Introduction
These catalogues are the result of several individual critical music edition projects conducted from 2012 to the present. The aim has been to provide thematic work catalogues of Norwegian composers, offering valuable information about the genesis, performance, and reception of their oeuvres.
The materials examined by the editors are held by the National Library of Norway (Svendsen, Backer Grøndahl, Valen, Tveitt), the Bergen Public Library (Grieg, Ørbeck), the Bergen University Library (Sæverud), and the NTNU University Library (Berlin).
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907): To this day, Grieg’s name often overshadows other Norwegian composers, as major works such as his Piano Concerto, the Peer Gynt suites, and his lyrical piano pieces have become part of the global repertoire. The Grieg catalogue is based on the Edvard Grieg Thematisch-Bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis, edited by Dan Fog, Kirsti Grinde, and Øyvind Norheim, and published by Edition Peters. It presents Grieg’s works online and in English for the first time. The structure of the catalogue follows the original Werkverzeichnis. Grieg’s oeuvre consists of 74 opus numbers and a large body of unpublished works and fragments (EEG), all edited in the Gesamtausgabe. The catalogue was translated from German to English and transferred from the printed source to the digital MerMEId database by Bjørnar Utne Reitan, research assistant at the Grieg Research Centre.
Johan Svendsen (1840-1911): Although less well-known today than his friend Grieg, Svendsen was arguably even more successful in his time, particularly as a composer of symphonies. The Svendsen catalogue presents his complete oeuvre for the first time and is the result of the Svendsen Collected Works Edition project, led by conductor Bjarte Engeset.
Agathe Backer Grøndahl (1847-1907): Backer Grøndahl was a renowned piano virtuoso and one of the few prolific female composers in the late 19th century. Most of her works are romantic songs and piano pieces, in line with the customs of her time. Many are of high quality and have gained renewed popularity in recent years. The catalogue was edited by PhD student Audun Sannes Jonassen at the Grieg Research Centre.
Johan Daniel Berlin (1714-1787): Berlin, who migrated from Prussia to Norway and served as city musician in Trondheim, played a key role in developing a more professional musical life in Norway. He is considered one of the earliest composers in the country, representing the Baroque style. Although many of his works have been lost, his surviving oeuvre demonstrates a distinctive musical talent. The catalogue was edited by Halvor K. Hosar, lecturer at the University of Stavanger.
Geirr Tveitt (1908-1981): Tveitt was part of the generation of Norwegian interwar composers associated with the "national modernist" style. He was highly productive, composing in a wide range of genres—from ballet and opera to solo concertos and symphonic poems based on Hardanger folk tunes. He also set texts by central Norwegian poets in a vast number of art songs. His sympathies for pan-Germanism and neo-paganism during the 1930s and 1940s, have sparked ongoing debate about about the artist’s political views and their significance for the reception of his music. The Tveitt catalogue was edited by conductor and professor Bjarte Engeset at the University of Stavanger.
Fartein Valen (1887-1952): Valen is regarded as a pioneer of atonality and ‘continental’ musical modernism in Norway. Rejecting the dominant nationalist-folklorist style, he developed a unique idiom based on strict polyphonic techniques, drawing inspiration from Arnold Schoenberg’s atonal style. Religious works play a significant role in his output, alongside four symphonies and a violin concerto reminiscent of Alban Berg’s, which was premiered by the internationally acclaimed violinist Camilla Wicks in 1950. The Valen catalogue was edited by Arnulf Mattes, Thomas Erma Møller, Bjarte Engeset, and Astrid Kvalbein.
Anne Marie Ørbeck (1911-1996): Ørbeck was one of the few Norwegian female composers to establish herself alongside a career as a piano soloist. She achieved a sensational breakthrough with her Concertino for piano and orchestra in Berlin in 1938 and is considered the only Norwegian woman to have composed a symphony. Her oeuvre also includes significant contributions to the genres of art songs and solo piano music. The Ørbeck catalogue was edited by Ulrik Bjørnstad Haug and Arnulf Mattes at the Grieg Research Centre.
