Leif Fritjof Halvorsen (July 26, 1887 – December 28, 1959) was a Norwegian violinist, conductor, and composer. Halvorsen was born in

Kristiania 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, an ...

(now Oslo) and he debuted in Kristiania in 1908. He was a violinist with the National Theater Orchestra from 1904 to 1906, with the

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra ( Norwegian: Bergen filharmoniske orkester) 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 M ...

from 1906 to 1907, and in Berlin and Paris from 1908 to 1914. Halvorsen was the concert master for the National Theater Orchestra from 1915 to 1917, and the conductor at Oslo's

Opera Comique The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, located between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and K ...

from 1918 to 1921, where he conducted a number of opera performances. He was a music critic for the newspaper ''

Tidens Tegn ''Tidens Tegn'' (Norwegian: ''Sign of the Times'') is a former Norwegian newspaper, issued in Oslo from 1910 to 1941. Editors The founder and first editor-in-chief of ''Tidens Tegn'' was Ola Thommessen, who edited the newspaper until 1917. Th ...

'' from 1917 to 1918. For a number of years he was the leader of the Norwegian String Quartet. In 1920, he succeeded

Karl Nissen Karl Nissen (February 27, 1879 – May 14, 1920) was a Norwegian pianist, teacher, music journalist, and conductor. Nissen was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), the son of the physician Oscar Nissen and pianist Erika Nissen, and he was taught pian ...

as director of the St. Cecilia Society Choir (), and in 1921 he became the director of the Trade Association Choir (). He became the director of the Holter Choir () in 1930. Leif Halvorsen was a highly sought-after violin teacher, and he composed violin pieces, a string quartet, two cantatas, piano pieces, and music for poems by

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

and

Vilhelm Krag Vilhelm Krag (24 December 1871 – 10 July 1933) was a Norwegian poet, writer, journalist and cultural personality. Known for coining the term Sørlandet to describe a region of Norway, he was the son of Peter Rasmus Krag and younger brother ...

. In 1921 he composed music for the silent film ''

Growth of the Soil ''Growth of the Soil'' ( Norwegian ''Markens Grøde'') is a novel by Knut Hamsun which won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. It follows the story of a man who settles and lives in rural Norway. First published in 1917, it has since been ...

'' (''Markens Grøde''), directed by the Danish film director

Gunnar Sommerfeldt Gunnar Sommerfeldt (4 September 1890 – 30 August 1947) was a Danish actor and film maker. In 1919 he directed ''Saga Borgarættarinnar (film), Saga Borgarættarinnar'', which was released in 1920 and was the first feature film shot in Iceland. ...

. This was the first Norwegian film to receive original music. The premiere took place at the National Theater on December 26, 1921, where Hamsun himself was present. In 2009, the film with its music by Leif Halvorsen was shown at the Hamsun jubilee in

Hamarøy Municipality or is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Oppeid ...

. A DVD with the movie has been released, 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 ...

playing Leif Halvorsen's score. Halvorsen was a pioneer in film music with regard to melody and instrumentation. Among his many violin students was Ørnulf Boye Hansen. In 1915, Halvorsen married the singer Haldis Halvorsen, née Michelsen (1889–1936). The composer

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 ...

dedicated his ''Sonata for Violin and Piano'' (Opus 3), written between 1912 and 1919, to Halvorsen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halvorsen, Leif 1887 births 1959 deaths Musicians from Oslo 20th-century Norwegian classical violinists Norwegian male classical violinists Players of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra Concertmasters 20th-century Norwegian classical composers Norwegian male classical composers Norwegian male film score composers 20th-century Norwegian conductors (music) Norwegian male conductors (music) Norwegian choral conductors