Harald Saeverud

Harald Sæverud was a Norwegian composer who was born on 17 April 1897 in Bergen. He received his musical education at the local conservatory and later studied in Berlin and Paris. He was influenced by late Romantic and classical styles, but also developed his own personal idiom, often using folk music elements and dissonant harmonies. He wrote nine symphonies and many pieces for solo piano, as well as concertos and other orchestral works. He is best known for his music to Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt, which he composed in 1948 for a new production at the Det norske teatret, and for his Kjempeviseslåtten (Ballad of Revolt), which he wrote in 1943 as a protest against the Nazi occupation of Norway. He was also a frequent guest conductor of his own works with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. He lived most of his life in Bergen, where he built a mansion called Siljustøl, which is now a museum dedicated to his life and music. He died on 27 March 1992 at the age of 94. He was regarded as one of the most significant Norwegian composers of the 20th century and one of the leading Scandinavian symphonists.