Biography
Vagn Holmboe
In 1949, something happened that was to have considerable
influence on the rest of Nørgård's life. Realising that he needed to learn more about
composition, he took his courage in both hands and (at the age of 17!) called one of the
most prominent Danish composers of the time, Vagn Holmboe, to ask if he would take him on
as a private pupil. A meeting was arranged. As Nørgård himself remembers it, Holmboe
picked up one of Nørgård's scores and began to read it; then he turned to face the young
composer, looked him deep in the eyes and announced: "I am surprised”. Nørgård
would never forget this phrase.
So it came about that Holmboe gave Nørgård private lessons in composition until he was
admitted to the Academy of Music in 1951 after passing his A-levels. He was of course a
private pupil of Holmboe, and the lessons were paid for by his parents: DKK 100 per
lesson, which at that time seemed a lot of money to the young composer. Holmboe insisted
on a trial period to see if his pupil could profit from the lessons. Nørgård turned out
to be a good pupil, and so his parents continued to pay for the lessons. Holmboe, for his
part, used the money to buy scores - though not for himself, but for Nørgård!
Revues
In his own autobiographical writings, Nørgård notes that
as a teenager he was very shy. On the other hand, he was not averse to company, and was
very willing to display his skills as a pianist and composer to a wider public. He also
composed music for various special occasions, including stage revues. Below you can see
excerpts from the programmes for two revues in 1950, for which Nørgård wrote the music.
The first public performance
Nørgård's own oeuvre opened with a sonata for piano in
1949, but the first 11 registered works were never performed in public. These are mostly
piano works, but there is also a work for piano and cello and one for piano and two
voices.
The first public performance of a work by Per Nørgård took place on 30 March 1951. As
part of a concert arranged by De Unge Tonekunstnere (The Young Musicians' Society) his
Concertino No. 2 for piano was performed by Elvi Henriksen.
Nowadays, critics are often under fire. There are
those who maintain that their criticisms are unjust, and that they do not do their
homework properly.
The critics of the time rarely couched their reviews in an openly patronising tone, but
the clip from one of the reviews of the above concert shown here was hardly friendly. Not
only was Per Nørgård's piano work given a bad review, but the whole concert came under
attack. The critic adopted a very ironic and condescending approach, which was probably
meant to be humorous, but which casts a somewhat acerbic reflection on the way people
referred to the new music, and of the view taken of the new generation by the
self-appointed musical experts of the time. (About Nørgård the critic wrote that his
short work was far too ambitious, and that he should be presented with a rubber and
instructions on how to use it!).
Music studies
Nørgård passed the entrance examination, and was admitted to study at the Royal Danish Academy of Music from 1952-55. His main subject was composition, and his teacher was Vagn Holmboe.
Nørgård also wanted to study the theory of music under
Holmboe, but the latter felt that the young composer should have a variety of teachers, so
Nørgård studied theory under Finn Høffding, Holmboe's own teacher. Nørgård's
relationship to Finn Høffding was also marked with deep respect, and developed into a
lifelong friendship. Holmboe died in 1996 at the age of 87, while Høffding died in 1998
at the age of 99.
He studied piano under Herman D. Koppel, the history of music under Bjørn Hjelmborg and
solfège under Svend Westergaard.
In his autobiographical notes Nørgård relates that he also studied the violin, the harp
and the horn, though as regards this last instrument he was hardly able to produce a
single note!
Student friends Ib, Pelle and Per
Two other composers, Pelle Gudmundsen- Holmgreen and Ib Nørholm, studied at the same time as Per Nørgård, and the three struck up a friendship which continued on after they left the Academy of Music. They met from time to time, and did what they could to improve working conditions for composers, despite considerable differences in their musical styles and individual personalities. This phenomenon - maintaining one's individuality while working closely with others to promote the art of musical composition - is admirably illustrated by these three composers, and is one of the reasons why Danish musical composition is on such a sure footing in Denmark today, and has achieved international recognition.
A conservative conservatory
Even during his years at the Academy of Music, Per made rapid strides as a composer, producing such important works as the first piano sonata, Solo intimo op. 8 for solo cello, and the choral suite, Aftonland, to a text by Pär Lagerkvist. His student years were crowned with success, although the general atmosphere at the Academy of Music was very conservative, turning a cold shoulder to the many new composers who were appearing on the scene throughout the world. In fact, the Academy lived in splendid isolation. The whole Schönberg school, the American composers, Messiaen in France and such major up-and-coming names as Boulez, Stockhausen, Cage and many others: all this was something people either knew nothing about or passed over in silence.
