Sigurd Berge

Sigurd Berge (1 July 1929 – 1 February 2002) was a Norwegian composer.

Berge completed a teaching degree in 1952. Following his studies in pedagogics, Berge attended the Music Conservatory in Oslo, where he studied with Torleif Eken, after which he studied composition with Finn Mortensen from 1956 to 1960. He continued his music education in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Utrecht, focusing on electronic music. From 1959 till retirement age Berge taught music at the Oslo and Akershus University College.

Berge lectured extensively and published a number of text books and articles on music teaching and creative activities in music. Berge also held a number of positions on the Norwegian music scene's organizational circuit, including the chairmanship of the Norwegian Society of Composers.

Berge's debut as a composer came with the work Pezzo Orchestrale in Helsinki in 1959. His production encompasses a diversity of styles, including traditional tonal works, twelve-tone-music, exemplified by works Episode (1959) and Sinus (1961), educational works, including music for school bands and recorder ensembles, electronic works, compositions for mixed media, orchestra music for television, chamber music, etc. Berge's interest in Norwegian and other folk music styles is evident in a number of his compositions in which he blended folk music elements together with a thoroughly modern musical language. Examples of Berge's folk music tinged works include Horn Call (1972) and Raga for oboe and orchestra (1960, 1978). He also wrote a number of works to be performed by children and young people, including Illuxit for children's choir (1974) and Juvenes for string orchestra (1976–77).[1]

Several of Berge's works were exploratory in nature, featuring experimentation with sonic palettes and tonal qualities by focusing on unconventional orchestral instrumentation. Examples of this compositional focus include the work Chroma (1963), which could be viewed as a study in sound possibilities. Berge's electronic compositions are predominantly short studies in sound, often of a humorous nature, with such titles as The Raindrop Postlude (1968) and Moon Landscape (1971).[2]