Johan Halvorsen was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist born in Drammen in 1864 who began his career in the late 19th century and worked primarily within the late-Romantic and national Romantic traditions, composing orchestral, chamber and theatre music. His music is characterised by richly textured orchestration, incorporation of Norwegian folk melodies and dance rhythms, and an emphasis on incidental and orchestral works that helped define Norwegian orchestral and theatre repertoire in the early 20th century.
