Biography
Geirr Tveitt (1908-81) was born in Bergen, Norway. His music draws from many different styles and traditions, most notably from Stravinsky, Bartók, Debussy and Ravel. Nonetheless, it seems as if his music is always underpinned by an aesthetic derived from Norwegian folk music.
Tveitt has composed operas, cantatas, ballet music as well as a series of concertos for piano and Hardanger fiddle. His most famous work is A Hundred Hardanger Tunes(1954-1963) – Norwegian folk tunes arranged in a series of short, elegantly orchestrated movements. Unfortunately, very few of his works have been published or properly archived at institutions due to a disastrous fire at his home in 1970.
Geirr Tveitt was a key figure in the national movement in Norwegian cultural life in the 1930s and remains one of Norway’s most prominent composers and controversial musical personalities.