Finn Einar Mortensen (January 6, 1922 – May 23, 1983) was 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 def ...

, critic and educator. Mortensen was born in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. His parents were publisher Ernst Gustav Mortensen (1887–1966) and Anna Marie Damnæs (1886–1960). Mortensen grew up in a publishing environment and it was at first expected that he would go into his father's publishing firm, Ernst G. Mortensens Forlag A/S. He studied harmony with Thorleif Eken (1900–1955), composition with

Klaus Egge Klaus Egge (July 19, 1906 – March 7, 1979) was a Norwegian composer and music critic. Background Egge was born in Gransherad, Telemark, Norway. He was the son of Rasmus Klausen Egge (1874-1962) and Rakel Abrahamsdatter Iversen (1877-1986). He ...

and with

Niels Viggo Bentzon Niels Viggo Bentzon (24 August 1919 – 25 April 2000) was a Danish composer and pianist. Biography Bentzon was born and died in Copenhagen. He was the son of Viggo Bentzon (1861-1937), Rector of Copenhagen University and Karen Hartmann (188 ...

at The Royal Danish Academy, as well as the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

at the

Oslo Conservatory of Music The Oslo Conservatory of Music () was a music school in Oslo, Norway. The school was established by Ludvig Mathias Lindeman and his son Peter Brynie Lindeman in 1883 in Christiania (as Oslo was then called) and was named the Organist School () ...

. He also participated in the

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

summer school and in the classes conducted by

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

at the '' Studio für Elektronische Musik'' in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. The first public presentation of one of Mortensen's compositions was the ''Trio for Strings, Op. 3'', which was played at the Young Nordic Music Festival in Oslo in 1950. In April 1954 he had his debut as a composer, along with Øistein Sommerfeldt. He was the leader of the group Ny Musikk, a Norwegian advocacy group for contemporary music, between 1961 and 1964, and between 1966 and 1967. From 1963-73, he was a music critic in ''

Dagbladet () is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally it was considered the main liberal newspaper of Norway, with a ...

'', and he was also for many years correspondent for the major German magazine ''

Melos Milos or Melos (; , ; ) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. It is the southwestern-most island of the Cyclades group. The ''Venus de Milo'' (now in the Louvre), the '' Poseidon of Melos'' (now in the ...

''. When the Norwegian Concert Institute was established in 1968, he became the institution's first director. From 1970 onward, he taught at the

, becoming Norway's first

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of composition in 1973.

Rolf Wallin Rolf Wallin (born 7 September 1957) is a Norwegian composer, trumpeter and avant-garde performance artist. Biography Wallin was born in Oslo, where he studied with Finn Mortensen and Olav Anton Thommessen. He later studied at the University of ...

Jon Mostad Jon Mostad (born 21 April 1942) is a composer from Fredrikstad, Norway. He received the Norwegian state three-year scholarship for artists from 1982 until 1984. Musical style In his early compositions Mostad moves from a linear-expressionist styl ...

Lasse Thoresen __NOTOC__ Lasse Thoresen (born 18 October 1949) is a Norwegian composer whose works concentrate on a contemporary transformation of the folk-music traditions of many peoples, especially those of Scandinavia. Biography Thoresen was born in Oslo ...

, Terje Bjørklund and

Synne Skouen Synne Skouen (born 8 August 1950) is a Norwegian music writer and composer. Biography Skouen was born in Oslo. She studied at the Vienna Academy of Music with Alfred Uhl and Erwin Ratz for composition and Dieter Kaufmann and Friedrich Cerha fo ...

are among his students. Until about 1953, Mortensen's music was mostly influenced by

neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

and

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

. It later assimilated

twelve-tone The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition. The technique is a means of ensuring that all 12 notes of the chromatic scale ...

and

aleatoric Aleatoricism (or aleatorism) is a term for musical compositions and other forms of art resulting from "actions made by chance". The term was first used "in the context of electro-acoustics and information theory" to describe "a course of sound ...

influences, creating what Mortensen termed a "neo-serial" style. From a point of departure in neo-classicism he became deeply involved with serial techniques. In Norway, Mortensen's works are still regularly performed by leading orchestras. In the rest of the world, however, he is less well-known.''Finn Mortensen / utdypning'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref>

Production

Selected works

Orchestral works

* ''Symfoni, op. 5'' (1953) * ''Pezzo orchestrale'' (1957) * ''Evolution'' (1961) * ''Klangfarger'' (1962) * ''Hedda'' (1974–75) * ''Klaverkonsert'' (1963) * ''Fantasi for klaver og orkester'' (1965–66) * ''Fantasi for fiolin og orkester'' (1977)

Chamber music

* ''Blåsekvintett'' (1951) * ''Sonata for flute solo'' op. 6 (1953) * ''Klaverkvartett'' (1960) * ''Constellations for accordeon, gitar og slagverk'' (1971) * ''Nyserialisme I, II og III for varierende besetning'' (1971–73) * ''Adagio og fuge for 16 horn'' (uten år) * ''Suite for 5 blokkfløyter og strykekvintett'' (1978–79)

Piano works

* ''Sonatine'' (1943–48) * ''Sonatine'' (1949–52) * ''2 sonater'' (1956, 1977) * ''Fantasi og fuge'' (1957–58) * ''Sonate for 2 klaver ''(1964) * ''Impressions'' (1971)

Discography

Egil Hovland Egil Hovland (October 18, 1924 – February 5, 2013) was a Norwegian composer. Hovland was born in Råde. He studied at the Oslo conservatory with Arild Sandvold and Bjarne Brustad, in Copenhagen with Vagn Holmboe, at Tanglewood with Aaron ...

Bjørn Fongaard Bjørn Fongaard (2 March 1919 in Oslo – 26 October 1980 in Oslo) was a Norwegian composer, guitarist, and teacher. In addition to being concerned with microtonal music, microtonal and electronic music, he was perhaps the first to use the pr ...

, ''Finn Mortensen, Knut Nystedt/Fartein Valen – Contemporary Music From Norway'' (1967) *

Alfred Janson Alfred Janson (10 March 1937 – 19 May 2019) was a Norwegian pianist and composer. He was born in Oslo as the son of sculptor Gunnar Janson and pianist Margrethe Gleditsch, and was brother of journalist Mette Janson. He was first married to a ...

, Finn Mortensen, Tor Brevik,

Johan Kvandal David Johan Kvandal (né Johansen; 8 September 1919 – 16 February 1999) was a Norwegian composer. Career He was born in Oslo, Kristiania to David Monrad Johansen and Amunda Holmsen, with the family later moving to Bærum where Kvandal died. ...

, ''Contemporary Music From Norway'' (1971) *

, Finn Mortensen,

, ''Symphony No. 4 Op. 30/Fantasy For Piano And Orchestra, Op. 27/Lamenti For Orchestra, Op. 43'' (1971) * Göteborgs Blåsarkvintett, ''Mortensen/Holmboe/Carlstedt/Salmenhaara – Blåsekvintet Op. 4/Notturno Op. 19/Sinfonietta För Fem Blåsare/Kvintetto Puhaltimille ''(1975) * Egil Hovland, Finn Mortensen,

Arne Nordheim Arne Nordheim (20 June 1931 – 5 June 2010) was a Norwegian composer. Nordheim received numerous awards for his compositions, and from 1982 lived in the Norwegian government's honorary residence, Grotten, next to the Royal Palace in Oslo. ...

, ''Contemporary Music From Norway ''(1975) *

Antonio Bibalo Antonio Gino Bibalo (18 January 1922 – 20 June 2008) was an Italian- Norwegian pianist and composer of contemporary classical music, primarily operas. Biography Bibalo was born in Trieste and studied piano at the conservatory there. His path ...

, Finn Mortensen ''Sonata For Piano/Sonatina No. 1, Op. 1/Sonatina No. 2, Op. 2'' (1979) * Finn Mortensen,

Oslo-Filharmonien The Oslo Philharmonic () 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 1871, and was esta ...

Mariss Jansons Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian Conducting, conductor, best known for his interpretations of Gustav Mahler, Mahler, Richard Strauss, Strauss, and Russian composers such as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, ...

''Symphony Op. ''(1982) * Ørnulf Gulbransen, Finn Mortensen, Conrad Baden,

Edvard Fliflet Bræin Edvard Fliflet Bræin (23 August 1924 – 30 April 1976) was a Norwegian composer and conductor. He is best remembered for the composition ''Ut mot havet'' and the opera ''Anne Pedersdotter''. Personal life Bræin was born in Kristiansund a ...

Bjarne Brustad Bjarne Brustad (4 March 1895 – 20 May 1978) was a Norwegian composer, violinist and violist. He was born in Kristiania, now Oslo. He played with symphonic orchestras in Stavanger and Oslo. In the 1920s he travelled to European cities su ...

– ''Homage To A Soloist – Music For Solo Flute'' (1986) * Einar Henning Smebye, ''Beethoven, Liszt, Schoenberg, Mortensen – Expressionism Anticipated And Fulfilled ''(1987) * ''Symphony No. 1/Wind Quintet/Suite For Wind ''(1988) *

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

, Finn Mortensen, Frantisek Veselka, Kirsten Landmark Mæland, Milena Dratvová, ''Sonata In E'' (1935)''/Fantasy For Violin With Piano Accompaniment, Op. 47/Duo Per Soprano E Violino'' (1958)''/Sonata For Violin And Piano, Op. 17/Three Pieces For Violin And Piano, Op. 21'' (1990) * ''Fantasy For Piano And Orchestra/Per Orchestra/Fantasy And Fugue For Piano/Concerto For Piano And Orchestra/From Five Studies For Solo'' (2000) *

Fartein Valen Olav Fartein Valen (25 August 1887 – 14 December 1952) was a Norwegian composer, notable for his work in atonal polyphonic music. He developed a polyphony similar to Bach's counterpoint, but based on motivic working and dissonance rather than ...

, Finn Mortensen,

Håkon Austbø Håkon Austbø (born October 22, 1948) is a Norway, Norwegian European classical music, classical pianist. He has created many recordings for the label Brilliant Classics and Naxos Records, and is also a professor at the Amsterdam music school, co ...

, ''Norwegian Imperatives'' (2009)

References

External links

Norsk musikkinformasjon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortensen, Finn Norwegian composers Norwegian male composers Musicians from Oslo 1922 births 1983 deaths Norwegian music critics 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian composers Oslo Conservatory of Music alumni 20th-century Norwegian male musicians