Asbjørn Schaathun

Asbjørn Schaathun is a pioneer in Nordic music. He was one of the first Norwegian composers to embrace computer-aided processes in his works and broke new ground in forging links between creators and practitioners. His meticulous, tactile music is kindled by computer software and the composer’s own practical musicianship as a pianist and conductor. Many of Schaathun’s works use elements of intelligent design to solve structural conundrums while some employ electronics to trace overtones, bringing the music out of itself as if it were a hologram. He has used canonic processes generated by software to breathe new into imitation and polyphony, while similar processes have allowed him to flip the usual process of ‘building’ music by creating huge blocks of sound from which the finished work could then be carved. Schaathun works closely with Norway’s performing community and has looked back at the classical canon, both of which have seen him run his technique through new and transformative procedures. He has explored elements of identity and geopolitics in his works and has written on music for a variety of publications inside Norway and beyond. His music has appeared on the Aurora, 2L, ECM and Albedo labels. After studies in Oslo Schaathun studied at the Royal College of Music in London and at the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in Paris. He has been professor of composition at the Norwegian State Academy of Music, where he began his own music instruction, and president of the Norwegian Society of Composers. He has been awarded the prize of the Norwegian Association of Critics, the Lindeman Prize and the Bang and Olufsen Music Prize. Andrew Mellor, 2019