Harald Sæverud
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Harald Sæverud | |
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Bergen, Norway | |
| Died | 27 March 1992 (aged 94) |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Children | Ketil Hvoslef (son) |
Harald Sigurd Johan Sæverud (17 April 1897 – 27 March 1992) was a Norwegian
Background and early career
Harald Sæverud was born in
Harald Sæverud moved back to his hometown of Bergen in 1922, where he stayed, with few exceptions, for the rest of his life. His earliest compositions are coloured by a late
Bergen
In the 1930s Harald Sæverud and his American-born wife Marie Hvoslef built a magnificent mansion on the outskirts of Bergen. It was named Siljustøl, and the family moved there in 1939. Their son is the composer Ketil Hvoslef. The composer came now into close contact with nature, which had a very strong impact on him and his compositions. His compositions turned towards a more Norwegian and "greener" style. In 1940 Nazi Germany invaded Norway. From this point, Sæverud's compositions became weapons against the occupying army. His main compositions from the period are the three "War symphonies": no. 5, Quasi una fantasia, no. 6, Sinfonia Dolorosa, and no. 7, Psalm. Also from this period comes his direct protest against the Nazis: Ballad of Revolt in versions for both piano and orchestra.
In contrast to these strong compositions he also shaped a number of lyric
Post-war
After the war, Sæverud was considered to be the doyen of Norwegian composers and he gained wide popularity for a number of his compositions. Particularly noteworthy from his later years are his incidental music for Ibsen's Peer Gynt (1948), his symphonies no. 8, Minnesota (1958), and no. 9 (1966), the ballet Count Bluebeard's Nightmare, and concertos for piano,
Harald Sæverud was widely famous for his humour, mainly of a grotesque kind. "I was born on a graveyard," he said, and it is a fact that the ground under the house where he was born was both a former graveyard and a place of execution. He was convinced that his mother's nightmares there had influenced him both as a person and composer: "My music is terribly melancholy--wildly melancholy."
Besides his humour, his uniqueness as a composer is palpable. The English conductor
Honours
Sæverud's central place in Norwegian and
Death
Harald Sæverud died in Bergen on 27 March 1992. The funeral ceremony, which took place in the
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