Michael Custodis and Arnulf Mattes (eds.), The Nordic Ingredient: European Nationalisms and Norwegian Music since 1905.Ina Rupprecht (eds.), Persecution, Collaboration, Resistance: Music in the ‘Reichkommissariat Norwegen’ (1940–45).

Abstract

For most international readers, the history of Norwegian music in the twentieth century, following the death of Edvard Grieg in 1907, remains a closed book. Two new volumes, edited by Michael Custodis, Arnulf Mattes, and Ina Rupprecht, published as part of the Norwegian–German research project ‘Nordic Music Politics: Resistance, Persecution, Collaboration, and Reintegration in Norway’s Music Life, 1930–1960’ and issued in conjunction with a pair of symposia held at the universities of Bergen and Münster, now make a timely and substantial contribution towards filling that gap. The principal purpose of both volumes is to consider the most challenging and problematic phase of that history, namely musical life during the German occupation of Norway in the Second World War. Germany invaded Norway on 9 April 1940 as part of Operation Weserübung, seeking to secure access to Norway’s Atlantic coastline up to the Russian border in the far north-east as well as...