Olav Kielland

Olav Løchen Kielland (16 August 1901 in Trondheim – 5 August 1985 in Bø, Telemark) was a Norwegian composer and conductor.

Olav Løchen Kielland was born the son of Gabriel Kielland (1871–1960) and Margit Løchen (1875–1951). He took his final exams at the Trondheim Cathedral School in 1919. He studied to become an architect like his father at the Norwegian Institute of Technology from 1919 until 1921. He then moved to Leipzig where he studied conducting, composition, piano and bassoon at the Music Conservatory. In 1929 he attended Felix Weingartner's masterclass for conductors in Basel, Switzerland.

Kielland had his debut as a conductor and pianist in Trondheim in 1923. He was repetiteur with the Casino Theatre in Oslo, and conductor with the Stora Teatern in Gothenburg. In 1931, he became the conductor for the Filharmonisk Selskap, now the Oslo Philharmonic), and served as artistic director from 1933 until 1945. In 1939, Kielland was offered the position as chief conductor by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, but was hindered by the outbreak of World War II and could not travel and accept the position.

During the war, Kielland was for a short period a member of the Cultural Department's temporary consultative council (Departementets midlertidige konsultative råd i kunstneriske spørsmål), which led to accusations of cooperation with the occupying force. Kielland was suspended from several organisations, such as the Norwegian Composer's Union (Komponistforeningen). Even if he already in 1945 was acquitted of the charges, by a committee appointed by the government, Kiellands career was badly damaged, and as late as in 1962, Kielland still had to defend himself against Nazi accusations.

...
Wikipedia