Jon Øivind Ness

Jon Øivind Ness, (born 30 March 1968) is a Norwegian contemporary composer. Throughout his upbringing Ness played tussefløyte (a Norwegian micro-tonal version of the soprano recorder), violin and clarinet, but it was as a guitarist that he enrolled at the Norwegian Academy of Music in 1987. In 1989 he made the transition to composition studies at the same institution, studying with among others, Olav Anton Thommessen, Lasse Thoresen, Bjørn Kruse and Ragnar Söderlind.

Career

Over the course of his career, Ness has developed a continuously transposing bi- or poly-tonal harmonic system in which all notes of a chord act as the dominant to the successive chord – a system that through its inherent well-arranged structure lends itself to improvisation. Gradually, Ness has also combined this system with micro tonality - a technique that dictates that intervals consisting of uneven numbers of semitones are either halved or saturated with quarter tones. A highly characteristic interval employed by Ness, is one that is also found in Arab as well as Norwegian folk music; the quarter tone in the middle of a minor third. Ness has also used a similar approach with other “uneven numbered” intervals; fourths, fifths, major sixths, major sevenths, minor ninths and the minor eleventh. This could lead to each chord having two or more spectral centres of gravity, but the micro-tonal techniques are also frequently employed to symmetrical chords as tonal colorization or as sonorous grit (these chords are commonly designated “pickled cucumber” by the composer).

Jon Øivind Ness’ breakthrough as a composer came with his work Schatten for 23 composers, which was bestowed with the distinction Work of the Year by the Norwegian Society of Composers in 1993. Ness has received the Edvard Prize on two occasions: in 1997 for his work Cascading Ordure and in 2000 for Dangerous Kitten. 2009 saw the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra recording the album Low Jive, an outing featuring solely Ness’ works and which later received a Spellemannprisen Award, the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy. Ness has also focused on arranging works by other composers and has collaborated with artists such as Jenny Hval, Javid Afsari Rad, Mattis Myrland, Unni Løvlid and Diamanda Galás. Ness’ works has seen performances at home and abroad including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Malaysia, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US.

For the 2012-2013 concert season, Ness was selected as the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra’s profile composer.

Production

Selected works

• p.p.w.e.i. (2016)
• Ætscæke (2015)
• Marmæle (2014 )
• Mørkgånga (2014)
• Mjær (2013)
• My Bloody Mudfish (2013)
• 5 arrangements for Diamanda Galas and orchestra (2012)
• Jønjiljo (2012)
• An den langen Lüssen (2010)
• Low Jive (2007)
• Fierce Kentucky Mothers of Doom (2005)
• Dangerous Kitten (1998)
• Dandy Garbage (1993)
• Schatten (1992)

Discography

• Sverre Riise, Snarks in the kitchen, featured works: The Dangerous Kitten – for trombone, 3 clarinets and sinfonietta, Moray (The Piece Formerly Known as Phekph Piphtolph) (2015)
• Sverre Riise, Marius Hesby, Magnus Loddgard, Thomas Kjekstad, KORK, Fierce Kentucky Mothers of Doom (2013)
• Ernst Simon Glaser, Zvezdochka in Orbit (2012)
• Peter Herresthal, Catch Light, featured work, Mad Cap Tootlin (2011)
• Twitter Machine, Crossing Patterns (2011)
• Trondheim Sinfonietta, Snowblind (2011)
• Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Low Jive (2009)
• Dan Styffe, Bass Trip (2008)
• Arditti Quartet, Ultima Arditti, vol.1, featured work Beware of Darkness (2004)
• MiN Ensemblet, Party Music - Works by Adderley / Harvey / Hellstenius / Ness (2004)
• Stavanger Samtidsensemble, 1-2-3 Happy Happy Happy (2001)
• Saxofon Concentus, Saxofon Concentus (2000)
• Kyberia, Navigations (1999)
• Oslo Sinfonietta, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Christian Eggen, Dandy Garbage (1999)
• BIT20 Ensemble, Absolute Pling-Plong – Eight Ways of Making Music (1995)