Gustav Fredrik Lange (February 22, 1861 – February 11, 1939) was a Norwegian violinist, violin teacher, theory teacher, and composer. During his time, he was considered one of Norway's best in his field. Lange was born in

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a List of cities in Norway, town and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, R ...

.''Norsk biografisk leksikon'': Gustav Lange.
/ref> He was the second concertmaster of the

Oslo Philharmonic 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 ...

from its beginning in 1919, and for a time he served as first concertmaster at the

Christiania Theatre Christiania Theatre, or ''Kristiania Theatre'', was Norway's finest stage for spoken drama from 4 October 1836 (opening date) to 1 September 1899. It was located at Bankplassen by the Akershus Fortress, in central Christiania. It was the fir ...

and National Theatre. With Ole Olsen and

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

, he created music for

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's comedy '' The League of Youth'' (premiere at the

Swedish Theatre The Swedish Theatre () is a Swedish-language theatre in Helsinki, Finland, and is located at the Erottaja () square, at the end of Esplanadi (). It was the first national stage of Finland. History The first theatre in Helsinki, '' Engels Te ...

, 1901). Like Ole Olsen, Lange was a Freemason and worked as a conductor and arranger for the Freemasons Orchestra (1921–1936). In Halden he was a member of a chamber quartet together with Oscar Borg (his violin teacher in his youth), Markus Boberg, and the cellist Dupery Hamilton.Engelstad, Eivind Stenersen. 1959. ''Storgårder i Østfold''. Oslo: Aschehoug, p. 43. Together with Peter Brynie Lindeman, Lange edited the periodical ''Orkestertidende—blad for musikere og musikervenner'' (The Orchestra Times: A Paper for Musicians and Their Friends; 1892–1894). Lange was a cofounder of the Oslo Music Teachers Association, the Norwegian Music Teachers' National Federation, and the National Federation of Norwegian Musical Artists (). He also taught violin, theory, and harmony 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 () ...

(1889–1937). Lange died 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 ...

Selected students

Prominent students that Gustav Fredrik Lange taught during his career include: *

Anne-Marie Ørbeck Anne-Marie Ørbeck (1 April 1911 – 5 June 1996) was a Norwegian pianist and composer. Biography Anne-Marie Ørbeck was born in Oslo in 1911 to Anton Ørbeck (1866–1927) and Inga Louise Larsen (1874–1948). Her brother Gunnar Ørbeck was a ...

(1911–1996), pianist and composer *

Henrik Adam Due Henrik Adam Due (19 April 1891 – 13 May 1966) was a Norwegian violinist originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minneso ...

(1891–1966), violinist * Magne Elvestrand (1914–1991), organist * Johan Stanley Simonsen (1904–2003), violinist *

Gunnar Knudsen Gunnar Knudsen (19 September 1848 – 1 December 1928), born Aanon Gunerius Knudsen, was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party who served as the prime minister of Norway twice from 1908 to 1910 and from 1913 to 1920. He also inherited a s ...

(1907–2003), violinist *

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 ...

(1895–1978), composer *

Arild Sandvold Arild Edvin Sandvold (June 2, 1895 – August 12, 1984) was a Norwegian organist, composer, and choir conductor. Sandvold spent most of his career as the cathedral organist and cantor at Oslo Cathedral and as an organ teacher at the Oslo Cons ...

(1895–1984), organist *

Ludvig Nielsen Ludvig is a Scandinavian variant of the German name Ludwig. People with the name include: *Ludvig Åberg, Swedish professional golfer * Ludvig Almqvist, Swedish politician * Ludvig Aubert, Norwegian Minister of Justice * Ludvig Bødtcher, Danis ...

(1906–2001), composer * Frithjof Spalder (1896–1985), composer * Reidar Thommessen (1889–1986), composer

Awards

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, 1921 *''

Litteris et Artibus Litteris et Artibus is a Swedish royal medal established in 1853 by Charles XV of Sweden, who was then crown prince. It is awarded to people who have made important contributions to culture, especially music, dramatic art and literature. The ob ...

'', a Swedish royal medal *''

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

'', a French national order

Works

*''Moderne Violinmusik. Samling af nyere Komponisters Værker udsatte for Violin med Piano'' (Modern Violin Music. A Collection of Recent Composers' Works Arranged for Violin with Piano, 1896) *''Praktisk harmonilære'' (Practical Harmony, 1897) *''Praktisk violinskole I–III'' (Practical Violin Course 1–3, 1899) *''Melodier til Margrethe Munthes Kom, skal vi synge'' (Melodies to

Margrethe Munthe Margrethe Aabel Munthe (27 May 1860 – 20 January 1931) was a Norwegian teacher, children's writer, songwriter and playwright. Personal life Margrethe Munthe was born in Elverum Municipality as the daughter of physician Christopher Pavels Munt ...

's Come Shall We Sing, 1907)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lange, Gustav Fredrik Norwegian male classical violinists Norwegian classical composers Norwegian male composers Norwegian conductors (music) Norwegian male conductors (music) People from Halden Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques 1861 births 1939 deaths Academic staff of the Oslo Conservatory of Music Litteris et Artibus recipients Players of the Oslo Philharmonic Concertmasters