15 June 2005

Scandinavian composers

Ah, Sibelius! Who else comes from your wacky lands (at least, the ones I'm most familiar with)?

The Scandinavian peninsula is (generally) made up of Norway, Sweden, and Finland (in that order, from west to east). Scandinavians themselves include Norway, Sweden, and Denmark (south of the peninsula, in Europe) in that designation; with non-Scandinavians sometimes adding Finland, and (from west to east in the North Atlantic) Greenland, Iceland, and/or the Faroe Islands.

Here are some Composers by nationality along with their notable works:

Norway Sweden Finland Denmark
Edvard Grieg (Piano Concerto in A minor, Peer Gynt Suite from fellow countryman Henrik Ibsen's play) Jean Sibelius (Finlandia, Violin Concerto in D) Carl Nielsen (symphonies)
Dietrich Buxtehude (Baroque organ works)

There are many more, but these are the names I've known and bundled with Scandinavia but could not connect them with their own country specifically. I guess it's sort of like calling someone "Asian." Nielsen sounds the most nationalistic, with Sibelius a close second.

(Arthur Honegger has nothing to do with any of these people.)

[ posted by sstrader on 15 June 2005 at 12:57:52 PM in Music ]