30 Facts About Eivind Groven

Eivind Groven was a Norwegian composer and music-theorist.

Eivind Groven was from the traditional region of Vest-Telemark and had a background in the folk music of the area.

Eivind Groven came from a family of talented musicians and artists, prominent in his home area.

Eivind Groven's father Olav was an apt player, and in their childhood, the brothers learned notes, and sometimes played together, when they got their hands on classical sheet music.

At the age of 16, Eivind Groven was infected with a serious case of wet gangrene in the lungs and barely survived it.

Eivind Groven later recalled: "I was free to do whatever I wished in that time".

Eivind Groven studied at Notodden to become a teacher, but soon abandoned this.

Eivind Groven held Beethoven in highest esteem for the rest of his life, and wished for the 9th symphony anthem to be played at his funeral.

In 1931, Eivind Groven was appointed by the Norwegian Broadcasting Company, NRK, to be responsible for half an hour of folk music every week.

Eivind Groven worked on, said little, as was his way, but it is known that he silently burnt all the hate-mail.

Eivind Groven received great and valuable support from his original rural community, and from his family.

From 1938 and into World War II, Eivind Groven started his work on just intonation, which resulted in his special organ, completed in 1952.

Albert Schweitzer wrote to Eivind Groven and wished he could try this organ, and when he was granted the Nobel Peace Prize, he seized the opportunity.

Eivind Groven exclaimed that a great organ had to be built.

Eivind Groven was the brother-in-law of author Ingeborg Refling Hagen.

Eivind Groven continued composing, and was in later years greatly admired for his musical style and his use of the orchestra.

Eivind Groven began writing down fiddle tunes from an early age.

Eivind Groven worked as a consultant in NRK, and here, he was instrumental in creating a folk music archive, and in getting the company proper facilities for recording.

Eivind Groven's harmonies reflects often the harmonies of the hardanger fiddle, which is commonly played on two or even three strings at a time.

Eivind Groven extracted harmonies from the Norwegian cither, the langeleik, and the willow flute.

Eivind Groven often thinks rather polyphonically, and this can be traced to the hardanger fiddle, as well as to his admiration for Bach.

In early years, critics accused him of atonality, but in fact, Eivind Groven's music is quite tonal.

Eivind Groven often uses a kind of fortspinnung, and turns themes over to new themes gradually, in a very organic way.

Eivind Groven did not believe in the concept of absolute music.

Eivind Groven stated rather that "all music is about something".

Eivind Groven wrote a number of songs over poems written by Henrik Wergeland, and choral works based on texts by the Norwegian novelist and playwright Hans E Kinck and poet Ingeborg Refling Hagen.

Eivind Groven composed music for hardanger fiddle, experimenting with new ways of tuning the instrument, and wrote a number of folk tune arrangements for his own organ, using blue scales and irregular intervals, not to be achieved on a regular equal-tempered piano.

Eivind Groven wrote a number of essays on the topics of pure tuning and the overtone scale, as well as an essay of his own invention, the pure-tuning automath.

Eivind Groven developed Parkinson's disease in 1964, and had to put away the fiddle.

Eivind Groven is buried alongside his first wife in the cemetery at Tangen Church in Hedmark.