Klaus Egge

In 1972, he received the Arts Council Norway Honorary Award (Norsk kulturråds ærespris). He was also a Commander of the Order of St. Olav (1977) and of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon.

Egge's final compositional period was characterized by his focus on twelve-tone technique. The composers first foray into this field is found in his Symphony No. 4 Sinfonia sopra BACH-EGGE op. 30, commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1967. Tone row techniques are employed by Egge in works such as Symphony No. 5, Piano Concerto and Wind Quintet composed in 1976.

The piano works Draumkvæ Sonata and Fantasi i Halling, generally viewed as standards in Norwegian repertoire, are both pieces that represent Egges first compositional period. Following the Second World War, the folk music elements of Egge's compositions gradually become less pronounced, and were succeeded by a more universal tonal language. Egge retains his distinct, clear diatonic passages, frequently contrasted by sharp dissonances. One of the distinct traits of this compositional period is Egge's development of a metamorphosis technique, in which motifs are subjected to repeated transformations. This technique reaches its pinnacle with Egge's 1966 Cello Concerto, first movement entitled Preludio metamorfico.

In 1945, he married Helga Sigrid Raugstad. They were the parents of Guri Egge (born 1948) and theatrical director Kjetil Egge (born 1950). Klaus Egge died during 1979 and was buried at Vår Frelsers gravlund in Oslo.

Egge was born in Gransherad, Telemark, Norway. He was the son Rasmus Klausen Egge (1874-1962) and Rakel Abrahamsdatter Iversen (1877-1986). He graduated from the teacher school at Stord in 1927 and then started at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. He trained under with Arild Sandvold on the organ and with Gustav Lange (1861-1939) in harmony. In 1929 he graduated and in the following years he worked as a primary school teacher in Porsgrunn (1930–34). He continued his musical education with private lessons from Nils Larsen and composition lessons with Fartein Valen. On April 4, 1934, he debuted as a composer at the University of Oslo. In 1937–38, he studied with Walther Gmeindel (1890-1958) in Berlin. He taught at the Frogner, Berle and Vestheim Gymnasium until 1945.

Klaus Egge (July 19, 1906 – March 7, 1979) was a Norwegian composer and music critic.