Composer
Olav Anton Thommessen
Norwegian composer and librettist
b. 1946
1 work in the index
- Born
- 1946
- Birthplace
- Oslo
- Citizenship / historical state
- Norway
- Period (estimated from birth year)
- Contemporary
Biography
Olav Anton Thommessen (born 16 May 1946) is a Norwegian contemporary composer who has been one of the foremost modernist composers in Norway since the 1970s. His main compositions include Et glassperlespill and Gjennom Prisme. He was a professor of composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music until retiring in 2014, and has also been an influential figure in music education and music organisations in Norway. Thommessen has played a significant role in aesthetic discourse in Norway and is known for his modernist and atonal stance. In later life he has become known for engaging in a critical public dialogue with his former student Marcus Paus about the future of art music, that has resulted in the opera monologue The Teacher Who Was Not To Be with a libretto by Thommessen; a 2015 debate between the two was described as "the biggest public debate about art music" in Norway since the 1970s.
Biography excerpt from Wikipedia contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Formatting and reference markers have been removed; the introduction may be shortened. View contributors and article history.
Life and musical career
- Occupations
- composer; professor; musicologist; librettist
- Education
- Indiana University; Westminster Choir College
- Career institutions / employers
- Norwegian Academy of Music
- Genres
- opera
- Notable works
- The Teacher Who Was Not To Be
- VIAF ID
- 79200581
- ISNI
- 0000000063161881
- GND ID
- 121722961
- Library of Congress ID
- n82152416
- MusicBrainz ID
- dfa92490-2d3f-48e6-a5a5-2bab670aa1a2
Recorded in Wikidata. Affiliations may refer to earlier stages of the composer's career.
In this catalogue
- Common listed instruments
- Recorder
- Works with composition dates
- 0 of 1
These details describe the indexed sheet music, including arrangements.
Catalogue
Works
Years are composition dates where known. Instruments describe editions in our catalogue and may include arrangements. A dash means the detail is not recorded.
| Work | Year composed | Catalogue / opus | Key in title | Listed instruments | Genre | Editions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Blockbird | — | — | — | Recorder | — | 0 |
Biographical record: Wikidata, matched on name and checked against dates held in the catalogue. The period label is an estimate from birth year. Authority record: VIAF 79200581. Portrait: Lisbeth Medbøe Risnes, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.