Anne-Marie Ørbeck was a Norwegian pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 and 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...

.

Biography

Anne-Marie Ørbeck 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...

 in 1911 of parents Anton Ørbeck (1866–1927) and Inga Louise Larsen (1874–1948). She studied piano in Oslo and in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 with Sandra Drouker. She continued her studies in music and composition under teachers including Gustav Lange

Gustav Lange

Gustav Lange was a German composer.He was born in Schwerstedt, near Erfurt, Prussian Saxony, in 1830. He produced a large number of works, most of which were light and popular. The piano solos, Edelweiss , and Blumenlied Gustav Lange (13 August 1830 – 20 July 1889) was a German composer.He...

, Mark Lothar

Mark Lothar

Mark Lothar [ló:tar] was a German composer.-References: Lothar, Mark ; Ott, Alfons : Mark Lothar. Ein Musikerporträt. München, Süddeutscher Verlag 1968. 228 Seiten. Mark Lothar 1902-1985, Seine Musik - sein Leben. Eine Ausstellung aus den Beständen der Münchner Stadtbibliothek Am Gasteig vom 4...

, Paul Höffer

Paul Höffer

Paul Höffer was a German composer.He was born in Barmen and died in Berlin.In 1936 he won a gold medal in the art competitions of the Olympic Games for his Olympischer Schwur ....

 and Darius Milhaud

Darius Milhaud

Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...

. She made her debut as a pianist in Oslo in 1933 with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 1939 Ørbeck married engineer Helge Smitt (1906–1985). Her career as a musician and composer was interrupted by World War II, but her song cycle "Vonir i blømetid" won a prize in 1942 from the Norwegian Society of Composers. In the 1950s, she studied composition again with Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, and later with Hanns Jelinek

Hanns Jelinek

Hanns Jelinek was an Austrian composer of Czech descent who is also known under the pseudonym Hanns Elin....

 in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. Her Symphony in D Major was premiered in Bergen in 1954. She died in Bergen in 1996.

Works

Ørbeck composed works for orchestra, chamber ensemble and solo instrument, but specialized in vocal works, including songs, choral works and psalm compositions. Selected works include:

Orchestra:

• Concertino for Piano and Orchestra, 1938
• Melody, Miniature Suite, 1940
• Symphony, 1945
• Rune March, 1946
• Pastorale and Allegro for Flute and Strings, 1959
• Piano Works: Concert Event of R. Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier from Rollers, 1935
• Cadenzas for piano concertos by Haydn and Mozart, 1967
• Sonatina, 1967
• Valse piccante, 1971
• Marcia indomabile, 1973
• Violin and Piano: Norwegian springar, 1928
• Melody, 1931

Songs:

• Vonir in blømetid, 7 songs to poems by HH Holmes, 1942
• So they rowed fjordan(text: A. Vaa), 1954
• Wild-Guri (text: T. Jonsson), 1955
• The rock, 1955
• A hustavle (text: A. Overland), 1957
• Snow (text: A. Overland), 1959
• Star Song (text: I. Krokann), 1964
• Choir: A pine (text: HH Holmes), 1946
• Ovspel (text: HH Holmes), 1952
• Our country (text: A. Overland), 1954
• Summer Night (text: A. Overland), 1956
• Psalm about the art (text: L. Kvalstad), 1964

Discography

Ørbeck's compositions have been recorded and issued on CD, including:

• The Norwegian Flute, BIS
• Kittelsen, G.: Festduett/Hegdal, M.: Aleatoric Construction for Piano/VEA, K.: Trio for Flute, Alto Saxophone and Piano (BIT 20 Ensemble), Aurora
• Orbeck, A: Symphony/Songs (Hirsti, Royal Philharmonic, Dreier), Aurora