Ståle Kleiberg

Ståle Kleiberg is a major Norwegian composer with a considerable international reputation. His music is widely performed in Norway and abroad, and is mostly commissioned by outstanding orchestras, ensembles and performers. His music is well represented on CDs that have received outstanding international reviews.

Kleiberg’s music is characterised by a highly distinctive form of extended tonality and by meticulous attention to coloristic details. This is especially the case in his orchestral works, including his first symphony, The Bell Reef, and his Violin Concerto, issued on the Grammy nominated 2L album Treble and Bass: Concertos by Ståle Kleiberg.

Kleiberg’s large-scale works in oratorio and opera format constitute an important part of his output. These works have all been widely disseminated after their premières. His Mass for Modern Man, was premièred in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, and in the Münchner Dom in 2015 to critical acclaim. His opera-oratorio David and Bathsheba was also highly acclaimed after its première in Nidaros Cathedral in 2008, and it has subsequently been performed in several countries. 2L’s recording of the work was nominated for an American Grammy in the category Best Opera Recording.

Kleiberg’s Requiem – for the victims of Nazi persecution is one of his most frequently performed works. In addition to the Latin Mass, it includes specially commissioned texts by the Scottish poet and playwright Edwin Morgan. The work was performed in Washington National Cathedral on 11 September 2004 (Memorial Day for the terrorist attacks on Manhattan and Washington DC), and it was subsequently broadcast nationally in the US, recorded on CD with Washington National Cathedral’s choir and chamber orchestra. It has since been given many international performances. The Requiem is the principal work in a trilogy of compositions dealing with the same subject matter: the others are the orchestral work Lamento: Cissi Klein in memoriam and the cello concerto Dopo.

Kleiberg’s innovatory approach, formal command and technical mastery are especially apparent in his extensive chamber music oeuvre. A selection of six chamber works have recently been published on an album called MEZZOTINTS – chamber music by Ståle Kleiberg.

Alongside his comprehensive work as an artist, Kleiberg is also an esteemed teacher, a Professor of Music at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.