Fridtjof Backer-Grøndahl

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Fridtjof Backer-Grøndahl 1905

Fridtjof Backer-Grøndahl (born October 15, 1885 in Vuellen , † June 21, 1959 in Oslo ) was a Norwegian pianist and composer.

The son of the choir director and vocal teacher Olaus Andreas Grøndahl and the pianist and composer Agathe Ursula Backer and nephew of the painter Harriet Backer was trained as a pianist by his mother and made his successful debut in the ballroom of the Turnforneningen in Kristiania in 1903 . He then continued his education at the Royal University of Music with Ernst Rudorff and Karl Heinrich Barth and took private lessons with Ernst von Dohnányi . He also studied music theory with Robert Kahn and composition with Philipp Scharwenka .

Edvard Grieg made him the soloist for the performance of his piano concerto in Amsterdam in 1906, as well as for his last public appearance in 1907 in Kiel. In October 1906 he also played this concerto under the direction of Johan Svendsen . Since he also rehearsed a large number of Grieg's piano works with his widow Nina , he was considered to be the guardian of an authentic performance practice of these compositions. In addition, piano works by his mother and other contemporary Norwegian composers and the main works of Beethoven , Chopin , Schumann and Brahms were the focus of his repertoire.

He gave concerts in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, France and Scotland and lived from 1920 to 1930 in London, where, in addition to his concert activities, he worked as a piano teacher and gave lectures on Norwegian music at University College . He also presented Hjalmar Borgström's Hamlet Piano Concerto to the English audience . As a piano accompanist, he performed with musicians such as Elisabeth Munthe-Kaas , Bergliot Ibsen and Kathleen Parlow .

Backer-Grøndahl's own compositional work consists almost exclusively of piano pieces and songs, a large part of which is only available in manuscript. He showed himself to be strongly influenced by Grieg and later also by the late romantic tradition of Central Europe.

Works

  • 3 Klaverstykker , 1903
  • Etude in C major for pianoforte . 1905
  • 2 Klaverstykker , 1905
  • Bryllupsvis ( En Myrtekrans er skjøn at se ), 1908
  • 2 Klaverstykker , 1908
  • Fantasistykker , 1908
  • 3 Karakterstykker , 1910
  • Spanske Stemninger , 1910
  • Barnlige Billeder , 1916
  • Tre Klaverstykker , 1917
  • Stemninger , 1920
  • Tre sanger , 1931
  • Sju Sanger , 1934-1935
  • 4 sange , 1936
  • Norge i brand for Kristus ( Norge i flammer ), 1936
  • 7 sange , 1937
  • 3 sange , 1940
  • Julestemning ( Glade jul ), 1943
  • Kjærlighed hymn , 1944
  • Julekveld , 1944
  • Tre klaverstykker , 1945
  • Dreaming , 1945
  • Scherzo ( Trykkfeilsdjevelen ), 1946

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personal data
SURNAME Backer-Grøndahl, Fridtjof
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian pianist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH October 15, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Vinden
DATE OF DEATH June 21, 1959
Place of death Oslo