Finn Mortensen
Encyclopedia
Finn Mortensen was a Norwegian
composer
, critic and educator.
Finn Einar Mortensen was born in Oslo
. His parents were publisher Ernst Gustav Mortensen
(1887–1966) and Anna Marie Damnæs (1886–1960). Mortensen grew up in a publishing environment and it was at first expected that he would go into his father's publishing firm, Ernst G. Mortensens Forlag A/S. He studied harmony with Thorleif Eken (1900-1955), composition with Klaus Egge
and with Niels Viggo Bentzon
at The Royal Danish Academy, as well as the piano
and double bass
at the Conservatory of Oslo. He also participated in the Darmstadt
summer school and in the classes conducted by Karlheinz Stockhausen
at the Studio für Elektronische Musik in Cologne
.
The first public presentation of one of Mortensen's compositions was the Trio for Strings, Op. 3, which was played at the Young Nordic Music Festival in Oslo in 1950. In April 1954 he had his debut as a composer, along with Øistein Sommerfeldt. He was the leader of the group Ny Musikk, a Norwegian advocacy group for contemporary music, between 1961 and 1964, and between 1966 and 1967. From 1963-73, he was a music critic in Dagbladet
, and he was also for many years correspondent for the major German magazine Melos. When the Norwegian Concert Institute was established in 1968, he became the institution's first director. From 1970 onward, he taught at the Oslo Conservatory of Music
, becoming Norway's first professor
of composition in 1973.
Rolf Wallin
, Jon Mostad
, Lasse Thoresen
, Terje Bjørklund
and Synne Skouen
are among his students.
Until about 1953, Mortensen's music was mostly influenced by neoclassicism
and expressionism
. It later assimilated twelve-tone and aleatoric
influences, creating what Mortensen termed a "neo-serial" style. From a point of departure in neo-classicism he became deeply involved with serial techniques. In Norway, Mortensen's works are still regularly performed by leading orchestras. In the rest of the world, however, he is less well-known.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, critic and educator.
Finn Einar Mortensen was born in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. His parents were publisher Ernst Gustav Mortensen
Ernst G. Mortensen
Ernst Gustav Mortensen was a Norwegian publisher. Born in Kristiania , he established Norway's first correspondence school and his own publishing house. He started new paths in Norwegian publishing business, and published Leo Tolstoy's collected works in twelve volumes...
(1887–1966) and Anna Marie Damnæs (1886–1960). Mortensen grew up in a publishing environment and it was at first expected that he would go into his father's publishing firm, Ernst G. Mortensens Forlag A/S. He studied harmony with Thorleif Eken (1900-1955), composition with Klaus Egge
Klaus Egge
Klaus Egge was a Norwegian composer and music critic. His music, often called a stream of will, is characterized by polyphony and a strong rhythmical energy.-Music:...
and with Niels Viggo Bentzon
Niels Viggo Bentzon
Niels Viggo Bentzon was a Danish composer and pianist.Bentzon was descended from Johan Ernst Hartmann and the great-grandson of J.P.E. Hartmann. From 1938 to 1942, he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen under Knud Jeppesen and Christian Christiansen...
at The Royal Danish Academy, as well as the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
at the Conservatory of Oslo. He also participated in the Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
summer school and in the classes conducted by Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
at the Studio für Elektronische Musik in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
.
The first public presentation of one of Mortensen's compositions was the Trio for Strings, Op. 3, which was played at the Young Nordic Music Festival in Oslo in 1950. In April 1954 he had his debut as a composer, along with Øistein Sommerfeldt. He was the leader of the group Ny Musikk, a Norwegian advocacy group for contemporary music, between 1961 and 1964, and between 1966 and 1967. From 1963-73, he was a music critic in Dagbladet
Dagbladet
Dagbladet is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall with a circulation of 105,255 copies in 2009, 18,128 papers less than in 2008. The editor in chief is Lars Helle....
, and he was also for many years correspondent for the major German magazine Melos. When the Norwegian Concert Institute was established in 1968, he became the institution's first director. From 1970 onward, he taught at the Oslo Conservatory of Music
Norwegian Academy of Music
The Norwegian Academy of Music is a music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the country's highest level of music education. As a university college, it offers both undergraduate and postgraduate...
, becoming Norway's first professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of composition in 1973.
Rolf Wallin
Rolf Wallin
Rolf Wallin is a Norwegian composer, trumpeter and avant-garde performance artist.Rolf Wallin has established a reputation as one of the leading Scandinavian composers of his generation. He studied in Oslo with Finn Mortensen and Olav Anton Thommessen and later at the University of California...
, Jon Mostad
Jon Mostad
Jon Mostad is a composer from Fredrikstad, Norway. He received the Norwegian state three year scholarship for artists from 1982 until 1984.-Musical style:...
, Lasse Thoresen
Lasse Thoresen
Lasse Thoresen is a Norwegian composer whose works concentrate on a contemporary transformation of the folk-music traditions of many peoples, especially those of Scandinavia.-Biography:...
, Terje Bjørklund
Terje Bjørklund
Terje Bjørklund is a Norwegian jazz musician and composer. He was an active jazz pianist until approximately 1980...
and Synne Skouen
Synne Skouen
-Biography:Synne Skouen was born in Oslo. She studied at the Vienna Academy of Music with Alfred Uhl and Erwin Ratz for composition and Dieter Kaufmann and Friedrich Cerha for electronic music...
are among his students.
Until about 1953, Mortensen's music was mostly influenced by neoclassicism
Neoclassicism (music)
Neoclassicism in music was a twentieth-century trend, particularly current in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers sought to return to aesthetic precepts associated with the broadly defined concept of "classicism", namely order, balance, clarity, economy, and emotional restraint...
and expressionism
Expressionism (music)
,Expressionism as a musical genre is difficult to exactly define. It is, however, one of the most important movements of 20th Century music. The three central figures of musical expressionism are Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, Anton Webern and Alban Berg, the so-called Second Viennese...
. It later assimilated twelve-tone and aleatoric
Aleatoric music
Aleatoric music is music in which some element of the composition is left to chance, and/or some primary element of a composed work's realization is left to the determination of its performer...
influences, creating what Mortensen termed a "neo-serial" style. From a point of departure in neo-classicism he became deeply involved with serial techniques. In Norway, Mortensen's works are still regularly performed by leading orchestras. In the rest of the world, however, he is less well-known.