Gunnar Sønstevold


Gunnar Sønstevold was a Norwegian composer. He was born in Elverum Municipality, and married composer Maj Sønstevold in 1941. He composed orchestral works, vocal music, chamber music, and music to a number of plays, ballets and films. He headed the Music Department of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation/Television from 1966 to 1974. He was awarded Filmkritikerprisen in 1955, for the film Det brenner i natt!. He received the Arts Council Norway music prize in 1972, and Radioteatret's honorary prize in 1987.

Career

Sønstevold studied music in Oslo, beginning in 1932 with piano studies with Nils Larsen and Erling Westher as well as composition studies with Karl Andersen. Parallel to his studies, Sønstevold played piano and trombone in one of the leading jazz quartet of the era: Funny Boys. After the outbreak of World War II, Sønstevold fled to Sweden where he subsequently met the composer Maj Lundén whom he married in 1941.
From 1946 to 1969, Sønstevold composed music for 40 motion pictures and three full-length documentaries. As a theatre composer, Sønstevold penned the score for Jens Bjørneboe’s Semmelweis, Henrik Ibsen’s Catalina, Tarjei Vesaas’ Bleikeplassen as well as Georg Büchner’s Woyzek. When Sønstevold composed the music for Det Norske Teatret’s 1957 performance of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, he was one of the first Norwegian composers to utilize electronic elements in his music.

Production

Selected works

Orchestral works

Sinfonietta Concerto for saxophone and orchestra Concerto for flute, trombone and orchestra Forvandling: En fleip Concerto for oboe, harp and orchestra Kork Festkommentate
  • ''Concertino for harp and orchestra''

Vocal works

Intermezzo for soprano, violin and tape 5 Sanger til dikt av Tarjei Vesaas, soprano and guitar Litani i Atlanta, choir, children's choir, jazz ensemble, orchestra Fredskjemperens død for choir and chamber ensemble Forhandlinger i et magert land for choir and chamber ensemble

Chamber music

String Quartet No. 1 Duett for flute and oboe Det doriske bur for 3 pianists playing 1 piano Duett for harp and tuba Strykekvartett nr. 1, Pinter-kvartetten PianoPussel for to Samvirke, septet Crico Quintessens for chamber ensemble Sonatine for trombone and piano

Film music

Reisen til havet Vaktpostene Klokker i måneskinn Om Tilla Omringet De dødes tjern Fjols til fjells Selkvinnen Veslefrikk med fela Musikk på loftet/En dukkedrøm Ukjent mann Vi flyr på Rio
  • ''Den hemmelighetsfulle leiligheten''

Music for stage productions

Bendik og Årolija, ballet Musikalsk spectacel, ballet over Peer Gynt Koreografen, ballet
  • ''Innberetning til et akademi''

Discography