

, she took a conducting exam and became a music teacher at

Eik Normal School Eik Normal School ( no, Eik lærerhøgskole) was a Norwegian school for teacher education. History The school was established in Horten in 1958 as the Vestfold State Normal School (''Statens lærerskoleklasser i Vestfold'') with H. K. Heimdal as it ...

. She established the Friends of Music Society in Tønsberg and Larvik, as well as the Larvik Boys' Choir and Music Society. She conducted the royal-sponsored

Robert Riefling Robert Dankwart Leo Riefling (17 September 1911 – 1 July 1988) was a Norwegian classical pianist and pedagogist. He was regarded among Scandinavia's leading pianists, and toured all over the western world. He was a Professor in Copenhagen fro ...

seminar in 1968 and 1969. As a conductor, she led the Oslo Philharmonic,

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is a Norwegian orchestra based in Bergen. Its principal concert venue is the Grieg Hall. History Established in 1765 under the name ''Det Musicalske Selskab'' (The Musical Society), it later changed its name t ...

, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and Trondheim Chamber Orchestra. Lagesen was on the board of the

Norwegian National Academy of Opera The Norwegian National Academy of Opera ( no, Statens operahøgskole) was established in 1964 as a two-year education in opera. The school was given collegiate status in 1982. In 1996 the National Academy of Opera became part of Oslo National Aca ...

. As late as 1993, she lectured 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 co ...

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

and his work for piano students. Lagesen died at age 90 in Larvik.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagesen, Ruth 1914 births 2005 deaths Norwegian classical pianists Norwegian women conductors (music) Barratt Due Institute of Music alumni People from Sør-Aurdal People from Larvik Musicians from Larvik