Ib Nørholm
Ib Nørholm (24 January 1931 – 10 June 2019) was a Danish composer and organist.
Ib Nørholm
- Born
- Ib Nørholm was born on 24 January 1931. · Copenhagen.
- Died
- Ib Nørholm died on 10 June 2019.
- Nationality
- Kingdom of Denmark
- Occupation
- composer
- Fields
- opera
- Education
- Royal Danish Academy of Music
- Teachers
- Vagn Holmboe
- Languages
- Danish
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Ib Nørholm (24 January 1931 – 10 June 2019) was a Danish composer and organist.
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Ib Nørholm was a Danish composer. The composer was born in Copenhagen. Ib Nørholm studied at Royal Danish Academy of Music.
Genres include opera. Languages used include Danish.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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museum · 9c5b1d49-7881-4b60-81ea-a6a75619bfd2 · wikidata · Q1655734 · wikipedia · Ib Nørholm
In this article
Life and career
Life and career
Ib Nørholm studied at Royal Danish Academy of Music. Training under Vagn Holmboe is recorded. Bent Sørensen and Svend Hvidtfelt Nielsen are recorded as having studied under Ib Nørholm. The recorded working language is Danish. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are opera.
Nørholm was born in Søborg, Gladsaxe Municipality. He studied with Vagn Holmboe at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, where he later taught (from 1973), becoming a professor in 1981. Among the honours Nørholm has received are the Gaudeamus International Composers Award in 1964, the Carl Nielsen Prize in 1971 and a knighthood in 1981. Initially, Nørholm's music was in the tradition of Carl Nielsen, as exemplified by his first symphony (1956–8). In the 1960s, however, Nørholm began to explore the possibilities of serialism and graphic scores, having been deeply impressed by his experiences of the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Boulez, and others at the ISCM in Cologne. Later still his music took on a more economical approach, often characterised by the term 'new simplicity'. Compositions by Nørholm include the opera The Young Park (1969–70), Symphony No. 3 (1973), sonatas for accordion (1967) and guitar (1976), Idylles d'Apocalypse for organ and orchestra (1980), Symphony No. 5 'The Elements' (1980), Immanence for solo flute (1983), Aspects of Sand and Simplicity for string orchestra (1987), a symphonic fantasy Hearing Andersen (1987), and the choral work Sjaelfuld Sommer (1997). The opera Invitation til Skafottet ("Invitation to a Beheading") (1965) was commissioned by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. In all Nørholm has written twelve symphonies. His second symphony, commissioned by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra is subtitled Isola Bella, and the fourth symphony is subtitled Moderskabelsen ("Mother Creation"). The première of his twelfth symphony, Virkeligheder on texts by Thorkild Bjørnvig, Lene Henningsen and Inger Christensen, took place in Odense on 28 April 2011. In addition to his activities as a composer, Nørholm was a prolific music critic and choral conductor. He died on 10 June 2019, aged 88.
Orchestral music
Orchestral music
• Thirteen symphonies (1956–58, 1968–71, 1973, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1981, 1982, 1990, 1990, 1998, 2008, 2009, 2013) • Concerto for violin and orchestra (1974) • Concerto for cello and orchestra (1989)
Chamber music
Chamber music
• Mosaic: Recitative Fragments, op. 15 (1959) for flute, violin, viola and cello • Varianter, op. 19 (1959) for violin and piano • Præludium til min vintermorgen (Prelude to my Winter Morning), op. 52 (1971) for flute, violin, viola, cello and piano • Kontrast-Kontinuum, op. 70 (1977) for flute quartet • Så at sige (So to Say), op. 74 (1978) for flute and percussion • Essai prismatique, op. 77 (1979) for violin, cello and piano • Before Silence, op. 83 (1980) for flute trio • Den ortodokse drøm (The Orthodox Dream), op. 92 (1984) for flute, cello and harpsichord • Medusa's Shadow, op. 105 (1987) for flute, guitar, viola and cello • Saxophone Quartet (1992) • Nu og Da (2000–01) for voices and string quartet • Jubilate Deo in Primavere (2005) for flute, saxophone and percussion
Songs
Songs
• 3 Songs, Op. 3b: No. 1 Critique Of Gold No. 2 The Condemned Speak Of Their Country No. 3 Pictures, Pictures, Pictures
Solo instrumental music
Solo instrumental music
• Sonata No. 1, op. 69 (1976) for guitar • Turbulens-Laminar, op. 93 (1984) for piano • Sonata No. 2, op. 110 (1989) for guitar • A Song of Breath and Wings (2002) for clarinet
Identity
Identity
Ib Nørholm is recorded as a citizen of Kingdom of Denmark. Recorded with the occupation composer. Classed in the genre opera. Danish composer and organist.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1931
Ib Nørholm was born on 24 January 1931.
2019
Ib Nørholm died on 10 June 2019.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Ib Nørholm was born at Copenhagen.
Birthplace
Copenhagen.
Birth place
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Ib Nørholm
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
scholarly publication
- Nørholm, Ib (opera), Oxford Music Online, 2002
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2002
reference work
- “Ib Nørholm”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
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References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for Ib NørholmMetaBrainz Foundation
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Nørholm, Ib (opera), Oxford Music Online, 2002Crossref registry
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Ib Nørholm studied at Royal Danish Academy of Music. He trained under Vagn Holmboe. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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