Johan Øian – pianisten og komponisten

One of the great culture builders of the post war era honored with double album.

It was one of the happiest events in Norwegian cultural life that Johan Øian was hired as pianist in the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra in 1946. He was known as the broadcasting pianist and accompanist for the entire Norwegian people, and got his nickname ‘overgangster’, for his fantastic piano transitions in popular TV shows (‘overgang’ means transition in Norwegian). But Johan Øian was also a great composer and melody maker. He had great flair for linguistic rhythm, and made melodies for lyrics by Norwegian writers like Hans Børli, André Bjerke, Torbjørn Egner and Alf Prøysen.

This release gives you a broad insight into the artistic work of Johan Øian, as a pianist and composer of classical and folk tunes, and related genres. Much of the music presented here originates from the rich archives of the NRK, while some of the music is recently recorded in Rainbow Studio, with Sigmund Groven as producer. Much of the material are premiere recordings.