Harald Lie – Norwegian Radio Orchestra

The born symphonic composer

Harald Lie did not leave behind him a long opus list. However, the quality and originality of his works placed him among the leading Norwegian composers, and he was also among the artists who got the opportunity to experience success by performing abroad, especially in the USA. On this album The Norwegian Radio Orchestra, soprano Anne-Lise Berntsen and baritone Håkan Hagegård, under conductor Ari Rasilainen, performs four of Lie´s fantastic works.

In the “Elegy, Op. 3”, Harald Lie appears as a young but mature composer with a piece which people noticed. His style was moderately radical for the Norwegian audience, and he received praise from the critics and was immediately considered as one of the young and promising. The composer and critic David Monrad Johansen called Lie the “born symphonic composer”, which undoubtedly becomes apparent when listening to the “Symphony no. 2, Op. 5”, the orchestral song “The Bat´s Letter”, originally sung by Kirsten Flagstad, and the “Symphonic Dance” which, for a change, presents a more “Norwegian” musical character.