Bjørnar Utne-Reitan (b. 1994) is Associate Professor of Music History at the Norwegian Academy of Music. He specializes in Western classical music and works in (and between) the fields music theory, music history, and music education. In 2022, Utne-Reitan completed a PhD on the history of music theory education in Norway. Another research interest of his is Norwegian music from the period ca. 1860–1910 (particularly Grieg).
Utne-Reitan regularly presents at international conferences. His work has been published in a number of leading music journals, such as Music Analysis, Eighteenth-Century Music, Journal of Music Theory, Music Theory and Analysis, and Music Theory Online.
Research
Articles/chapters (peer-reviewed)
| — | “Johan Svendsen and Two-Dimensional Sonata Form.” Accepted for publication in Music Analysis. | |
| 2025 | “On Music Theory in Eighteenth-Century Norway: Johan Daniel Berlin’s Musicaliske Elementer (1744) and the Transfer of Theory.” Eighteenth-Century Music 22/ii, 199–220. DOI: 10.1017/S1478570625100420. | |
| 2024 | “A Piece of Poetry? Agathe Backer Grøndahl’s ‘Sérénade.’” Music Theory and Analysis 11/ii, 289–300. DOI:10.11116/MTA.11.2.6. | |
| 2024 | “Ernst Friedrich Richter and the Birth of Modern Music Theory Pedagogy.” Music Theory Online 30/iii. DOI:10.30535/mto.30.3.7. | |
| 2024 | “Music Theory in/as Musicology in Norway: Historical Reflections.” Svensk tidskrift för musikforskning 106, 1–29. DOI:10.58698/stm-sjm.v106.17563. | |
| 2023 | “Funksjonsteori – en musikkteoretisk tradisjon.” In Ø. Varkøy, E. M. Stabell & B. Utne-Reitan (Eds.), Høyere musikkutdanning: Historiske perspektiver, 113–144. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk. DOI:10.23865/noasp.199.ch6. | |
| 2022 | “Music Theory Pedagogy in the Nineteenth Century: Comparing Traditions of Three European Conservatories.” Journal of Music Theory 66/i, 63–91. DOI:10.1215/00222909-9534139. | |
| 2022 | “Norse Modes: On Geirr Tveitt’s Theory of Tonality.” Danish Musicology Online, Special Issue (“European Music Analysis and the Politics of Identity”), 46–69. | |
| 2021 | “Schematic Deformation: Systematic Linearity in Grieg’s ‘Takk’ and Other Lyric Pieces.” Music Analysis 40/ii, 227–252. DOI:10.1111/musa.12165. | |
| 2020 | “To symfonier og et mysterium: Om formbehandlingen i de første symfonisatsene til Grieg og Svendsen.” Studia Musicologica Norvegica 46, 41–60. DOI:10.18261/issn.1504-2960-2020-01-05. | |
| 2018 | “Edvard Griegs øvelser i harmonilære og kontrapunkt.” Studia Musicologica Norvegica 44, 57–78. DOI:10.18261/issn.1504-2960-2018-01-05. |
Articles/chapters (not peer-reviewed)
| 2023 | “Norsk høyere musikkutdanningshistorie – en bibliografi.” In Ø. Varkøy, E. M. Stabell & B. Utne-Reitan (Eds.), Høyere musikkutdanning: Historiske perspektiver, 355–363. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk. DOI:10.23865/noasp.199.vedlegg. | |
| 2023 | “Innledning” (co-authored with Ø. Varkøy & E. M. Stabell). In Ø. Varkøy, E. M. Stabell & B. Utne-Reitan (Eds.), Høyere musikkutdanning: Historiske perspektiver, 9–13ß. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk. DOI:10.23865/noasp.199.ch1. | |
| 2021 | “Edvard Grieg and Music Theory.” In P. Dinslage & S. Keym (Eds.), Edvard Grieg und seine skandinavischen Kollegen in ihren Beziehungen zu Leipzig: 8. Deutscher Edvard-Grieg-Kongress vom 15. bis 17. Oktober 2020 in Leipzig, 73–84. Leipzig: Gudrun Schröder Verlag. |
Edited volumes
| 2023 | Høyere musikkutdanning: Historiske perspektiver (co-edited with Ø. Varkøy & E. M. Stabell). Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk. DOI:10.23865/noasp.199. |
Book reviews
| 2024 | Review of Dansk musikteori og dens ophav, by Svend Hvidtfelt Nielsen. Studia Musicologica Norvegica 50, 145–154. DOI:10.18261/smn.50.1.10. | |
| 2021 | Review of Towards a Harmonic Grammar of Grieg’s Late Piano Music: Nature and Nationalism, by Benedict Taylor. Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie 18/ii, 255–262. DOI:10.31751/1146. |
Reports
| 2024 | Norges musikkhøgskoles historieprosjekt: Sluttrapport. Oslo: Norges musikkhøgskole. |
Theses
| 2022 | Harmony in Conservatoire Education: A Study in the History of Music Theory in Norway. PhD dissertation, Norwegian Academy of Music. | |
| 2018 | Edvard Griegs studier i musikkteori: Kontrapunktøvelser som grobunn for innovativ harmonikk. Master’s thesis, Norwegian Academy of Music. |
Popular writings
| 2023 | NMH50: Jubileumsmagasin (co-edited with K. Krokaa). Oslo: Norges musikkhøgskole. | |
| 2023 | “The Norwegian Academy of Music: A Timeline.” Norges musikkhøgskole (September 1). | Link |
| 2023 | “Musikkhøgskolens historie.” Norges musikkhøgskole (September 1). | Link |
| 2021 | “Grieg’s student years in Germany.” The Norwegian American 132/15 (September 3), 15. | Link |
| 2018 | “Norsk musikks gullalder ifølge Ringve.” Museumsnytt 2018/3, 32–35. | Link |
| 2017 | “Har teorifagene utspilt sin rolle i klassisk musikkutdanning?” Ballade, October 23. | Link |
Conference/seminar papers
| 2026 | “On Music Theory in Eighteenth-Century Norway.” Nordic Network of Music Theorists, Zoom, January 20, 2026. |
| 2025 | “Trolls, Norwegian Identity, and the Musical Uncanny: Agathe Backer Grøndahl’s I Blaafjellet, Op. 44.” AMS/SMT Joint Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, November 6–9, 2025. |
| 2025 | “Backer Grøndahl’s ‘Great Troll’: A Challenge to Griegian Troll Music.” Society for Music Analysis Annual Conference, Manchester, July 14–16, 2025. |
| 2024 | “Om etableringen av musikkteoretisk terminologi i Skandinavia: Johan Daniel Berlin og den første dansk-norske læreboken i musikk (1744).” Nordisk gehørkonferanse, Oslo, October 24–25, 2024. |
| 2024 | “On Aesthetic Value Judgements in Norwegian Music Theory.” Innovating Historical Musicology, Oslo, June 11, 2023. |
| 2024 | “Learning from history: On music theory and value judgement.” Music and the University: History, Models, Prospects, Guildford, July 4–6, 2024. |
| 2024 | “A guide to understanding the first things about music: Johan Daniel Berlin and the first Scandinavian theory textbook (1744)” Society for Music Analysis Annual Conference, Edinburgh, July 1–3, 2024. |
| 2024 | “Music Theory and Value Judgement: Cases from the History of Music Theory in Norway.” Nordic Network for Research in Music Education, Bodø, March 19–21, 2024. |
| 2023 | “Why Richter? Exploring the International Success of Richterian Theory Pedagogy in the Nineteenth Century.” AMS/SMT Joint Annual Meeting, Denver, November 9–12, 2023. |
| 2023 | “Harmonic Analysis in Norway: Historical and Theoretical Reflections.” Society for Music Analysis Annual Conference (OxMAC23), Oxford, July 6–8, 2023. |
| 2023 | “Historical Developments in the Music Theory Discourse in Norway.” Nordic Network for Research in Music Education, Örebro, March 28–30, 2023. |
| 2022 | “Funksjonsteorien(e)s historie.” NMHs historieprosjekts forfatterseminar, Asker, August 30–31, 2022. |
| 2022 | “The Academisation of Music Theory in Norway (of the Lack Thereof).” Music and the University, London, July 7–9, 2022. |
| 2022 | “Large-Scale Form in the History of Music Theory in Norway.” Articulating Form, Oslo/Asker, March 31–April 1, 2022. |
| 2021 | “Constructing ‘Satslære’: Preliminary Findings from a PhD Project in Progress.” Nordic Network for Research in Music Education, Trondheim (Zoom), March 2–3, 2021. |
| 2020 | “Om begrepet satslære i norsk musikkteoridiskurs.” NMHs historieprosjekts forskningsseminar, Oslo (Zoom), December 4, 2020. |
| 2020 | “Edvard Grieg and Music Theory.” Edvard Grieg und seine skandinavischen Kollegen in ihren Beziehungen zu Leipzig, Leipzig (Zoom), October 15–17, 2020. |
| 2020 | “Music Theory in Higher Music Education: Introducing the Contours of a PhD Project.” Nordic Network for Research in Music Education – Pre-conference for PhD projects in progress, Copenhagen, March 2, 2020. |
| 2019 | “Grieg’s Gratitude: An analysis exemplifying linear foundations for Grieg’s harmony.” Grieg Now! International Conference and Workshop 2019, Bergen, October 24–27, 2019. |
| 2019 | “Partimento i lærebokform” (together with H. Støring, A.M. Christensen & J.B. Hvattum). CTMTP: Nordisk konferanse for musikkteori- og hørelærepedagoger, Oslo, September 26–27, 2019.. |
| 2016 | “Counterpoint exercises as basis for innovative harmony? An introduction to a new project on Grieg’s studies in music theory.” Sketches and Exercises: History and Theory of Compositional Writing, Bergen, November 21–22, 2016. |
Public talks
| 2024 | “Introduksjon til historieprosjektet og dets resultater.” Talk given June 3, 2024, at Avslutning av historieprosjektet med lanseringer (Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo). |
| 2024 | “Edvard Grieg med Bjørnar Utne-Reitan.” Radio interview aired February 26, 2024. Show: Jazzer om klassisk on Radio Nova (also released as a podcast). |
| 2024 | “NMH50: Historieprosjektet.” Talk given January 23, 2024, at Boklansering: Jubileumsantologien (Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo). |
| 2023 | “Noch einmal: Grieg & Theory.” Talk given September 25, 2023, at Grieg Seminar (Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo). |
| 2023 | “NMH 50 år: Perspektiver fra Historieprosjektet.” Talk given March 1, 2023, at Seniorklubben (Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo). |
| 2022 | “Edvard Grieg - Tiden i Leipzig.” Guest appearance in a podcast episode released March 27, 2022. Podcast: Musikknerdpodden. |
| 2020 | “Om Griegs ‘forbudte’ symfoni.” Talk given December 3, 2020, at the digital launch of Studia Musicologica Norvegica 46. |
| 2017 | “Edvard Griegs studietid i Leipzig: Med særlig henblikk på studiene i musikkteori.” Talk given May 9, 2017, at Musikkteoriforum (Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo). |
Music
Compositions (selections)
| 2018 | Havet vester ute – Wind band [13:30].
Commissioned by Haugesund janitsjarorkester. Premiered October 26, 2019. |
|
| 2018 | Klagesang – Orchestra [02:45]
Originally composed in 2015. Revised in 2018 for a workshop with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. |
|
| 2017 |
The Deceitful Love – Film music [16:13]
Short film by Ali Al-Tobi. |
|
| 2016 |
Eventyrlig ouverture – Orchestra [03:00]
Performed by Nord-Rogaland symfoniorkester. Premiered January 14, 2017. |
|
| 2016 |
Rytmisk fantasi – Wind band [10:00]
Commissioned by Hauge skolekorps. Premiered March 18, 2017. |
Arrangements (selections)
| 2020 |
Haugesundssangen (I. Rojahn) – Wind band
Commissioned by Haugesund janitsjarorkester. |
2019 |
Ballade (A. B. Grøndahl) – Wind band
Published by Norsk Noteservice. |
| 2017 |
Fuga over navnet GADE (E. Grieg) – Wind band
Performed by Sinsen musikkorps. |
|
| 2017 |
Ås to i Osjlo; Høi; Saikåu Djåu (Ravi) – Wind band and vocal soloist
Commissioned by Sinsen musikkorps. |
|
| 2015 |
Batum (Fläsket brinner) – Big band
Performed by Skeisvang vgs’ big band. |
Curriculum vitae
Higher education
| Year | Degree |
|---|---|
| 2022 | PhD in Music Research – Norwegian Academy of Music Dissertation: Harmony in Conservatoire Education |
| 2019 | PPU (Post-Graduate Certificate in Education) – University of Oslo
Subjects: Music & Norwegian |
| 2018 |
MM in Music Theory – Norwegian Academy of Music
Thesis: Edvard Griegs studier i musikkteori |
| 2016 |
BA in Musicology – University of Oslo
Minor: Nordic language and literature |
Work experience
| From | To | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | — | Associate Professor of Music History – Norwegian Academy of Music |
| 2025 | 2025 | Senior Lecturer in Music Theory – Mälardalen University |
| 2024 | 2025 | Lecturer in Music Theory – Mälardalen University |
| 2022 | 2024 | Researcher / Project mMnager – Norwegian Academy of Music |
| 2019 | 2022 | Research Fellow – Norwegian Academy of Music |
| 2018 | 2018 | Research Assistant – Centre for Grieg Research, University of Bergen |
| 2018 | 2018 | Guide – Edvard Grieg Museum, Troldhaugen (KODE) |
| 2012 | 2013 | Conductor – Grinde skulemusikkorps |
| 2008 | 2010 | Percussion teacher – Hauge skolekorps |
Journal service
| From | To | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2024 | Associate editor – Studia Musicologica Norvegica |
Departemental/university service
| From | To | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2022 | Member of the library committee – Norwegian Academy of Music |
| 2020 | 2021 | Member of the research ethics committee – Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo School of Architecture and Design, Oslo National Academy of the Arts & MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society |
| 2020 | 2021 | Member of the research and development committee – Norwegian Academy of Music |
| 2017 | 2018 | Student representative of the music theory and music technology studies committee – Norwegian Academy of Music |
Society memberships
| From | To | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | — | Society for Music Theory |
| 2021 | — | Society for Music Analysis |
| 2019 | — | Norwegian Musicological Society |
| 2013 | — | TONO |
Other experience
On several occasions I have worked as a substitute teacher in music history at high school level (Skeisvang vgs. and Foss vgs.). During the spring of 2019, I was hired as a consultant on Grieg for the EU-supported project European Music Trails.