Benestad, Finn

Benestad, Finn, important Norwegian musicologist; b. Kristiansand, Oct. 30, 1929. He was educated at the Univ. of Oslo (M.A., 1953; Ph.D., 1961, with the diss. Johannes Haarklou: Mannen og verket; publ. in Oslo, 1961). After working as a teacher (1950–59) and a music critic (1953–61) in Oslo, he served as prof. of musicology at the Univ. of Trondheim (1961–64) and at the Univ. of Oslo (1965–98). He also was a Fulbright scholar at the Univ. of Calif, at Los Angeles (1968–69). He was chairman of the Edvard Grieg Committee in Oslo from 1980, where he oversaw the completion of Grieg’s complete works in 20 vols, in 1995. In 1979 he was made a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

Writings

(all publ. in Oslo unless otherwise given): Waldemar Thrane: an pionér i norsk musikkliv (1961); Musikklaere (1963; 5^th ed., 1977); Musikkhistorisk oversikt (1965; 3^rd ed., 1976); ed. with P. Kramer, Festschrift til Olav Gurvin (Oslo and Dram-men, 1968); ed. Norsk musikk: Studier i Norge, vol. VI (1968); ed. Skolens visebok (1972); with others, Aschehougs musikkverk (1973–77); Musikk og tanke: Hovedretninger i musikkestetikkens historie fra antikken til vâr egen tid (1976; 2^nd éd., 1977); with D. Schjeldrup-Ebbe, Edvard Grieg: Mennesket og kunstneren (1980; Eng. tr., 1987, as Edvard Grieg: The Man and the Artist); with D. Schjeldrup- Ebbe, Johan Svendsen: Mennesket og kunstneren (1990; Eng. tr., 1995, as Johan Svendsen: The Man, the Maestro, the Music);with D. Schjelderup- Ebbe, Edvard Grieg Chamber Music: Nationalism, Universality, Individuality (Oxford, 1993).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire