Music of Norway

Much has been learned about early music in Norway from physical artifacts found during archaeological digs. These include instruments such as the lur. Viking and medieval sagas also describe musical activity, as do the accounts of priests and pilgrims from all over Europe coming to visit St Olav's grave in Trondheim.

Music of Norway
Media and performance
Music charts VG-lista
v t e

Part of a series on
Norwegians
Culture
Architecture Art Cuisine Holidays Literature Media Film Television Radio Newspapers Magazines Internet Music Sport
Diaspora
Australia Brazil Canada Iceland Mexico New Zealand Russia South Africa Sweden United Kingdom United States Alaska (Sami) Dakotas Minnesota Venezuela
Other
Language Norwegian Religion Tourism
Norwegian Portal
v t e

In the later part of the 19th century, Norway experienced economic growth leading to greater industrialization and urbanization. More music was made in the cities, and opera performances and symphony concerts were considered to be of high standards. In this era both prominent composers (like Edvard Grieg and Johan Svendsen) and performers combined the European traditions with Norwegian tones.

The import of music and musicians for dance and entertainment grew, and this continued in the 20th century, even more so when gramophone records and radio became common. In the last half of the 20th century, Norway, like many other countries in the world, underwent a roots revival that saw indigenous music being revived.