Eyvind Alnæs (29 April 1872 – 24 December 1932) was a Norwegian composer,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

and choir director.

Personal life

Alnæs was born in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 1 ...

, as the son of headmaster Johannes Jørgen Lauritz Alnæs (1835–1916) and Elise Martine Hansen (1851–1931). He married Emilie Thorne (1882–1976) in 1903. He was the father of author

Lise Børsum Milly Elise "Lise" Børsum (18 September 1908 – 29 August 1985) was a Norwegian resistance member during World War II, survivor from the Ravensbrück concentration camp, and known for her writings and organizing work after the war. Personal ...

, and grandfather of novelist Finn Alnæs and artist Bente Børsum.

Career

In 1888 he was enrolled at the Music and Organist School in Oslo (''Musikkonservatoriet i Oslo''). Alnæs studied piano with Westye Waaler, organ with

Peter Brynie Lindeman Peter Brynie Lindeman (February 1, 1858 – January 1, 1930) was a Norwegian organist, cellist, and composer.Grinde, Nils. 1980. Peter Brynie Lindeman. In: Stanley Sadie (ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', vol. 11, pp. 1� ...

as well as harmony, counterpoint and composition with Iver Holter. In April 1892, after Alnæs had finished his studies in Oslo, he studied in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

with

Carl Reinecke Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (23 June 182410 March 1910) was a German composer, conductor, and pianist in the mid- Romantic era. Biography Reinecke was born in what is today the Hamburg district of Altona; technically he was born a Dane, as ...

and, after the première of his first symphony in 1896, in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

with

Julius Ruthardt Julius Ruthardt (December 13, 1841 – October 13, 1909) was a German violinist and composer. Ruthardt was born in Stuttgart to Friedrich Ruthardt, who was an oboist and composer. The younger Ruthardt became a violinist in the Stuttgart court ...

. For many years he played the organ in several churches and

conducted Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary dutie ...

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

s. During the years 1895-1907 he was organist at Bragernes Church in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konner ...

. From 1907-16 he was at

Uranienborg Church Uranienborg church is a parish church in Oslo, Norway. The church is situated in the neighborhood of Uranienborg, next to Uranienborg Park behind the Royal Palace. Both the church and Uranienborg school just below were constructed in 1886. The ...

in Oslo and between 1916-32 at

Oslo Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Oslo Cathedral.jpg , imagesize = 230px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = Oslo Cathedral from St ...

. He helped found the Norwegian Composer's Union (''Norsk Komponistforening'') in 1917 and served as chairman from 1921-23. Alnæs wrote music in a

late Romantic Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effe ...

style; his output included two

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

, one set of symphonic

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individual ...

, a

piano concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showp ...

, pieces for

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 musica ...

, chorale preludes for organ, choral works, and art songs (in Norwegian, ''romanser''). Alnæs 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 ...

(''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') in gold in 1922, and in 1932 was appointed a Knight 1st Class in the Order of St. Olav. He died in 1932 and was buried at

Vestre gravlund Vestre Gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located next to the Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway. It was inaugurated in September 1902 and also contains a crematorium (''Vestre kre ...

cemetery in the

Frogner Frogner is a residential and retail borough in the West End of Oslo, Norway, with a population of 59,269 as of 2020. In addition to the original Frogner, the borough incorporates Bygdøy, Uranienborg and Majorstuen. The borough is named after ...

borough of

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 ...

Discography

A number of songs by Alnæs have been recorded by the likes of

Kirsten Flagstad Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad (12 July 1895 – 7 December 1962) was a Norwegian opera singer, who was the outstanding Wagnerian soprano of her era. Her triumphant debut in New York on 2 February 1935 is one of the legends of opera. Giulio Gatti-Casa ...

and

Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; April 12, 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass v ...

. In 2007 the first recording of Alnæs's Piano Concerto in D major, Op. 27 (published c. 1919) was released; it featured

Piers Lane Piers Lane (born 8 January 1958) is an Australian classical pianist. His performance career has taken him to more than 40 countries. His concerto repertoire exceeds 75 works. Early life Lane's English father and Australian mother met while a ...

as the piano soloist and the

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 to ...

conducted by

Andrew Litton Andrew Litton (born May 16, 1959, New York City) is an American orchestral conductor. Litton is a graduate of The Fieldston School. He studied piano with Nadia Reisenberg and conducting with Sixten Ehrling at the Juilliard School of Music in New ...

. In early 2010 the premiere recording of his two symphonies - no.1 in C minor, Op.7 and no.2 in D major, Op.43 - was released, with the

Latvian National Symphony Orchestra The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO; lv, Latvijas Nacionālais simfoniskais orķestris) is a Latvian orchestra based in Riga. Its primary performance venue is the Great Guild Hall in Riga. In addition to regular symphonic concert ...

conducted by Terje Mikkelsen.

References

External links

*
Brief biography from Norwegian Melodies
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alnaes, Eyvind 1872 births 1932 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century conductors (music) 19th-century Norwegian composers 19th-century Norwegian organists 20th-century classical composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Norwegian male musicians 20th-century Norwegian composers 20th-century Norwegian organists Burials at Vestre gravlund Male conductors (music) Male classical organists Norwegian classical composers Norwegian classical organists Norwegian classical pianists Norwegian conductors (music) Norwegian male classical composers Norwegian Romantic composers Oslo Conservatory of Music alumni Musicians from Fredrikstad Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal