Per Nørgård

"Infinity series" redirects here. For the visual novel series, see KID.

Per Nørgård (pronounced [ˈpʰeɐ̯ ˈnɶɐ̯ɡ̊ɒːˀ]) (b. July 13, 1932 in Gentofte, Denmark) is a Danish composer.

Biography

Nørgård studied with Vagn Holmboe at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, and subsequently with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. To begin with, he was strongly influenced by the Nordic styles of Jean Sibelius, Carl Nielsen and Vagn Holmboe. In the 1960s, Nørgård began exploring the modernist techniques of central Europe, eventually developing a serial compositional system based on the "infinity series" (Nørgård 1975), which he used in his Voyage into the Golden Screen, the Second and Third Symphonies, I Ching, and other works of the late 1960s and 70s (Mortensen [n.d.]). Later he became interested in the Swiss artist Adolf Wölfli, who inspired many of Nørgård's works (Anon [n.d.]), including the 4th symphony, the opera Det Guddommelige Tivoli and Papalagi for solo guitar.

Nørgård has composed works in all major genres: six operas, two ballets, seven symphonies and other pieces for orchestra, several concertos, choral and vocal works, an enormous number of chamber works, ten string quartets and several solo instrumental works. These include a number of works for the guitar, mostly written for the Danish guitarist Erling Møldrup: In Memory Of... (1978), Papalagi (1981), a series of suites called Tales from a Hand (1985–2001), Early Morn (1997–98) and Rondino Amorino (1999). One of his most important works for percussion solo is I Ching (1982) for the Danish percussionist Gert Mortensen. He has also composed music for several films, including The Red Cloak (1966), Babette's Feast (1987), and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1993).

Nørgård is also a prolific writer. He has written many articles dealing with music not only from a technical but also a philosophical viewpoint.

Music

Uendelighedsrækken in G major (the first 32 terms)

Nørgård's music often features the use of the infinity series (Danish Uendelighedsrækken) for serializing melody, harmony, and rhythm in musical composition. The method takes its name from the endlessly self-similar nature of the resulting musical material, comparable to fractal geometry. Mathematically, the infinity series is an integer sequence. The first few terms of its simplest form are 0, 1, −1, 2, 1, 0, −2, 3, … (sequence A004718 in OEIS).

Nørgård discovered the melodic infinity series in 1959 and it proved an inspiration for many of his works during the 1960s. However, it was not until his Voyage into the Golden Screen for small ensemble (1968)—which has been identified as the first "properly instrumental piece of spectral composition" (Anderson 2000, 14)—and Symphony No. 2 (1970) that it provided the structure for an entire work (Nørgård 1975, 9). The harmonic and rhythmic infinity series were developed in the early 1970s and the three series were first integrated in Nørgård's Symphony No. 3.

Works

Symphonic

• Symphony No. 1 Sinfonia austera (1953–55)
• Symphony No. 2 (1970)
• Symphony No. 3 (1972–75)
• Symphony No. 4 (1981)
• Symphony No. 5 (1990)
• Symphony No. 6 At the End of the Day (1998–99)
• Symphony No. 7 (2006)

Concerti

• Violin Concerto No. 1 Helle Nacht (1986–87)
• Violin Concerto No. 2 Borderlines
• Piano Concerto Concerto in due tempi (1994–95)

Selected other works

• Trio No. 1 (1955) Op.15
• Konstellationer (Constellations) (1958)
• Piano Sonata No.2 Op.20
• Voyage into the Golden Screen (1968)
• Libra (1973)
• Turn (1973)
• Siddharta (1974–79)
• Wie ein Kind (Like a Child) (1979–80)
• Drømmesange (Dream Songs) (1981)
• I Ching (1982)
• Najader (The Naiads) (1986)
• Solo Intimo Op. 8 for Solo 'Cello (1953)

Awards

• Nordic Council Music Prize (1974) for his opera Gilgamesh
• Sonning Award (1996; Denmark)

Sources

• Anon. [n.d.] "Adolf Wölffli: Wölfli's influence". (Archived copy from 23 October 2007, from the composer's former website. Accessed 14 May 2010)
• Anderson, Julian. 2000. "A Provisional History of Spectral Music." Contemporary Music Review 19, no. 2 ("Spectral Music History and Techniques", edited by Joshua Fineberg): 7–22.
• Mortensen, Jørgen. [n.d.] "Uendelighedsrækken" (The Infinity Series), English version. (Archived copy, accessed 14 May 2010. Formerly on the composer's website, taken off line in November 2007.)
• Nørgård, Per. 1975. "Inside a Symphony". Translated by L. K. Christensen. Numus-West 2, no. 2:4–16.

External links

• The infinity series (Archived copy, accessed 14 May 2010. Formerly at the composer's website, taken down in November 2007.)
• Plain language description of infinity series generation. (Accessed 15 May 2011)