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Norby Erik
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Illumination for Flute and Orchestra
Erik Norby: Illumination for Flute and Orchestra was written in 1977. The piece is a capriccio dedicated to the French flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, who premiered the work in 1978 in connection with receiving the prestigious Léonie Sonning Music Prize in Denmark.
Around the time of composition, Erik Norby was experiencing significant artistic success.
His breakthrough had come two years earlier with the symphonic poem Regnbueslangen (The Rainbow Serpent) in 1975. He was living as a freelance composer after leaving his teaching position at the North Jutland Academy of Music in Aalborg. Norby's music from this period saw him moving away from earlier modernist experiments toward a more romantic and accessible style, while still using modern techniques like dense harmonies and contemporary orchestration. He composed Illumination as one of two capriccios for solo instruments to which he had a special connection: flute and oboe. The second capriccio for the oboe, titled "The Chinese Flute".
Owain Arwel Hughes (conductor), Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, 1998, Dacapo / Naxos
Illumination
Erik Norby (1936–2004) was a Danish composer and music critic renowned for his evocative orchestral works and chamber music. His music is characterized by its lyrical quality and use of colorful, dense orchestration, reflecting his transition from earlier modernist influences to a richer, more Romantic style.
Born in Copenhagen, he studied music at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. He pursued composition studies with Niels Viggo Bentzon and music theory with Søren Sørensen.
Norby's professional life began as a music critic for major Danish newspapers, where he worked for several decades, but his primary passion was composition.
His initial compositions were influenced by European modernism.
He later developed a more personal, accessible style described as "new simplicity" or post-Romanticism. His works often feature expressive melodies and a vibrant, "exotic" quality.
Among his most notable works are: symphonic poem Regnbueslangen (The Rainbow Serpent, 1975), a capriccio for flute and orchestra "Illumination", and a capriccio for oboe and orchestra "The Chinese Flute" (1978).