Johan Svendsen
Johan Svendsen was a Norwegian composer and conductor, born in Christiania (now Oslo) on September 30, 1840. The son of a music teacher, he studied violin and clarinet with his father and performed as a violinist in orchestras and as a soloist in his youth.
After a concert in Lübeck, a wealthy music enthusiast helped him enter the Leipzig Conservatory in 1863, where he studied with Ferdinand David. A hand injury led him to focus on composition. He graduated in 1867 after studying with Moritz Hauptmann, Ernst Richter, and Carl Reinecke. Svendsen lived in Paris from 1868 to 1870 and then returned to Leipzig.
He led the orchestra of the Musical Society in Christiania from 1872 to 1877 and again from 1880 to 1883, conducting in Germany, France, England, and Italy in the intervening years, including at the Bayreuth Festival. In 1883 he became head of the Royal Danish Orchestra and held the post until 1908.
Svendsen wrote two symphonies, in 1867 and 1874. He also composed a third, but his first wife burned the only score after a family quarrel. His other orchestral works include four Norwegian Rhapsodies and the program pieces Carnival of Norwegian Artists, Carnival in Paris, Zoraida, and Sigurd the Evil. His works also include violin and cello concertos and three string quartets. His most frequently performed work remains the Romance for Violin and Orchestra (1881), first performed by Stanisław Barcewicz. Svendsen died in Copenhagen on June 14, 1911.