List of notable or famous composers from Norway, with bios and photos, including the top composers born in Norway and even some popular composers who immigrated to Norway. If you're trying to find out the names of famous Norwegian composers then this list is the perfect resource for you. These composers are among the most prominent in their field, and information about each well-known composer from Norway is included when available.
This is a list that features people like Edvard Grieg and Ole Olsen.
This historic composers from Norway list can help answer the questions "Who are some Norwegian composers of note?" and "Who are the most famous composers from Norway?" These prominent composers of Norway may or may not be currently alive, but what they all have in common is that they're all respected Norwegian composers.
Use this list of renowned Norwegian composers to discover some new composers that you aren't familiar with. Don't forget to share this list by clicking one of the social media icons at the top or bottom of the page. {#nodes}
Alexander Igoryevich Rybak, or in Belarusian Alyaxandr Iharavich Rybak (born 13 May 1986), is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pianist and actor. Representing Norway in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, Russia, Rybak won the contest with 387 points—the highest tally any country has achieved in the history of Eurovision under the old voting system—with "Fairytale", a song he wrote and composed. His debut album, Fairytales, charted in the top 20 in nine European countries, including a No. 1 position in Norway and Russia. Rybak made a return to Eurovision in 2012 and 2016, playing the violin during both interval acts. He represented Norway again in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song "That's How You Write a Song".
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. He was elected an honorary member of the International Society for Contemporary Music in 1997. On 18 August 2006, Arne Nordheim received a doctor honoris causa degree at the Norwegian Academy of Music. He died at the age of 78 and was given a state funeral.
Asbjørn Blokkum Flø (born 6 May 1973 in Volda) is a Norwegian composer, musician and sound artist.He studied composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo with Lasse Thoresen, Asbjørn Schaathun and Ivar Frounberg. He writes chamber music and electronic music as well as working with sound installations such as the work Norway Remixed (2002), described as a "collaborative musical composition".In 1999 he won the competition Traditional expressions and new technologies, initiated by the Norwegian Cultural Council, with the installation The Leap. Flø represented Norway in the competition Ars Acustica in 2003 and the Prix Italia in 2005. In 2008 he wrote Karlheinz Stockhausen – A pioneer in Utopia, the first Norwegian text collection about the composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, along with composers Asbjørn Schaathun and Jøran Rudi. Flø has participated in several recordings both solo and with the band (x, y, z). These recordings include Filtered Through Friends (2001), Soun (2003), Crashing Happy (2006) and Klank (2011).
Beate Slettevoll Lech is a Norwegian jazz singer, composer and lyricist in modern jazz and related music, raised in Øvre Årdal, Sogn og Fjordane. She grew up in Volda, Møre og Romsdal as daughter of the Polish jazz violinist Zdzislaw Lech, known from bands like "Folk & Røvere", Jon Eberson's band Metropolitan, and Beady Belle with her husband jazz bassist Marius Reksjø, and has attracted attention in concerts internationally.
Cato Sundberg (born 25 March 1981) is a Norwegian musician (vocals and guitar) and songwriter, best known as the front man of pop group Donkeyboy. Sundberg founded the group in 2005 with, amongst others, his brother Kent. In 2009, the pair were nominated for a Spellemannprisen for their band's debut album, Caught in a Life, in the category of popular music composition.
Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( GREEG, Norwegian: [ˈɛdvɑɖ ˈhɑːɡərʉp ˈɡrɪɡː]; 15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use and development of Norwegian folk music in his own compositions brought the music of Norway to international consciousness, as well as helping to develop a national identity, much as Jean Sibelius and Bedřich Smetana did in Finland and Bohemia, respectively.Grieg is the most celebrated person from the city of Bergen, with numerous statues depicting his image, and many cultural entities named after him: the city's largest concert building (Grieg Hall), its most advanced music school (Grieg Academy) and its professional choir (Edvard Grieg Kor). The Edvard Grieg Museum at Grieg's former home, Troldhaugen, is dedicated to his legacy.
