Rolf Wallin
Encyclopedia
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
where his teachers included Roger Reynolds
and Vinko Globokar
. Wallin’s music combines an intuitive freedom with a rigorous mathematical approach, such as use of fractal algorithms to construct melody and harmony, resulting in a music that often hints at the influence of Ligeti
, Xenakis
and Berio
.
In 1998 he was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize
.
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...
, 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
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...
with Finn Mortensen
Finn Mortensen
Finn Mortensen was a Norwegiancomposer, critic and educator. Finn Einar Mortensen was born in Oslo. His parents were publisher Ernst Gustav Mortensen and Anna Marie Damnæs . Mortensen grew up in a publishing environment and it was at first expected that he would go into his father's...
and Olav Anton Thommessen
Olav Anton Thommessen
Olav Anton Thommessen is a Norwegian composer. He trained in the United States earning degrees from Westminster Choir College and Indiana University. He is currently professor of composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music, where he has taught since 1972. He won the Nordic Council Music Prize in...
and later at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
where his teachers included Roger Reynolds
Roger Reynolds
Roger Reynolds is an American composer born July 18, 1934 in Detroit, Michigan. He is a professor at the University of California at San Diego. He received an undergraduate degree in engineering physics from the University of Michigan where he later studied composition with Ross Lee Finney...
and Vinko Globokar
Vinko Globokar
Vinko Globokar is a French avant-garde composer and trombonist of Slovene descent.His work is noted for its use of unconventional and extended techniques, closely allying him to contemporaries Salvatore Sciarrino and Helmut Lachenmann...
. Wallin’s music combines an intuitive freedom with a rigorous mathematical approach, such as use of fractal algorithms to construct melody and harmony, resulting in a music that often hints at the influence of Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
, Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
and Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
.
In 1998 he was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize
Nordic Council Music Prize
The Nordic Council Music Prize is awarded annually by NOMUS, the Nordic Music Committee. Every two years it is awarded for a work by a living composer...
.
Career highlights
- 1976-82 - studied at the Norwegian State Academy of Music.
- 1987 - Norwegian Society of ComposersNorwegian Society of ComposersThe Norwegian Society of Composers was founded in 1917. The Society’s main objectives are to promote its members’ music and secure their rights....
Award for …though what made it has gone. - 1991 - developed ‘crystal chord’ technique for generation of harmony in ning.
- 1998 - awarded Nordic Council Music Prize for Clarinet Concerto.
- 2000 - portrait CD Boyl released on Aurora label; wins Norwegian Spelemann prisen.
- 2001 - featured composer at Stockholm International Composer Festival.
Key works
- …though what made it has gone (1987; mezzo-soprano, piano)
- Stonewave (1990; percussion)
- Boyl (1995; chamber ensemble)
- Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra (1996)
- Ground (1996; cello, strings)
- Act (2004; orchestra)
Selected recordings
- Act; Das war schön!; Tides - Ondine ODE 1118-2
- Boyl; Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra; Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra; Ground - Aurora ACD 5011
- Solve et coagula; ning; Stonewave; …though what made it has gone - Hemera HCD 2903
- Phonotope I - Aurora ACD 5035