Johan Severin Svendsen (September 30, 1840–June 14, 1911) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, he lived most his life in Copenhagen, Denmark. is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... A conductor conducting at a ceremony A conductors score and batons Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ... A violinist is an instrumentalist who plays the violin (eg Diana Yukawa). ... This article is about the capital of Norway. ... For other uses, see Copenhagen (disambiguation). ...

His father was a music teacher and Svendsen learned both the violin and clarinet from him. By the time he finished school, he was working as an orchestral musician, and occasionally made short concert tours as a violinist. In Lubeck, on one of his tours, he came to the attention of a wealthy merchant who made it possible for him to study from 1863-67 at the Leipzig Conservatory. He began his studies with Mendelssohn's favorite violinist, Ferdinand David, but problems with his hand forced him to switch to composition which he studied with Carl Reinecke. He completed his studies in Leipzig in 1867, receiving first prize in composition. The Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre, located in Leipzig, Germany was founded by Felix Mendelssohn in 1843 as the Leipzig Conservatory (he acted as its first director); it was the first German Conservatory. ... Ferdinand David (born January 20th, 1810 in Hamburg; died July 19th, 1871 in Klosters) was a German virtuoso violinist and composer. ... Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (born June 23, 1824 in Hamburg, Germany; died March 10, 1910 in Leipzig, Germany), musician. ...

Gradually his attention turned to conducting. After spending time in Paris (1868-70) and Leipzig (1870-72), he returned to Christiania. In the summer of 1871, he went to New York City to marry Sarah (Sally, later changed to Bergljot) Levett Schmidt, whom he had met in Paris. He was conductor of the Musical Society Concerts in Christiania (1872-77), then spent three years in Germany, Italy, England and France. He returned to teach and conduct in Kristiania (1880-1883). In 1883, he was appointed principal conductor of the Royal Theater Orchestra in Copenhagen, where he lived until his death.

In 1884, he and his wife separated, and she moved to Paris. Their relationship had been chaotic for several years. In 1883, in a fit of anger, she threw in a fireplace and burned the only copy of his Symphony No. 3. This incident was used by Ibsen in Hedda Gabler. Following a divorce from Sarah (December 10, 1901), he married (December 23, 1901) Juliette Haase with whom he had been living and had 3 children. During his student days in Leipzig, Svendsen had a son out of wedlock, Johann Richard Rudolph (1867-1933) Henrik Johan Ibsen (March 20, 1828–May 23, 1906) was an extremely influential Norwegian playwright who was largely responsible for the rise of the modern realistic drama. ... Actress Cate Blanchett in the title role of Hedda Gabler Hedda Gabler is both a play and a fictional character created by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. ...

In stark contrast to his more famous contemporary and close friend, Edvard Grieg, Svendsen was famous for his skill of orchestration rather than that of harmonic value. While Grieg composed mostly for small instrumentation, Svendsen composed primarily for orchestras and large ensembles. His most famous work is his romance for violin and orchestra. He was very popular in Denmark and Norway during his life both as a composer and a conductor, winning many national awards and honors. However this popularity did not translate into acceptance into the international repertory of classical music. He died in Copenhagen, aged 70. Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg (15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist who composed in the romantic period. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For the Anne Rice novel, see Violin (novel). ... For other uses, see Orchestra (disambiguation). ...

One would have to go as far back as Schubert to find a composer who achieved the popular success Svendsen did with his first published work, the Op.1 string quartet in A minor. He quickly followed this with the Op.3 String Octet and Op.5 String Quintet, both of which only added to his early fame. All of Svendsen's chamber music was written while he was at the Leipzig Conservatory, yet these works were not then, and should not now be, considered student works. By general consensus, Svendsen was regarded as one of the most talented students then at the Conservatory. His works won prizes and received public performances to much acclaim.

Though Svendsen was at one time intimate friends with Wagner, the latter does not seem to have influenced his music, which includes two symphonies, a violin concerto, and the romance for violin, as well as a number of Norwegian rhapsodies for orchestra. Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as they were later called). ...

Works

In parentheses, composition years and premiere place and date

Orchestra:

• Symphony No. 1 in D, Op. 4 (1865-67; Christiania, Oct. 12, 1867)
• Symphony No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 15 (1874; Christiania, October 14, 1876)
• Violin Concerto, Op. 6 (1868-70; Leipzig, Feb. 6, 1872
• Cello Concerto, Op. 7 (1870; Leipzig, March 16, 1871)
• Sigurd Slembe, Symphonic Prelude, Op. 8 (1871; Leipzig, December 12, 1871)
• Carnival in Paris, Episode, Op. 9 (1872; Christiania, October, 26, 1872)
• Funeral March, On the Death of King Carl XV, Op. 10 (1872; October 26, 1872)
• Zorahayda, Legend, Op. 11 (1874, rev. 1879; Christiania, Oct. 3, 1874, rev., May 11, 1880)
• Festival Polonaise, Op. 12 (1873; Christiana, August 6, 1873)
• Coronation March (for the coronation of Oscar II), Op. 13 (1873; Trondheim, July 18, 1873)
• Norwegian Artists' Carnival, Op. 14 (1874; Christiania, March 17, 1874)
• Norwegian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 17 (1876; Kristiania, September 25, 1877)
• Romeo and Juliet, Fantasia, Op. 18 (1876; Christiania, October 14, 1876)
• Norwegian Rhapsody No. 2, Op. 19 (1876; ??)
• Norwegian Rhapsody No. 3, Op. 21 (1876; Paris, January ??, 1879)
• Norwegian Rhapsody No. 4, Op. 22 (1877; Paris, February 1, 1879)
• Violin Romance, Op. 26 (1881; Kristiania, October 30, 1881)
• Polonaise, Op. 28 (1882)

String Orchestra:

• 2 Swedish Folk Melodies, Op. 27 (1876, 1878)
• 2 Icelandic Melodies, Op. 30 (1874)
• Ifjol gjætt' e gjeitinn (Last year I was tending the goats), Op. 31 (1874)

Chamber:

• String Quartet, Op. 1 (1865)
• String Octet, Op. 3 (1866)
• String Quintet, Op. 5 (1867)
• Humorous March, Op. 16 (1874)

Vocal:

• 2 Songs (Male Chorus), Op. 2 (1865)
• 5 Songs (Voice and Piano), Op. 24 (1879)
• 2 Songs (Voice and Piano), Op. 25 (1878, 1880)
• Wedding Cantata (for Prince Oscar Gustav Adolph and Princess Sophia Maria Victoria), Op. 29 (1881; Kristiana, October 18, 1881)
• Hymn (for golden wedding anniversary of King Christian IX and Queen Louise), Op. 32 (1892)

Ballet:

• Foraaret kommer (The Arrival of Spring), Op. 33 (1892; Copenhagen, May 26, 1892)

About 50 other minor works, not included in his numbered catalog

References

• Benestad, Finn and Dag Schjelderup-Ebbe, "Johan Svendsen: Mennesket og kunstneren" H. Aschehoug & Co., 1990
• English translation: Benestad, Finn and Dag Schjelderup-Ebbe, "Johan Svendsen: The Man, the Maestro, the Music," Peer Gynt Press, 1995.
• Øystad Gaukstad article on Svendsen for Norwegian Cultural Council (NFK) LPs of Svendsen's chamber music, 1981
• Some of the information above appears on the website of Edition Silvertrust but permission has been granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

External links

• Johan Svendsen was listed in the International Music Score Library Project