Rikard Nordraak
Rikard Nordraak (12 June 1842 – 20 March 1866) was a Norwegian composer. He is best known as the composer of the Norwegian national anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet".
Rikard Nordraak

Rikard Nordraak · Public domain
- Born
- 1842.
- Died
- 1866.
- Nationality
- Norway.
- Occupation
- composer and academic musician.
- Known for
- Ja and vi elsker dette landet.
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Documentary summary
Rikard Nordraak (12 June 1842 – 20 March 1866) was a Norwegian composer. He is best known as the composer of the Norwegian national anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet".
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Authority files
gnd · 300288999 · museum · 5fbdad36-6d67-448b-9c27-ddd2f7bd65d2 · wikidata · Q366629 · wikipedia · Rikard Nordraak
In this article
Biography
Biography
Rikard Nordraak was born and grew up in Oslo, Norway. In 1864, he met Edvard Grieg in Copenhagen and inspired him with the idea of devoting his genius to Norwegian melody and the cultivation of a specifically national art. Nordraak later wrote incidental music for Bjørnson's plays Maria Stuart i Skotland and Sigurd Slembe. He published his Fem norske Digte: Op. 2, consisting of songs and poems by Bjørnson and Jonas Lie. This was the last of his compositions that would be published during his lifetime. In May 1865, he returned to Berlin to continue his education. In October 1865, he caught tuberculosis and died in Paris five months later. He was buried in Kirchhof Jerusalem in the Berlin neighborhood of Kreuzberg. In 1925, Nordraak's coffin was exhumed and reburied in the Honor Grove at Vår Frelsers gravlund in Oslo. His Scherzo Capriccio for piano solo, given the opus number 3, was published posthumously by Edvard Grieg. The piece is a rondo, using several features from Norwegian folk music; rhythms typical in slåtter, and dissonances typical for the hardingfele. Rikard Nordraak. Samlede verker, a critical edition of Nordraak overall compositions were published by Øyvind Anker and Olav Gurvin (1942). Nordraak inspired Grieg to compose Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak (Sørgemarsj over Rikard Nordraak). Part of his life story was dramatised in the musical Song of Norway.
Quotation
Quotation
Nordraak himself explained his musical faith in this way: They talk of carrying rocks to Norway but we have enough rock. Let us simply use what we have. Nationalism, in music for example, does not mean composing more Hallings and Springar such as our forefathers composed. That is nonsense. No, it means building a house out of all these bits of rock and living in it. Listen to the unclothed plaintive melodies that wander, like so many orphans, round the countryside all over Norway. Gather them about you in a circle round the heart of love and let them all tell you their stories. Remember them all, reflect and then play each one afterwards so that you solve all riddles and everyone thinks you like his story best. Then they will be happy and cleave to your heart. Then you will be a national artist
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1866
Rikard Nordraak died at Berlin.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q366629: Rikard Nordraak
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Rikard Nordraak”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Rikard Nordraak
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 300288999, Sørgemarsj over Rikard Nordraak.
Unverified · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Other sources
Other sources
Grinde, Nils A History of Norwegian Music (University of Nebraska Press. 1991)

Artist: unknown Date/place: 03.08. 1862, Berlin/Germany
Bergen Public Library Norway from Bergen, Norway · [Rikard Nordraak portrait]

Bildet er hentet fra Nasjonalbibliotekets bildesamling
National Library of Norway
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Rikard Nordraak Store norske leksikon
- 2.Cite Americana wstitle=Nordraak, Rikard
- 3.Æreslunden 27 Rikard Nordraak Vår Frelsers gravlund
- 4.Finn Benestad Rikard Nordraak. Norsk biografisk leksikon
- 5.Rikard Nordraak Classical Composers Database
- 6.Norsk musikkhistorie: Hovedlinjer i norsk musikkliv gjennom 1000 år (Grinde, N. Universitetsforlaget: 1971)
- 7.Rikard Nordraak – Biography Music Information Centre Norway
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 Rikard NordraakMetaBrainz Foundation
Verifiedauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 300288999, Sørgemarsj over Rikard Nordraak.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Partially resolvedreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q366629: Rikard NordraakWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
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 14 August 2026.
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