Internationally renowned Norwegian composer Arne Nordheim was born in 1931 and died last year. Consequently 2011 would have marked his 80th birthday, and to mark this anniversary Simax are releasing a recording which brings together some of his earliest and last orchestral pieces. Included are two works from the 1960s, Epitaffio and Canzona, alongside two from the 1990s Monolith and Adieu, and Fonos for trombone and orchestra which was written in 2003. The Oslo Philharmonic is conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Rolf Gupta, and the soloist in Fonos is Marius Hesby.

In Nordheim’s early works, like Canzona (1960) and Epitaffio (1963), which were commissioned by major artist and orchestras including Mstislav Rostropovich, the L.A. Philharmonic, and Peter Pears, we hear how Nordheim developed his signature motifs and themes, material that he would return to again and again. Adieu was written in memory of Lutoslawski in 1994, and the work is related to both ‘The Dream Ballade’ and the great oratorio ‘Nidaros’. Monolith was commissioned by the International Program for Music Composition, Tokyo, in 1990. Soloist Marius Hesby worked closely together with Nordheim on the trombone concerto Fonos, which was premiered in 2005 and was to be the composer’s final work for orchestra.

Nordheim’s artistic drive made him a beacon throughout the modern world for over 50 years. Although his music was often misunderstood during his lifetime, eventually Nordheim was given the highest acknowledgements for his work, and in 1982 he moved into Grotten, the Norwegian Government’s honorary residence near the Royal Palace. Arne Nordheim passed away only weeks after the present recording was finished, and was given a state funeral.