LAWO Classics

Ketil Hvoslef

Composer | Norwegian | b. 1939

About Ketil Hvoslef

Ketil Hvoslef (b. 1939) became a composer almost by chance. As a young man he had planned to become a painter and studied at the Bergen Academy of Art, where he met Inger Bergitte Flatebø, who was to become his wife. Hvoslef soon realised he had to make a living, and went on to take his organ exam.

Well into his eighties, Ketil Hvoslef continues to write music at a furious pace. He has written for many thinkable and unthinkable ensembles, often relishing the challenge of working with potentially hopeless» instrumental combinations. He is Norway’s most prolific composer of con certos, with 20 to date. He has written three operas, numerous works for orchestra, and a wealth of chamber music. Hvoslef’s vo cal music is of particular interest in that it includes, for the most part, nonsense texts. Aware of the main pitfall of the Bel Canto tradition, where the beauty of tone in the vowels often results in the unintelligibility of the text, Hvoslef usually constructs his own meaningless words in order to under line the character of the music. He has also composed an impressive collection of works for solo instruments and a fair amount of incidental music. 

Hvoslef’s style is characterized by an economy of means, the accumulation of latent energy, rhythmical ingenuity and, often, an element of humour. He has repeatedly said that he wishes for his listeners to lean for ward on the edge of their chairs rather than sit back. There is, in Hvoslef’s music, always a sense of anticipation, a feeling that it is on its way to somewhere unknown, which in turn makes the experience of each moment all the more intense. There is always transparency in the music, allowing it to breathe and making it possible for the listener to follow what is happening in it.

Discography of Ketil Hvoslef 15

Composer (15)

Show all 15 as composer

Works by Ketil Hvoslef recorded on LAWO Classics 55

  • Beethoventrio Recorded on LWC1130
  • Bel Canto Recorded on LWC1117
  • Canis Lagopus Recorded on LWC1066
  • Cantus Lutra Lutra. In memory of a drowned otter Recorded on LWC1223
  • Chiese di Roma per Organo 4 movements Recorded on LWC1326
  • Dano Tiore Recorded on LWC1081
  • Duo Due Recorded on LWC1066
  • Duo for Accordions Recorded on LWC1081
  • DuoDu Recorded on LWC1081
  • Erkejubel Recorded on LWC1066
  • Frammenti di Roma I. Recorded on LWC1066
  • Frammenti di Roma II. Recorded on LWC1066
  • Frammenti di Roma III. Recorded on LWC1066
  • Frammenti di Roma IV. Recorded on LWC1066
  • Frammenti di Roma IX. Recorded on LWC1066
  • Frammenti di Roma V. Recorded on LWC1066
  • Frammenti di Roma VI. Recorded on LWC1066
  • Frammenti di Roma VII. Recorded on LWC1066
  • Frammenti di Roma VIII. Recorded on LWC1066
  • Frammenti di Roma X. Recorded on LWC1066
  • Frammenti di Roma XI. Recorded on LWC1066
  • From the Gospel According to Mary Magdalene Recorded on LWC1067
  • Hardingtrio 3 movements Recorded on LWC1180
  • Hvoslef Recorded on LWC1100
  • Inventiones I Recorded on LWC1117
  • Inventiones II Recorded on LWC1117
  • Inventiones III Recorded on LWC1117
  • Kammerspill Recorded on LWC1156
  • Kirkeduo Recorded on LWC1117
  • Klarinettkvintett Recorded on LWC1180
  • Klaverkvintett Recorded on LWC1130
  • Konsert for fiolin og popband Recorded on LWC1246
  • Kvartoni Recorded on LWC1117
  • Ludium for 7 Flutes Recorded on LWC1081
  • L’homme armé Recorded on LWC1223
  • Nordisk kontrapunkt for feler og flasker Recorded on LWC1130
  • Octet for Flutes Recorded on LWC1081
  • Octopus Rex (for 8 celli) Recorded on LWC1246
  • Perpetuum Trompetuum Recorded on LWC1156 | LWC1287
  • Quartetto Percussivo Recorded on LWC1081
  • Rondo con Variazioni 5 movements Recorded on LWC1309
  • Scheherazade forteller videre Recorded on LWC1066
  • Sekstett Recorded on LWC1130
  • Sekstett for fløyte og slagverk Recorded on LWC1200
  • Sextet (Post) Recorded on LWC1117
  • Strykekvartett No. 3 Recorded on LWC1200
  • Strykekvartett nr. I Recorded on LWC1246
  • Strykekvartett nr. IV Recorded on LWC1246
  • The Mockingbird II for Military Band Recorded on LWC1223
  • Trio Recorded on LWC1037
  • Trio for Oboe, Viola & Percussion Recorded on LWC1156
  • Trio for sopran, alt og klaver Recorded on LWC1200
  • Trio for tretten (Acotral) Recorded on LWC1180
  • Trio V.C.P. per Violino, Corno e Pianoforte Recorded on LWC1156
  • Trombonekvartett Recorded on LWC1180