A rediscovered composer has died

Leif Solberg lived much of his long life in the Norwegian provincial town of Lillehammer. Our eclectic colleague Martin Anderson recalls that ‘when he turned up at the Christmas party of the Norwegian Composers’ Union in the early 1980s, they didn’t know who he was.’

But Martin heard a local tape of Solberg’s neo-classical symphony and decided over time to produce a recording on his label, Toccata Classics. The conductor Paul Mann called it ‘undoubtedly one of the most compelling symphonies of the post-War years’.

Leif died this week, aged 101. He lived just long enough to achieve recognition.

Here‘s Martin’s appreciation.

pictured: Solberg, Anderson

You can listen to Toccata tracks here.