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Music of Norway

Much has been learned about early music in Norway from physical artifacts found during archaeological digs. These include instruments such as the lur. Viking and medieval sagas also describe musical activity, as do the accounts of priests and pilgrims from all over Europe coming to visit St Olav's grave in Trondheim.

In the later part of the 19th century, Norway experienced economic growth leading to greater industrialization and urbanization. More music was made in the cities, and opera performances and symphony concerts were considered to be of high standards. In this era both prominent composers (like Edvard Grieg and Johan Svendsen) and performers combined the European traditions with Norwegian tones.

The import of music and musicians for dance and entertainment grew, and this continued in the 20th century, even more so when gramophone records and radio became common. In the last half of the 20th century, Norway, like many other countries in the world, underwent a roots revival that saw indigenous music being revived.

Traditional and folk music
Before 1840, there were limited written sources of folk music in Norway. Originally these historical attainments were believed to have a distinct Christian influence. As research continued, there were also mythical and fairy tale connections to the folk music. Overall the purpose of folk music was for entertainment and dancing.

Norwegian folk music may be divided into two categories: instrumental and vocal. As a rule instrumental folk music is dance music (slåtter). Norwegian folk dances are social dances and usually performed by couples, although there are a number of solo dances as well, such as the halling. Norway has very little of the ceremonial dance characteristic of other cultures. Dance melodies may be broken down into two types: two-beat and three-beat dances. The former are called halling, gangar or rull, whereas the latter are springar or springleik.

Traditional dances are normally referred to as bygdedans (village or regional dance). These dances, sometimes called "courting dances" were often connected to the important events of rural (farming) life: weddings, funerals and cyclical feasts like Christmas.

Folk music in Norway falls in another 2 main categories based in the ethnic populations from which they spring: North Germanic and Sami.

Traditional Sami music is centered around a particular vocal style called joik. Originally, joik referred to only one of several Sami singing styles, but in English the word is often used to refer to all types of traditional Sami singing. Its sound is comparable to the traditional chanting of some First Nations/Native Americans cultures.

Traditional North Germanic Norwegian vocal music includes (kvad), ballads and short, often improvised songs (stev), among the most common types of traditional music. Work songs, hymns, tralling vocals (nonsense syllables) and broadside ballads (skillingsviser) have also been popular.

Norway shares some Nordic dance music tradition with its neighbouring countries of Sweden and Denmark, where the most typical instrument is the fiddle. In Norway, the Hardanger fiddle (hardingfele), the most distinctive instrument in Norwegian folk music, looks and plays like a standard violin. It is only to be found primarily in the western and central part of the country. The Hardanger fiddle dates back to around 1700 and however differs from the ordinary fiddle in many respects. The most important of these is that it has sympathetic strings and a less curved bridge and fingerboard. Thus, the performer plays on two strings most of the time, creating a typical bourdon style. The Hardanger fiddle tradition is rich and powerful. By traditional, orally conveyed instruction was one of the most important aspects of a Hardanger fiddle player's accomplishment.

Epic folk songs are the most important form of vocal folk music in Norway. Although there are many types of epic folk songs, the most intriguing are the medieval ballads. They were first transcribed in the 1800s, but the ballad tradition has been handed down from the Middle Ages. The lyrics of these songs also revolve around this period of history, recounting tales of the lives of nobles, and of knights and maidens. A number of the ballads describe historical events, and they are often dramatic and tragic.

In the second half of the 19th century, some fiddlers, especially those from Voss and Telemark, significantly Lars Fykerud (who eventually moved to Stoughton, Wisconsin in the United States and then returned to Telemark late in life), began introducing more expressive ways of playing, turning the traditional slått music to concert music for the urban classes.

At the same time, new dances and tunes were imported from Europe, including the fandango, reinlender, waltz, polka and mazurka. These forms are now known as runddans (round dances) or gammeldans (old dances).

Perhaps the most popular and controversial of modern Hardanger fiddle artists is Annbjørg Lien, who released her first album, Annbjørg in 1989. The album featured Helge Førde and Frode Fjellheim and was both praised for its innovative fusion work and expressive style, and criticized for its watering-down of traditional sounds and a lack of regional tradition.

Other Norwegian traditional instruments include:
 * bukkehorn (goat horn)
 * harpeleik (chorded zither)
 * langeleik (box dulcimer)
 * lur (an older, trumpet-like instrument)
 * seljefløyte, a willow flute
 * tungehorn and Melhus (clarinets)
 * munnharpe

As of today, there is an eclectic use of both folk music and its traditional instruments. Interest in folk music is growing, and there are a number of promising young performers. They are not only drawn to instrumental music, however. Many young people are now learning to sing in the traditional style. During the past few decades (since the folk-rock trend), folk musicians have shown a greater interest in experimentation. A new generation has emerged which, while showing respect for the old traditions, is also willing to think along new lines. A number of well-known folk music artists in Norway have made excellent recordings using new instruments and new arrangements. In recent years artists like Gåte and Odd Nordstoga have made folk music more accessible to younger crowds. Gåte fused folk music with metal and became very popular. Lumsk is another band mixing Norwegian traditional folk music with metal. The most famous Sami singer is undoubtedly Mari Boine, who sings a type of minimalist folk-rock with joik roots. Karl Seglem is a Norwegian musician and composer who plays saxophone and bukkehorn. Sofia Jannok is also a popular Sami contemporary artist.

There are also some important institutions, for example the National Association of Folk Musicians. It is an organization founded in 1923 for folk music artists and folk dancers and it is primarily a union for local and regional folk music associations, but it is also open to individual members. As of 1990, the national association had 6,000 members from approx. 125 different local organizations. The National Association of Folk Musicians publishes Spelemannsbladet, a folk music journal that comes out 12 times a year. It also arranges the annual Landskappleiken (National Contest for Traditional Music), which is the most important event of its kind in Norway.

Folk music has a distinct part of Norwegian history, and most historical collection was done by L.M Lindeman. A large part of the collections are maintained and preserved in the National Folk Music Collection and at the National Library.

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) uses and includes recordings of folk music from the archive of NRK, which contains over 50,000 recordings from 1934 until today, in addition to other recordings in the radio channels and the specialized radio channel NRK Folkemusikk.

Classical music
During the 1600s cities of Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim "each had their own city musicians." The first important classical composers from Norway are documented from the beginning of the 18th century, when they composed dance and chamber music, including cantatas. Some of these composers are Georg von Bertouch, Johan Daniel Berlin and Johan Henrik Berlin. In addition, music also received some interested from the public in which music developed steadily especially in more affluent urban areas. Moreover, around the 1750s private or semi-public music societies started appearing in several cities, given an opportunity for the wealthier population to enjoy. In 1814, Sweden entered into a union with Norway, and the Swedish royal family spent time in Norway's capital, Christiania (Oslo). At their royal court, music flourished.

National Romanticism
National romanticism, a movement that was prevalent throughout Europe, touched Norway as well, and began to affect classical musicians and classical music in the country. The violinist Ole Bull (1810–1880) was the first major Norwegian musician. He became world-famous starting in about 1834, playing not only in Norway but also in other parts of Europe and the US, and was known as the Nordic Paganini. In addition, a few other great composers emerged including Halfdan Kjerulf, Martin Andreas Udbye who composed the first Norwegian opera Fredkulla, and Rikard Nordraak who composed the Norwegian national anthem "Ja, vi elsker dette landet".

From about 1831, traditional Norwegian music began to influence the classical scene, especially through Bull, who befriended the famous traditional Hardanger fiddle player Myllarguten and through the friendship gained better understanding of traditional music. Bull himself started playing the Hardanger fiddle, and was the first to present folk tunes to the public in urban areas. He also saw to that Myllarguten played with him in concert, presenting a rural traditional musician to an urban audience for the very first time, in February 1849, at the very height of Norwegian romantic nationalism. This later inspired Edvard Grieg to look for folk musical sources. But urban audiences were slow to gain an appreciation and understanding of traditional (rural) music. Romanticism style dominated Norwegian music "until well into the 20th century, whether expressed through modifications to the national Romantic idiom of Grieg or through a more classical/international line" like Catharinus Elling or Halfdan Cleve.

Foreign musicians began settling in Norway in the 1840s, bringing with them musical knowledge from the rest of Europe. Following the French Revolution of 1848, Norway saw the development of a strong national consciousness, as well as economic growth which occurred the development of music. In comparison to most other countries of this period, female Norwegian musicians were widely accepted, and were even published and given stipends by the state. With Norwegian nationalism burgeoning, the musical scene throughout the country entered the Golden Age of Norwegian Music, led by Halfdan Kjerulf and organist and collector Ludvig Mathias Lindeman. The Golden Age's most prominent composers included Johan Svendsen and Edvard Grieg. Bull's efforts directly inspired Grieg to look for folk musical sources. These composers, inspired by Lindeman's collections and Ole Bull's Hardanger fiddling, incorporated Norwegian folk elements into their compositions.

At the end of the 19th century, the collection of folk tunes continued unabated, and composers like Christian Sinding and Johan Halvorsen were well-known. Following the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905, Norwegian nationalism continued to grow in popularity and innovation, led especially David Monrad Johansen, Geirr Tveitt and Eivind Groven. These composers looked towards using folk music in their compositions, a trend that continued well into World War II, through a process of internationalization began in the 1930s, easily heard in composers like Ludvig Irgens-Jensen, Bjarne Brustad, Harald Sæverud and Klaus Egge. In between the wars, only a few composers, like Pauline Hall and Fartein Valen, were significantly influenced by foreign styles.

Post World War II
After World War II, Norwegian music began moving in a new direction, away from the Nordic and Germanic ideals of the past, and towards a more international, especially American, British and French, style. Norwegian composers were influenced by a wider variety of styles that included serialism, neo-expressionism, aleatory and electronic music. New composers of this period included Johan Kvandal, Knut Nystedt, Edvard Hagerup Bull and Egil Hovland. Of especial importance was French neo-classicism, Paul Hindemith and Béla Bartók. During this period, serial music appeared in Norway, led by Finn Mortensen. Later, avant garde composers like Arne Nordheim took advantage of technological developments, using a variety of electronic effects and bizarre instrumentation. Arne Nordheim "is the most important composer of the post-war era". Ever since 1950, Nordheim has had immense influence on Norwegian cultural life. His most famous pieces have served as milestone for contemporary Norwegian music.

Much of the Norwegian public did not appreciate the new direction these avant-garde composers were moving in, which helped to fuel a conservative backlash. Some composers, like Kåre Kolberg, reacted by writing simple music, while others, such as Alfred Janson and Ragnar Søderlind, revived romanticism. Some music from this era attempted to address social and political concerns, such as Janson's dedication of a violin concerto to Chilean president Salvador Allende.

By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Norwegian classical music had become very diverse, incorporating elements from throughout the country's documented musical history, as well as modern jazz, pop and rock. Composers of the last part of the 20th century include Olav Anton Thommessen, Per Christian Jacobsen, Magne Hegdal, Åse Hedstrøm, Asbjørn Schaatun, Tor Halmrast, Glenn Erik Haugland, Nils Henrik Asheim, Cecille Ore and Ketil Hvoslef. 21st century composers include Marcus Paus and Maja Ratkje. Popular and classical attention to folk music has also continued through the work of composers like Lasse Thoresen.

Norway currently supports several orchestras of various sizes. There are two "national orchestras". Founded in 1765, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (Norway's oldest symphony orchestra), once conducted by Grieg, together with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, established in 1919, are the leading orchestras in Norway. In addition, some regional professional orchestras in Norway have been successful: Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Arctic Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. For the last couple of decades working conditions for professional orchestras in Norway's bigger cities have greatly improved due to the construction of larger concert halls and emergence of new conductors. In addition, the annual Bergen International Festival (founded in 1953) helps spread Norwegian music often music similar to that of Grieg's, as well as theatre and the visual arts, and also receives international culture. Moreover, other important festivals include the International Chamber Music Festival, the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, the Risør Chamber Music Festival and the Kristiansund Opera Festival.

In addition, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra has greatly contributed to Norwegian musical life, particularly conductor Mariss Jansons' impact on Norwegian music in the 1980s. Jansons was able to completely change people's idea of what part symphonic music in the Norwegian culture has played. Jansons was able to revive symphonic music and make the orchestra world-famous. They recorded an acclaimed set of Tchaikovsky symphonies and began regular international concert tours.

The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet has since the inauguration of their new spectacular house won admiration for their productions and expanded their number of spectators.

Norwegian choir tradition
The oldest material evidence of choral music in Norway belongs to the 12th century, and as in all European choral singing, it was cultivated in monasteries and then in education centres, initially for religious purposes. Both the Catholic era and later the Lutheran reform of choral singing was important. However, the beginnings of a Norwegian tradition of choral singing itself took place during the 19th century.

On the one hand the cession of Norway from Denmark to Sweden arose a strong nationalist cultural motivation. On the other hand, the ideas Hans Georg Nägeli (1773–1836, Swiss) and Carl Friedrich Zelter (1758–1832, Germany) had given to choral singing reputed to be a particularly effective means of decimation of culture. This tradition is the joint work of composers, conductors, singing teachers and choral music publications. Lars Roverud, Friedrich August Reissiger, Ludvig Mathias Lindeman, Halfdan Kjerulf, Johan Conradi, and Johan Diederich Behrens are just some of the names that formed this Norwegian tradition before Edvard Grieg. They took more than one role in this complex socio-cultural development, each having a special merit.

The main contribution of Ludvig Mathias Lindeman was his collection of folk music and hymnody compilations, as well as the organization of a school for organists in 1883, which later became the Conservatory of Oslo. Kjerulf, Behrens and Conradi were the three directors of choirs and organizers of choral societies, but there was no doubt that Kjerulf stood out as composer, leaving more than 170 choral pieces, mostly for male quartet. Behrens and Conradi rather had a social role by organizing festivals such as the Craftmen Choir and the Businessmen Choir, as well as the Norwegian Students' Choir in Oslo and gradually in other regions. Behrens has a special reputation for having published compilations of Norwegian composers; there are over 500 songs in his volumes of "Collections of Part Songs for Male Voices".

The most influential era of these musicians was during the second half of the 19th century, a time when the popularity of choral singing spread throughout Norway, especially male singing for four voices. Proof of this is the legacy chorale singing left in the U.S., especially since the founding of St. Olaf College Choir by F. Melius Christiansen in 1912; there were said to be 3000 in attendance at mass services.

The choral tradition has since been used to strengthen the Norwegian identity. Conradi, Kjerulf and Reissiger wrote choral music with lyrics from Norwegian writers such as Ibsen or Bjørnson, who in turn wrote with the intention that their texts could be easily added to music. The 19th century was a time of intense collaboration between writers and composers, to use the existing popularity of musical societies and especially the male quartets were particularly popular from the 1840s. A second generation of conductors and composers continued this tradition until the beginning of the 20th century (Andreas Olaus Grøndahl in Oslo, and in Bergen Ingolf Schjøtt). The popularity of choral societies and choral festivals led to the first competitions starting in the 1850s. In 1878 the Choral Society held its first student events outside Scandinavia bringing Norwegian music and texts to Paris, this being a way to export and show Norwegian culture.

The nationalist motivation is exposed in the music of Grieg. Despite the tradition that remained during the transition to the 20th century, Norwegian choral music eventually changed, especially after WW1 when romantic ideals were abandoned. A new generation of composers arose including Egge, Nysted, and Sommerfeldt. These composers are still influenced by Grieg and found inspiration in not only national elements but also more recent musical trends.

Finally, more recent eras of economic prosperity in Norway has brought a second boom of choral music in the capital and beyond. Volda for example, a town of only 6000 people in western Norway, has about 20 active choirs.

World music
World music, a genre featuring influences from at least two cultural traditions, has become a small but lively musical genre in Norway. In Norway there are some musicians and bands whose music is categorized as world music. For example, the Irish-Norwegian Secret Garden, which won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1995, plays new age music. In addition, the well-reviewed Ras Nas mixes African music and reggae music with poetry. Vindrosa's music is traditional Norwegian folk songs with ethnic spices, and Annbjørg Lien blends traditional Norwegian music with jazz and rock. Several world music festivals are held in Norway each year. The Oslo World Music Festival was started by Concerts Norway (Rikskonsertene) in 1994, and the festival has introduced a multifaceted repertoire from Africa, Asia and Latin America ever since. The Riddu Riđđu festival was founded by the Sami associations in 1991 at first as a festival for Sami music and culture, but since then the festival has expanded to also concern international indigenous peoples. The association Samspill International Music Network (SIMN) is an organization for both musicians and dancers, and it promotes the position of world music in Norway. The organization coordinates information services, concert cooperation and seminars, and one of its main goals is to develop music and dance in Norway.

Popular and contemporary music
As in other countries, Norway has developed its own forms of popular, contemporary music. Since 2000, Norwegian popular music has generally been appearing on the international scene, initially through breakthroughs by Norwegian jazz and blues artists, then followed by electronica and pop artists.

Blues
One of Norway's top blues guitarists is Knut Reiersrud. He has also taken inspiration from traditional Norwegian music forms, including tuning a Stratocaster guitar like the Norwegian langeleik, calling it a Hallingcaster (a word play on the Norwegian term for the hat kick used in athletic dance usually performed by men, the halling). Reiersrud has made some recordings with Norwegian organist Iver Kleive. Bjørn Berge is another well-known blues guitarist. He is well known for his so-called "delta-funk" music, heavily inspired by 12-string delta blues and modern funk and rock bands. R&B stars include Noora Elweya Qadry, Winta and Mira Craig. Scandinavian's largest blues festival is held in Notodden every year in early August and draws over 30,000 fans from all corners of the blues world to the city of 12,000. Several blues festivals are held around Norway every year, for example, the Blues in Hell Festival (near Trondheim) and the Oslo Blues Fest in Bergen. The Blues in Hell Festival began in 1994 and attendance grew from 1500 in the first year to more than 20,000 in 2000. Since 1996, cooperation with the Norwegian Music Council has led to music seminars for youth and musicians at a high level of performance as a part of the festival.

Country
Norwegian country music themes include occurrences in everyday Norwegian life. Folk and country influences have been widely incorporated into modern-day country music. As dialects in Norway vary extensively, the music is distinct to regions and areas throughout the country. Hellbillies is one of Norway's most endorsed and successful country bands. Along with other modern country bands, there is an extensive use and integration of folk and rock music. Their song lyrics are written in the Hallingdal dialect and reflect Norwegians and their lives.

Norway has also produced country musicians like Heidi Hauge and Bjøro Håland. Other artists who sing about the common life and culture of Norway include Salhuskvintetten and Vinskvetten. Alf Bretteville-Jensen is a popular singer/songwriter whose intense, somewhat noir-flavored music incorporates elements of country, folk, and rock, using instruments such as acoustic and electric guitar, as well as pedal steel guitar. Norway's largest country music festival is in Seljord every year in late July.

Dansband music
Dansband is a Swedish term for a band that plays dansbandsmusik. Dansbandsmusik is often danced to in pairs and features acoustic, electric, bass and steel guitars, drum, saxophone, accordion and keyboard. Its lyrics often address themes such as love, friendship, peace, nature and old memories. The genre developed primarily in Sweden, but has spread to neighbouring countries Denmark, Norway and the Swedish-speaking regions of Finland. When the genre came to Norway it was first calledSvensktoppar. The main audience for dansband music is middle-aged adults. The music is often performed live at venues where the main focus is dancing, rather than watching the performance on stage. However, many dansbands also record albums and singles. The band Ole Ivars scored a 1999 hit with the song "Jag trodde änglarna fanns" together with Kikki Danielsson. Another famous Norwegian song, "Lys og varme", which was written by Åge Alexandersen, became a popular dansband song in Sweden, as "Ljus och värme".

Electronic and dance
Electronic music (or electronica) includes sounds that are produced using electronic technology, including synthesizers, drum machines, samplers and computers. Norwegian electronic music is dominated by Röyksopp, a duo from Tromsø playing contemporary electronic music.

Well-known musicians include the duo Bel Canto, and Biosphere, an ambient electronic musician. Other popular Norwegian musicians playing electronic music include Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band, Lindstrøm, Prins Thomas, Todd Terje, Datarock, Flunk, Bermuda Triangle, Frost, Bjørn Torske, Sternklang and TeeBee.

From 2010 many Norwegian producers started gaining international success. One of the most important names is Kygo, who first with his remixes and then with his debut single "Firestone" and album "Cloud Nine" gained international success and became one of the most influential electronic dance music (EDM) producers in the genre of tropical house. A number of other Norwegian producers belong to this genre such as Matoma, Broiler and SeeB. Other notable names are Alan Walker, K-391, Lido, and Cashmere Cat.

A Norwegian festival called Insomnia specializes in innovative electronic music, and it is held every year in Tromsø.

During the 2010s worldwide electronic music boom, DJ and producer Fehrplay signed to international labels Pryda Friends and Anjunabeats and played at the Creamfields festival in 2013.

Hip hop
Hip-hop music is a genre of rhythmic music that is often accompanied by rapping. Hip-hop came to Norway in the summer of 1984 with the movie Beat Street that was shown in Norwegian cinemas. Hip-hop soon became a small but eager subculture and it expanded from breakdance and graffiti culture to include rap music. In the 1980s and 1990s Norwegian rap was mainly in English and the Norwegian hip-hop scene was strongly influenced by the American one. In the early 21st century, many artists started to use Norwegian instead of English, and at the same time rapping in different Norwegian dialects started to become more commonplace. Tungtvann was one of the first groups to rap in their own dialect. In the mid-2000s, hip-hop became more mainstream and new and unconventional groups such as Side Brok emerged. Recently multilingual and multicultural Norwegian groups with minority backgrounds, such as Karpe Diem and Minoritet have succeeded in becoming popular.

Popular hip-hop artists and groups during the mid 2000s to the early 2010s include Warlocks, Tommy Tee, Lars Vaular, Klovner i Kamp, Gatas Parlament, Paperboys, Madcon, Erik og Kriss, Jaa9 & OnkelP and Karpe. Tommy Tee, known as the 'godfather of Norwegian hip-hop', is the owner of the leading Norwegian hip-hop label Tee Productions located in Oslo.

During the periods of c. 2011-2012, a series of freestyle cyphers existed called National Cypher. The most notable freestyle would be the first 2011 cypher.

Madcon, a Norwegian hip-hop and pop duo, was established in 1992 by Yosef Wolde-Mariam and Tshawe Baqwa. They released their first known single in 2000 with the track God Forgive Me. They first gained attention in Norway with their feature on the track Barcelona by Paperboys in 2002. They released their debut album album It's All A Madcon in 2004. The album heavily features influences, both in vocabulary and in sound reminiscent of US hip-hop at the time, but with a unique spin. The group would gain little popular attention from the release, however the release of So Dark The Con Of Man in 2007 did. The song Beggin', a cover of the 1967 track by The Four Seasons, reached a peak of #2 on the Norwegian VG-lista, as well as reaching the top 10 across Europe, and even #1 in several others and #33 in the USA. The track would very likely inspire the cover by Måneskin of the track in 2021. They would switch to rapping in Norwegian with their album Contakt, featuring nearly a dozen popular Norwegian artists, and making the charts in Norway. Yosef Wolde-Mariam featured on the track Påfugl by Karpe Diem in 2012. The track would very likely inspire the cover by Måneskin of the track in 2021. Yosef Wolde-Mariam featured on the track Påfugl by Karpe Diem in 2012. Madcon would release the English-spoken single Don't Worry in 2015, which would reach levels of popularity surpassing Beggin's. They would release the album Icon in 2013, and the album Contakt Vol.2 in 2018. Contakt Vol.2 would receive especially little attention, likely in part due to its lack of availability across other countries on streaming platforms. They have largely faded from the public eye since. Madcon marks Norwegian hip-hop history as the only Norwegian rap group to earn major recognition internationally.

Karpe (known as Karpe Diem in the period 2000–2018) is a rap, pop, and pop-rap group made up of the artists Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid and Chirag Rashmikant Patel. Magdi and Chirag were both born in the summer of 1984 and grew up together in Lørenskog, a part of northern Oslo. Magdi and Chirag first met in 1998 in the Oslo Handelsgymnasium, where they were both studying and making music individually. The duo was formed in 2000. They would release their debut EP in 2004, Glasskår, and their debut album Rett Fra Hjertet in 2006. They would release more albums in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2019.

Karpe Diem would end up being the most successful Norwegian hip-hop group in the country's history.

Jazz
In 1898, the so-called Negerkapellet (a band of African-Americans) toured Norway, as a result of Geo Jackson's efforts.

Jazz came to Europe after the first World War and, in that time, the term "jazz" was commonly used to describe everything new and hip. The first foreign jazz orchestra came to Norway in 1921 and the emergence of the saxophone among Norwegian jazz players was observed in 1923. Soon the typical Norwegian jazz band developed, which consists of one or two saxophones, violin, piano, banjo and drums. Funny Boys made the first serious Norwegian jazz record in 1938. However, the economic crisis of the 1930s weakened the further development of Norwegian jazz bands. From the 1940s on, the violin started to play a more fundamental role in Norwegian jazz. In recent years Norway has also become a major force in world jazz. Jazz plays an important role in everyday Norwegian music life, and can be heard in bars, cafes, and in the streets. Oslo is the center of today's Norwegian jazz. Pioneers of Norwegian jazz include Jan Garbarek. His cool, almost ambient approach is typical of Norwegian jazz, although recently there have been moves to build bridges with electronica and post-rock. He, too, has linked jazz with traditional Norwegian music, as evidenced in his recording Rosenfole with acclaimed Norwegian traditional-style singer, Agnes Buen Garnås. His daughter, Anja Garbarek, is one of the artists that has renovated the jazz scene, combining sweet melodies with electronic sounds and pop beats. The work of the Christian Wallumrod Ensemble ("Fabula Suite Lugano", The Zoo Is Far) serves as a leading example of contemporary Norwegian jazz, along with ECM Records artists Trygve Seim and Frode Haltli. Other contemporary Norwegian jazz stars include the group Supersilent, drummer Jon Christensen, guitarist Terje Rypdal, pianist Bugge Wesseltoft, percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love, bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer, and experimental jazz band Jaga Jazzist. Many of these artists record for the seminal jazz label ECM. However, some of the more modern artists record for the newer Norwegian labels Rune Grammofon, Smalltown Supersound, Losen Records, Inner Ear, Curling Legs, Jazzaway Records, All Ice Records, Ponca Jazz Records, NorCD, Jazzland Records and Smalltown Superjazzz.

Pop and rock
Norwegian popular music has come from the many urban scenes such as the Bergen scene or Oslo's underground. The strengthening of Norwegian popular music has been brought by the growth of festivals, the many new independent (indie) record labels, a new generation of eager and talented music industry professionals as well as more supportive domestic media. The establishment of NRK (Norwegian National Broadcasting) in 1933 contributed to the spread of popular music. Additionally, British and North American radio stations, along with an import of jazz and rock records, widened the musical tastes of most Norwegians.

by:Larm is a festival that promotes popular music in Norway. The event holds both conferences and a music festival. Norwegian and foreign music industries can meet at the conference and there are also seminars and debate. Most of the musicians performing at the festival are up-and-coming artists. Music awards in Norway, such as Spellemannprisen, and TV shows such as Kjempesjansen may have also some influence on popular music in Norway.

Troubadour Alf Prøysen (1914–70) stands out as a brilliant songwriter of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, his songs often featuring lyrics connected with the local culture of the Hedmark area. Many of his songs have become popular classics. In the 1950s, the Monn Keys, featuring Egil Monn-Iversen, Arne Bendiksen, Sølvi Wang, Per Asplin and Oddvar Sanne, became one of the most popular groups. Monn-Iversen (composer, producer and arranger at Chat Noir and NRK) and Bendiksen (arranger and record producer) were leading figures in Norwegian popular music throughout the 1960s.

There are not so many Norwegian popular artists who have made it to the international market. However, in the 1980s, Norwegian pop trio a-ha had meteoric international success when their 1985 debut Take On Me reached number one in the US and the UK. Known as the biggest music export from Norway, a-ha has sold more than 80 million records worldwide and holds the Guinness World Record for drawing the largest paying audience at a pop concert. Their highly successful 2010 Ending on a High Note Tour marked the end of a-ha's 25-year career. They performed at Rock in Rio 2015 in response to popular demand. Since the mid-1990s, Norwegian popular music has experienced a thorough transformation from a small and domestically-oriented scene into a rich and diverse society of musicians and industry representatives with their sights set on the international stage. Sissel Kyrkjebø, the singer commonly known as "Sissel", has also reached a level of worldwide popularity, especially after her voice appeared on the soundtrack for the 1997 film Titanic. Highlights of her career include singing the Olympic hymn at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, representing Norway at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, and performing at the invitation of tenor greats Plácido Domingo and José Carreras at the first Christmas concert in Moscow after the fall of the Soviet Union.

In recent years, a Bergen based pop-singer named Aurora Aksnes, known mononymously as Aurora has gained international recognition with her 2015 hit Runaway garnering over 572 million views on YouTube alone, and her 2021 made song titled Cure For Me, reaching 100 million views. .She has made over 40 singles and 3 albums since her debut in 2012. In 2019, she provided backing vocals on the song "Into the Unknown" for the international blockbuster animation film Frozen II and performed the song on stage as part of the 92nd Academy Awards alongside Idina Menzel and nine singers that dubbed the song in their respective languages. She has since then continued to produce music and is currently making tours, appearing in various festivals and concerts around the globe.

Successful Norwegian music artists in pop and rock:

 * a-ha
 * Aurora
 * Astrid S
 * Bjørn Eidsvåg
 * CC Cowboys
 * Datarock
 * Dobbeltgjenger
 * DumDum Boys
 * Girl in Red
 * Highasakite
 * Jahn Teigen
 * John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen
 * Kaizers Orchestra
 * Kakkmaddafakka
 * Kristian Kristensen
 * Kurt Nilsen
 * Kings of Convenience
 * Lene Marlin
 * KYGO
 * Alan Walker
 * Madrugada
 * Marcus and Martinus
 * Marit Larsen
 * Postgirobygget
 * Röyksopp
 * Sigrid
 * Sondre Justad
 * Susanne Sundfør
 * Thomas Dybdahl

Folk
In recent years artists like Gåte and Odd Nordstoga have made folk music more accessible to younger crowds. Gåte fused folk music with metal and became very popular. Lumsk is another band mixing Norwegian traditional folk music with metal. The most famous Sami singer is undoubtedly Mari Boine, who sings a type of minimalist folk-rock with joik roots. Karl Seglem is a Norwegian musician and composer who plays sax and bukkehorn. A well known folk rock band called Plumbo has made an impact the last few years with songs like "Mökkamann" and especially "Ola Nordmann", which was their song of choice when they participated in Melody Grand Prix 2012. Other notable acts include Wardruna, which creates music based around Nordic Spiritualism, and Sturle Dagsland.

Black metal
Norway is famous for black metal. Though not initially created in Norway, Norwegian bands and musicians have helped to develop the genre, influenced by bands like Bathory, Venom and Mercyful Fate. Norway's early black metal music was quite varied in experimentation and innovation – some bands (Mayhem, Emperor, and Gorgoroth) focused on creating a dark sound, others focused on using Viking elements (Borknagar, Enslaved), and still others (Limbonic Art, Dimmu Borgir) included keyboards to create the subgenre called symphonic black metal. However, the use of keyboards is not uncommon in black metal in general. Most bands tune to the key of E and the lyrics focus on themes like darkness, cold, sorrow, depression, evil, satanism and Norse Paganism. Mayhem is one of the most important black metal bands as it has helped to define the content of the genre. It was the center of a cult and the band set standards for extremity, for example in encouraging violence against churches. The leader of Mayhem, Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, clashed with bandmate Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes (also known for his band Burzum). This eventually led to Vikernes killing Aarseth. Other controversial events in this scene include the suicide of former Mayhem vocalist Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin in 1991, and the murder of a homosexual man in Lillehammer by then-Emperor drummer Bård "Faust" Eithun in 1992. After Vikernes' confinement, the Norwegian black metal scene moved to a more open and imaginative environment, and in 1995, the second wave of Norwegian black metal began. Black metal, which had once been an extremely underground phenomenon in its early days, became more well known worldwide. The focus was no longer on death threats and burning churches, although most bands today still trend towards Satanism or are atheists. Modern lyrics still consist of themes concerning evil, Norse mythology, sex, violence and war. Most Norwegian black metal bands sign with companies in Germany and England. Dimmu Borgir uses elements of classical music to expand their music to a wide range of audiences. As a result, their records nowadays show great commercial success, especially in the US. In the early days, Norwegian black metal songs were recorded on four-track tapes, but in recent times, the music has become more sophisticated. With the use of further technology, the quality of music has become better, some critics say, and the musicians, of whom many have a background in classical music, are highly talented and well educated. Still, many believe true black metal should stay underground, obscure and raw. What makes Norwegian black metal unique is the fact that it has "an almost inaudible echo that warns of magic and evil." Black metal bands from other countries have often tried to reproduce Norwegian black metal sounds but they have not been successful. Norwegian black metal has always had a particular sound, and as it continues to be innovative, it sells quite well around the world.

Norwegian black metal bands include:

 * 1349
 * Arcturus
 * Aura Noir
 * Borknagar
 * Burzum
 * Carpathian Forest
 * Darkthrone
 * Dimmu Borgir
 * Dødheimsgard
 * Drottnar
 * Emperor
 * Enslaved
 * Fimbulwinter
 * Gehenna
 * Gorgoroth
 * Hades Almighty
 * Helheim
 * I
 * Ihsahn
 * Ildjarn
 * Immortal
 * In The Woods...
 * Isengard
 * Kampfar
 * Keep of Kalessin
 * Khold
 * Koldbrann
 * The Kovenant
 * Limbonic Art
 * Manes
 * Mayhem
 * Mysticum
 * Nattefrost
 * Old Funeral
 * Old Man's Child
 * Orcustus
 * Peccatum
 * Ragnarok
 * Satyricon
 * Strid
 * Taake
 * Thorns
 * Thou Shalt Suffer
 * Trelldom
 * Tsjuder
 * Tulus
 * Ulver
 * Urgehal
 * Vreid
 * Windir
 * Zyklon

Gothic metal
Gothic metal is to be considered a subgenre of heavy metal. It links sinister, melancholic melodies with highly aggressive heavy metal. Musical characteristics are the use of keyboards and typically female singers. Vocal styles show a wide range of diversity, from clean to growling. The lyrics show great similarities to gothic rock. In Oslo, many goth metal music clubs can be found. The large Norwegian gothic metal scene includes bands like:
 * Fleurety
 * Leaves Eyes (Norway & Germany)
 * Lumsk
 * Midnattsol (Norway & Germany)
 * Myriads
 * The Sins of Thy Beloved
 * Sirenia
 * Tristania
 * Theatre of Tragedy
 * Ved Buens Ende
 * Virus

Death metal
Though less notable than its black metal scene, Norway is known for death metal. In contrast to black metal, death metal uses frequent tempo and time signature changes. In death metal, the vocals are usually low and guttural, as opposed to black metal vocals which are usually high-pitched. The sound in general is distorted and heavy, sometimes creating a "wall of sound". Famous Norwegian death metal bands include Blood Red Throne, Cadaver, Carpe Tenebrum, Myrkskog, Aeternus, Zyklon, and Fester, as well as Darkthrone's first album Soulside Journey.

title: Music of Norway


text:
Talk:Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

Untitled
Shouldn't this article be Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson instead of Bjornstjerne Martinus Bjornson. I have never heard his middle name used, and ø is permitted in article names. - Gustavf

For Ø, I agree with me. Except that this is the link from the Nobel prize winners list. We should maybe check whether the Ø is a₢$ctually used internationally. According to http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1903/ Bjørnstjerne Martinus Bjørnson is the full name, and should therefore be used in the title. chrmb

 * According to Naming_conventions_(common_names) says "Convention: Use the most common name of a person or thing that does not conflict with the names of other people or things." Also see articles like Bill Clinton and Mark Twain where the most commonly used name (which in this case is Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, almost noone knows his middle name) is used as the article name. This also requires less cases lik Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson . Gustavf Thu Feb 13 16:15:18 CET 2003

-- Use of the "full' name might lead readers to think that perhaps this is another Bj. Bj. who should be distinguished from the Norwegian dramatist.

Also, I find that the Library of Congress online catalog calls him just Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne.

Sebastjan

-- If Kvikne is 60 miles south of Trondheim, is that village really in the north of Norway? Se map at Geography of Norway. Sebastjan

 * No, it is not. I see that Samuelsen have fixed this. -- Gustavf Fri Apr 25 2003.

he was also a politican
We had an unidentified contributor indicate that Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson "was also a politican." It was tucked at the end of the page after the Ukrainian page link—inciated a relatively inexperienced editor (which we all were once and to some degree still are). REgardless, does anyone know the truth to this assertion? If true, we should add approriate material. Williamborg 12:57, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

BB was very political but it might not be right to call him a "politician". His influence was built more on his prestige as an author (an untranslatable term used in Norwegian could be rendered as "poet-chieftain" which is, at least, expressive)and a conscience of the nation.

On a different note - is it really necessary to translate his name? I only ask becasue while I am fascinated by the meanings of names, I find it distasteful to translate the names of actual persons. We do not render "Bill Clinton" as "desire-helmeted son of Jeff from the settlement on the summit", at least not very often.

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title: Talk:Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson


text:
MSF

MSF most commonly refers to: Médecins Sans Frontières (sometimes rendered in English as Doctors Without Borders), humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization

MSF may also refer to:

Organizations

 * Manufacturing, Science and Finance, a UK trade union (now part of Unite)
 * Marxist Student Federation (UK), in the UK
 * Mathematical Sciences Foundation, an Indian institution for education and research
 * Mind Science Foundation
 * Ministry of Social and Family Development, in Singapore
 * Misfits Gaming, a professional esports organization whose shortened name is "MSF"
 * Motorcycle Safety Foundation, the US organization that promotes motorcycle safety
 * Muhammad Subuh Foundation, a Subud charitable foundation
 * Multiservice Switching Forum or MultiService Forum, a telecommunications industry association
 * Muslim Students Federation (disambiguation), in India
 * Muslim Safety Forum, in the UK

Science and technology

 * Methanesulfonyl fluoride
 * Microsoft Solutions Framework, for delivering information technology solutions
 * Multi-Stage Flash, a water desalination process
 * MSF, former call sign of Time from NPL
 * Mail summary file (.msf), a Mork computer file extension
 * Magnetic stripe facility (MSF) usually has several bytes of capacity which provides devices to read data from or to write data to. Mostly can be seen on passbooks or legacy credit cards.
 * Million square feet, unit of measurement

Other uses

 * A US Navy hull classification symbol: Minesweeper, steel hulled (MSF)
 * Militaires Sans Frontieres, (Soldiers Without Borders) a fictional mercenary group; see List of characters in the Metal Gear series
 * Master of Science in Finance
 * Military Science Fiction
 * Mundane science fiction - a subgenre of science fiction

title: MSF


text:
Time from NPL (MSF)

The Time from NPL is a radio signal broadcast from the Anthorn Radio Station near Anthorn, Cumbria, which serves as the United Kingdom's national time reference. The time signal is derived from three atomic clocks installed at the transmitter site, and is based on time standards maintained by the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Teddington. The service is provided by Babcock International (which acquired former providers VT Communications), under contract to the NPL. It was funded by the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; NPL Management Limited (NPLML) was owned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and NPL operated as a public corporation.

The signal, also known as the MSF signal (and formerly the Rugby clock), is broadcast at a highly accurate frequency of 60 kHz and can be received throughout the UK, and in much of northern and western Europe. The signal's carrier frequency is maintained at 60 kHz to within 2 parts in 1012, controlled by caesium atomic clocks at the radio station.

History
A radio station at Rugby was first operated by the Post Office from 1926, with the call-sign GBR. From 19 December 1927, it broadcast a 15.8 kHz time signal from the Royal Observatory which could be received worldwide. It consisted of 306 pulses in the five minutes up to and including 10:00 and 18:00 GMT, with a longer pulse at the start of each minute. Frequency-shift keying was added in 1967, making the signal harder to use as a frequency reference. The time signals, preceded by the callsign "GBR GBR TIME" in Morse code, were transmitted during the 5 minutes preceding 03:00, 09:00, 15:00 and 21:00. Transmitter GBZ on 19.6 kHz was used as a reserve, when GBR was off-air for maintenance. Eventually, time signals from GBR were terminated in November 1986 and it is no longer used as a frequency reference.

The MSF signals started in 1950, following the transmission pattern described below. They were originally intended to provide frequency references at 2.5, 5 and 10 MHz, originally only occasionally during the day. At first, there were announcements every fifteen minutes, beginning with the Morse code representation of "MSF MSF MSF" (MSF is "-- ··· ··-·" in Morse code), followed by speech "This is MSF, Rugby, England, transmitting ...". From May 1953, the signal was broadcast 24 hours a day, but with regular five-minute stoppages to allow the reception of other signals. The 60 kHz signal finally became an uninterrupted 24-hour service in 1966, and the frequency references were discontinued in February 1988.

On 27 February 2007 the NPL started tests of the new time signal transmissions from Anthorn. The Anthorn station was operated by VT Communications from its opening in 2007 until 2010, when it was acquired by Babcock International.

The formal inauguration of the relocated facility took place on 1 April 2007, when the name of the service became "The Time from NPL" and the signal from Rugby was permanently switched off. The change in location and consequent change in signal strength can make some equipment designed to use the MSF signal fail to continue doing so. This is found more in domestic equipment not designed for optimum sensitivity and positioned haphazardly. Currently, the signal from Anthorn is still useable, in the location of the Mediterranean, although it is weaker than Rugby.

The 'MSF signal' and the 'Rugby clock'
From the time signal's inauguration in 1950 until 1 April 2007 it was transmitted from Rugby Radio Station near Rugby, Warwickshire. The transmitter's original location meant that the clock was referred to as "the Rugby clock". Following its relocation in 2007 to Cumbria, the NPL now formally calls the signal "The Time from NPL".

The Rugby transmitter's callsign was MSF, where 'M' is one of the ITU prefixes allocated to the United Kingdom, and the letters 'SF' were allocated for no documented reason. This resulted in the common terminology "the MSF signal", which is still used by the NPL. The official history of the service says that "Rugby was given an additional commitment for the transmission of reference Modulated Standard Frequencies", but no actual explanation is given for the call sign "MSF". According to the NPL it seems the call sign was chosen so that it could be memorized as "Master Standard Frequency" but MSF was not intended to be an abbreviation.

Transmission and reception
The transmitted signal has an effective radiated power of 17 kW, on a frequency of 60 kHz to within 2 parts in 1012. The signal strength is greater than 10 mV/m at 100 km (60 miles); it is greater than 100 μV/m at 1,000 km (600 miles) from the transmitter, and thus can be received at not less than this strength throughout the UK. The signal can also be received, and is widely used, in northern and western Europe.

While at Rugby, the transmitter generated 60 kW of radio frequency power (using 70 kW of mains power). The 180 metre-high (590') T-aerial antenna was 500 metres (1640') across at its top. The vertical part of the antenna radiated the signal, so that the received strength was similar in all directions (it was approximately omnidirectional).

Uses
In addition to professional uses where accurate time is required, radio-controlled clocks (including wristwatches) with both digital and analog displays using the NPL signal are widely used. (Similar clocks are available in other regions with standard time transmissions.) As far as users are concerned they are simply clocks with the same features and settings as others, but always display the right time, and correct themselves for summer time.

Fast code
When MSF was first introduced, in 1950, it consisted only of seconds and minute markers, with no coded data. In 1974, a short burst of binary code at 100 bit/s was inserted into the minute marker to specify the time. In 1977, a slow code was introduced, which encoded the time at 1 bit/s over the whole minute (as detailed below). In 1998, the original fast code was removed, leaving the slow code and a simple minute marker.

Slow code
Currently, the signal is encoded as follows:

The MSF transmitter is switched off for brief intervals (on-off keying) near the beginning of each second to encode the current time and date. The rise and fall times of the 60 kHz carrier are determined by the combination of antenna and transmitter.

Each UTC second begins with 100 ms of 'off', preceded by at least 500 ms of carrier. The second marker is transmitted with an accuracy better than ±1 ms relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is itself always within ±0.9 seconds of Universal Time (UT1) which is the mean solar time which would actually be observed at 0° longitude.

The first second of the minute, denoted second 00, begins with a period of 500 ms with the carrier off, to serve as a minute marker.

The other 59 (or, exceptionally, 60 or 58) seconds of the minute always begin with at least 100 ms 'off', followed by two data bits of 100 ms each, and end with at least 700 ms of carrier.

 * Bit A is transmitted from 100 to 200 ms after the second
 * Bit B is transmitted from 200 to 300 ms after the second

Negative Polarity Bit Signalling
 * represents a bit value of 0.
 * represents a bit value of 1.

If each second is considered as ten 100 ms pieces, the minute marker is transmitted as, while all other seconds are transmitted as.

Although two data bits are transmitted per second, the time code has the property that only one of them is variable; non-zero B bits are only transmitted when the corresponding A bit has a fixed value.

Seconds 01–16 carry information for the current minute about the difference (DUT1) between atomic and astronomical time, and the remaining seconds convey the time and date code.

The time and date code information begins 43 seconds before the corresponding minute marker (second 17 of the previous minute, in the absence of leap seconds), and is always given in terms of UK civil time, which is UTC in winter and UTC+1h when Summer Time is in effect.

Consecutive bits from 01B–08B are set to 1 to indicate positive DUT1 values from +0.1s to +0.8s. For example, bit 05B is set if DUT1 ≥ 0.5 s. Consecutive bits from 09B–16B are set to 1 to indicate negative DUT1 values from −0.1s to −0.8s. For example, bit 11B is set if DUT1 ≤ −0.3 s.

In case of a leap second, a zero bit is inserted between seconds 16 and 17. In case of a negative leap second, second 16 will be deleted. Since negative leap seconds can only occur when DUT1 is positive, bits 9B through 16B will be zero.

Bits 17A–51A encode the time of the following minute in binary-coded decimal, most significant bit first. Beginning with bit 17A comes 4 bits of tens of years, 4 bits of years, 1 bit of tens of months, 4 bits of months, 2 bits of tens of days, 4 bits of days, 3 bits of day of week (0=Sunday), 2 bits of tens of hours, 4 bits of hours, 3 bits of tens of minutes, and 4 bits of minutes.

Bits 52A–59A provide another way to identify minute boundaries. This sequence  never appears elsewhere in the A bits; due to BCD encoding, at most five consecutive 1 bits can appear elsewhere in the A bits (bits 27A–31A, on July 30 or 31, or bits 33A–37A, if a day ending in 7 falls on a Saturday). These six consecutive 1 bits thus uniquely identify the end of the minute.

Bits 54B–57B provide odd parity over the time code. The 4 parity bits cover years (8 bits), months and days (11 bits), day of week (3 bits), and time of day (13 bits) respectively.

Bit 58B indicates the broadcast time is summer time. Bit 53B gives warning that the summer time bit is about to change. It is set for 61 consecutive minutes, starting 1 hour 7 seconds before the change, and ending 7 seconds before the change, 5 seconds before the first changed bit 58B, which is itself transmitted 2 seconds (1.7–1.8 seconds, to be more precise) before the moment of the time change.

Shortcomings of the current signal format
MSF does not broadcast any explicit advance warning of upcoming leap seconds, which occur less than once a year on average. The only indication is a change in the number of padding bits before the time code during the minute before the leap second. Therefore, unless a leap-second announcement is manually entered into a receiver in advance, it may take some time until an autonomous MSF receiver regains synchronization with UTC after a leap second (especially if the reception is not robust at the time of the leap second).

The time signal only provides 1 hour warning of summer-time changes.

Outages
MSF normally broadcasts continuously, but is occasionally taken out of service for scheduled or unscheduled maintenance. The Time from NPL Web site reports upcoming scheduled maintenance outages, and information on unscheduled outages.

title: Time from NPL (MSF)


text:
Iserlohn

Iserlohn (Westphalian: Iserlaun) is a city in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city by population and area within the district and the Sauerland region.

Geography
Iserlohn is located at the north end of the Sauerland near the Ruhr river, in West-Central Germany.

History
The Pancratius church (also called Bauernkirche) is believed to have been founded in around 985, but the first written document mentioning lon dates only from 1150. In 1237 the Count of the Mark gave Iserlohn municipal rights. In 1975 the city, which had been an urban district before, incorporated the surrounding ex-municipalities of Letmathe, Hennen, Sümmern and Kesbern, and became part of the district "Märkischer Kreis". As a larger mid-sized city, Iserlohn, however, still has a special status compared to most other municipalities in the district. This means that the city takes on tasks more usually performed by the district, such as social and youth affairs, hence it is comparable to an urban district.

Mayor
The current mayor of Iserlohn is Michael Joithe, a member of the voter group Die Iserlohner. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:

! rowspan=2 colspan=2| Candidate ! rowspan=2| Party ! colspan=2| First round ! colspan=2| Second round ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % ! colspan=3| Valid votes ! 33,396 ! 99.2 ! 23,919 ! 98.3 ! colspan=3| Invalid votes ! 279 ! 0.8 ! 419 ! 1.7 ! colspan=3| Total ! 33,675 ! 100.0 ! 24,338 ! 100.0 ! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout ! 72,958 ! 46.2 ! 72,849 ! 33.4
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Eva-Barbara Kirchhoff
 * align=left| Christian Democratic Union
 * 13,275
 * 39.8
 * 11,912
 * 49.8
 * bgcolor=#648C5A|
 * align=left| Michael Joithe
 * align=left| Die Iserlohner
 * 5,273
 * 15.8
 * 12,007
 * 50.2
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Martin Luckert
 * align=left| Social Democratic Party
 * 5,015
 * 15.0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Manuel Huff
 * align=left| The Left
 * 2,864
 * 8.6
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Martin Isbruch
 * align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens
 * 2,692
 * 8.1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Daniel Bläsing
 * align=left| Alternative for Germany
 * 1,608
 * 4.8
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Claudio Vurro
 * align=left| Independent
 * 1,521
 * 4.6
 * align=left| Hans Herbers
 * align=left| Independent Voters' Association
 * 592
 * 1.8
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Martin Radojcic
 * align=left| Independent
 * 233
 * 0.7
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Robert Gustävel
 * align=left| Independent
 * 194
 * 0.6
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Michael Klammt
 * align=left| Independent
 * 129
 * 0.4
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Robert Gustävel
 * align=left| Independent
 * 194
 * 0.6
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Michael Klammt
 * align=left| Independent
 * 129
 * 0.4
 * 129
 * 0.4
 * colspan=7| Source: City of Iserlohn (1st round, 2nd round)
 * }
 * }

City council
The Iserlohn city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 33,233 ! 98.8 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 420 ! 1.2 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Total ! 33,653 ! 100.0 ! ! 68 ! 18 ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 72,958 ! 46.1 ! ! !
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
 * 11,817
 * 35.6
 * 3.6
 * 24
 * 4
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD)
 * 6,337
 * 19.1
 * 13.3
 * 13
 * 3
 * bgcolor=#648C5A|
 * align=left| Die Iserlohner
 * 4,397
 * 13.2
 * New
 * 9
 * New
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)
 * 3,713
 * 11.2
 * 4.3
 * 8
 * 5
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| The Left (Die Linke)
 * 2,498
 * 7.5
 * 0.5
 * 5
 * 1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD)
 * 1,985
 * 6.0
 * 0.2
 * 4
 * 1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP)
 * 1,483
 * 4.5
 * 0.4
 * 3
 * 1
 * align=left| Independent Voters' Association (UWG)
 * 960
 * 2.9
 * 0.7
 * 2
 * 1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Independent Radojcic
 * 43
 * 0.1
 * New
 * 0
 * New
 * 2
 * 1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Independent Radojcic
 * 43
 * 0.1
 * New
 * 0
 * New
 * New
 * colspan=7| Source: City of Iserlohn
 * }
 * }

Points of interest
The Dechenhöhle caves were discovered in 1868 during the construction of the railway line Hagen-Iserlohn. 360 metres are accessible for visitors, and there are many stalactites and stalagmites in the cave.

The Danzturm, located on the southern hill overlooking the old city, is a landmark and featured on the logo of the local brewery (Iserlohner). The tower has views of the valley and surrounding hills and is open to the public with a small inn at the base.

In the 18th century, the town became known for its Iserlohn boxes, a form of tobacco or snuff box with an engraved or embossed lid that often featured an image of former Prussian King Frederick the Great.

Sports
The city is home of the Iserlohn Roosters, a DEL (first-division) ice hockey team. The Roosters joined the DEL in 2000 and developed from a low-budget team to a solid one that regularly competes for a Playoff-spot. The club plays its home games at the Eissporthalle Iserlohn, which holds 4,967 spectators. The original club, EC Deilinghofen, was founded in 1959 and went bankrupt in 1987. The second club, ECD Sauerland, existed from 1988 to 1994. In 1994, Iserlohner EC was founded.

Education
Iserlohn has 15 elementary schools and 12 secondary schools (3 Gymnasien, 1 Gesamtschule, 3 Realschulen, 5 Hauptschulen).

Two universities of applied sciences are also located in the city. The headquarters, together with a major branch, of the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences (also: Fachhochschule Südwestfalen (FH SWF)) offering engineering and informatics programmes is located in the city centre on Alexanderhöhe. The Business and Information Technology School (BiTS) is a private, state-approved business school with a campus near the Seilersee.

Schützenfest
The Schützenfest is a famous festival which takes place every year, and is central to Iserlohner's cultural life - and the town's identity. It is held at the Parkhalle, Alexanderhöhe.

At the same time as the Shooters festival (Schützenfest) the Iserlohn Peace committee (FriedensPlenum) has held a 3 day free benefit  music festival around the farmers church (Bauernkirche) since 1991.

Coat of arms
Iserlohn's coat of arms features, in the middle, Saint Pancras (St. Pancratius), who is patron of the oldest church in Iserlohn. He is depicted between two towers of the historic city wall. The checked fess below the saint is derived from the arms of the Counts of the Mark.

Twin towns – sister cities
Iserlohn is twinned with:

 * Almelo, Netherlands (1954)
 * Biel/Bienne, Switzerland (1959)
 * 🇦🇹 Hall in Tirol, Austria (1967)
 * 🇫🇷 Auchel, France (1975)
 * 🇫🇷 Laventie, France (1975)
 * 🇭🇺 Nyíregyháza, Hungary (1989)
 * 🇷🇺 Novocherkassk, Russia (1990)
 * 🇩🇪 Glauchau, Germany (1991)
 * 🇵🇱 Chorzów, Poland (2004)

Notable people

 * Johann Stephan Pütter (1725–1807), Reichspublizist and teacher of state law
 * Friedrich Soennecken (1848–1919), businessman, entrepreneur, inventor and graphic artist
 * Alexander Pfänder (1870–1941), philosopher
 * Karl Rasche (1892–1951), SS honor and rank leader for special use with the rank of Obersturmbannführer and board member and spokesman of the Dresdner Bank
 * Wilhelm Wessel (1904–1971), painter
 * Curt Rechel (1902–1973), Navy officer
 * Walter Bosse (1904-1979), artist, designer, and potter
 * Richard Friederich Arens (1919–2000), mathematician
 * Gerd Roellecke (1927–2011), jurist and legal philosopher
 * Aloys Kontarsky (1931–2017), pianist
 * Alfons Kontarsky (1932–2010), pianist
 * Bernhard Kontarsky (born 1937), conductor and pianist
 * Jochen Busse (born 1941), actor and cabaret artist
 * Helmut Neuhaus (born 1944), historian on Early modern period
 * Harm Klueting (born 1949), Roman Catholic clergyman, historian, theologian and university lecturer
 * Volker Fischer (born 1950), fencer
 * Ulrich Walter (born 1954), astronaut
 * Gordon Brown (1958–2020), sculptor
 * Timothy Paul Evans (born 1962), British general lieutenant and commander of the ARRC
 * Matthias Mellinghaus (born 1965), rowing sportsman, film director and assistant director, Olympiasieger 1988
 * Brian Glynn (born 1967), ice hockey player
 * Marsha Wattanapanich (born 1970), Thai singer and actress
 * Markus Giesler (born 1976), consumer researcher
 * (born Soner Duman) (born 1983), rapper
 * Thore Schölermann (born 1984), actor
 * Dieter Orendorz (born 1992), ice hockey player
 * David Beckmann (born 2000), car racing driver
 * Monty Don (born 1955), gardener

title: Iserlohn


text:
Time signal

A time signal is a visible, audible, mechanical, or electronic signal used as a reference to determine the time of day.

Church bells or voices announcing hours of prayer gave way to automatically operated chimes on public clocks; however, audible signals (even signal guns) have limited range. Busy seaports used a visual signal, the dropping of a ball, to allow mariners to check the chronometers used for navigation. The advent of electrical telegraphs allowed widespread and precise distribution of time signals from central observatories. Railways were among the first customers for time signals, which allowed synchronization of their operations over wide geographic areas. Dedicated radio time signal stations transmit a signal that allows automatic synchronization of clocks, and commercial broadcasters still include time signals in their programming.

Today, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) radio signals are used to precisely distribute time signals over much of the world. There are many commercially available radio controlled clocks available to accurately indicate the local time, both for business and residential use. Computers often set their time from an Internet atomic clock source. Where this is not available, a locally connected GNSS receiver can precisely set the time using one of several software applications.

Audible and visible time signals
One sort of public time signal is a striking clock. These clocks are only as good as the clockwork that activates them, but they have improved substantially since the first clocks from the 14th century. Until modern times, a public clock such as Big Ben was the only time standard the general public needed.

Accurate knowledge of time of day is essential for navigation, and ships carried the most accurate marine chronometers available, although they did not keep perfect time. A number of accurate audible or visible time signals were established in many seaport cities to enable navigators to set their chronometers.

Signal guns
In Vancouver, British Columbia, a "9 O'Clock Gun" is still shot every night at 9 pm. (This gun was brought to Stanley Park in 1894 by the Department of Fisheries originally to warn fishermen of the 6:00 pm Sunday closing of fishing.) The 9:00 pm firing was later established as a time signal for the general population. Until a time gun was installed, the nearby Brockton Point lighthouse keeper detonated a stick of dynamite. Elsewhere in Canada, a "Noon Gun" is fired daily from the citadels in Halifax and Quebec City and from Signal Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

In the same manner, a Noon Gun has been fired in Cape Town, since 1806. The gun is fired daily from the Lion Battery at Signal Hill.

The Noonday Gun serves a similar purpose in Hong Kong. The tradition, which started in the 1860s under British colonial rule, has become a tourist attraction in recent times.

A cannon was fired at one o'clock every weekday at Liverpool, at the Castle in Edinburgh, and also at Perth to establish the time. The Edinburgh "One O'Clock Gun" is still in operation. A cannon located at the top of Santa Lucia Hill, in Santiago, is shot every noon.

In Rome, on the Janiculum, a hill west of the Tiber since 1904 a cannon is fired daily at noon towards the river as a time signal. This was introduced in 1847 by Pope Pius IX to synchronise all the church bells of Rome. It was situated in Castel Sant'Angelo until 1903 when it was moved to Monte Mario for a few months until it was placed in its current position. The cannon was silenced from the start of WWII for about twenty years until 21 April 1959, the 2712th anniversary of Rome's founding, and has been in use since then.

For many years an old cannon was fired "about noon" from a mountain near Kabul.

Sirens, whistles, and other audible signals
In many Midwestern US cities where tornadoes are a common hazard, the emergency sirens are tested regularly at a specified time (say, noon each Saturday); while not primarily intended to mark the time, local people often check their watches when they hear this signal. In many non-seafaring communities, loud factory whistles served as public time signals before radio made them obsolete. Sometimes, the tradition of a factory whistle becomes so deeply entrenched in a community that the whistle is maintained long after its original function as a time keeper became obsolete. For example, the University of Iowa's power plant whistle has been reinstated several times by popular demand after numerous attempts to silence it.

Visual signals
In 1861 and 1862, the Edinburgh Post Office Directory published time gun maps relating the number of seconds required for the report of the time gun to reach various locations in the city. Because light travels much faster than sound, visible signals enabled greater precision than audible ones, although audible signals could operate better under conditions of reduced visibility. The first time ball was erected at Portsmouth, England in 1829 by its inventor Robert Wauchope. One was installed in 1833 on the roof of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, and the time ball has dropped at 1:00 pm every day since then. The first American time ball went into service in 1845. In New York City, the ceremonial Times Square Ball drop on New Year's Eve in Times Square is a vestige of a visual time signal.

United Kingdom
The first telegraph distribution of time signal in the United Kingdom, indeed, in the world, was initiated in 1852 by the Electric Telegraph Company in collaboration with the Astronomer Royal. Greenwich Mean Time was distributed by telegraph from the Greenwich Observatory. This included a system for synchronising the drop of the time ball at Greenwich with other time balls around the country, one of which was atop the Electric's offices in the Strand.

Other synchronised time balls were atop the Nelson Monument, Edinburgh; the sailors' home Broomielaw, Glasgow; Liverpool and one at Deal, Kent, installed by the Admiralty.

United States
Telegraph signals were used regularly for time coordination by the United States Naval Observatory starting in 1865. By the late 1800s, many U.S. observatories were selling accurate time by offering a regional time signal service.

Sandford Fleming proposed a single 24-hour clock for the entire world. At a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute on 8 February 1879 he linked it to the anti-meridian of Greenwich (now 180°). He suggested that standard time zones could be used locally, but they were subordinate to his single world time.

Standard time came into existence in the United States on 18 November 1883. Earlier, on 11 October 1883, the General Time Convention, forerunner to the American Railway Association, approved a plan that divided the United States into several time zones. On that November day, the US Naval Observatory telegraphed a signal that coordinated noon at Eastern standard time with 11 am Central, 10 am Mountain, and 9 am Pacific standard time.

A March 1905 issue of The Technical World describes the role of the United States Naval Observatory as a source of time signals:

 * One of the most important functions of the Naval Observatory is found in the daily distribution of the correct time to every portion of the United States. This is effected by means of telegraphic signals, which are sent out from Washington at noon daily, except Sundays. The original object of this time service was to furnish mariners in the seaboard cities with the means of regulating their chronometers; but, like many another governmental activity, its scope has gradually broadened until it has become of general usefulness. The electrical impulse which goes forth from the Observatory at noon each day, now sets or regulates automatically more than 70,000 clocks located in all parts of the United States, and also serves, in each of the larger cities of the country, to release a time-ball located on some lofty building of central location. The dropping of the time-ball – accompanied, at some points, with the simultaneous firing of a cannon – is the signal for the regulation by hand of hundreds of other clocks and watches in the vicinity.

Dedicated time signal broadcasts
The telegraphic distribution of time signals was made obsolete by the use of AM, FM, shortwave radio, Internet Network Time Protocol servers as well as atomic clocks in satellite navigation systems. Time signals have been transmitted by radio since 1905. There are dedicated radio time signal stations around the world.

Time stations operating in the longwave radio band have highly predictable radio propagation characteristics, which gives low uncertainty in the received time signals. Stations operating in the shortwave band can cover wider areas with relatively low-power transmitters, but the varying distance that the signal travels increases the uncertainty of the time signal on a scale of milliseconds.

Radio time signal stations broadcast the time in both audible and machine-readable time code form that can be used as references for radio clocks and radio-controlled watches. Typically, they use a national or regional longwave digital signal; for example, station WWVB in the U.S..

The audio portions of the shortwave WWV and WWVH broadcasts can also be heard by telephone. The time announcements are normally delayed by less than 30 ms when using land lines from within the continental United States, and the stability (delay variation) is generally less than 1 ms. However, when mobile phones are used, the delays are often more than 100 ms, due to the multiple access methods used to share cell channels. In rare instances when the telephone connection is made by satellite, the time is delayed by 250–500 ms.

The audio from the broadcasts is available by telephone by dialling U.S. numbers (303) 499-7111 for WWV (Colorado), and (808) 335-4363 for WWVH (Hawaii). Calls (which are not toll-free) are disconnected after 2 minutes.

Loran-C time signals formerly were also used for radio clock synchronization, by augmenting their highly accurate frequency transmissions with external measurements of the offsets of LORAN navigation signals against time standards.

General broadcasters
As radio receivers became more widely available, broadcasters included time information in the form of voice announcements or automated tones to accurately indicate the hour. The BBC has included time "pips" in its broadcasts from 1922.

In the United States many information-based radio stations (full-service, all-news and news/talk) also broadcast time signals at the beginning of the hour. In New York, WCBS and WINS have distinctive beginning-of-the-hour tones, though the WINS signal is only approximate (several seconds error). WINS also has a tone at 30 minutes past the hour for those setting their clocks. WTIC uses the Morse code V for victory to the tune of Beethoven's 5th Symphony at the beginning of the hour continuously, since 1943.

Broadcast stations using iBiquity Digital's "HD Radio" system are contractually required to delay their analog broadcast by about eight seconds, so it remains in sync with the digital stream. Thus, network-generated time signals and service cues will also be delayed by about eight seconds. (Because of the delay, when WBEN-AM in Buffalo, New York was broadcasting time markers, and was simulcast on an FM station that broadcast in HD; the FM signal did not carry the time signal. WBEN does not broadcast in HD.) Local signals may also be delayed.

The all-news radio stations of the CBS Radio Network, of which WCBS is the flagship, air a "bong" (at a frequency of 440 Hz – the international standard for the musical note ) that immediately precedes each top-of-the-hour network newscast. (The same bong could be heard on the CBS Television Network, at the top of the hour immediately before the beginning of any televised program, in the 1960s and 1970s.) An automated "chirp" at one second before the hour signals a switch to the radio network broadcast. As an example, KNX, the CBS Radio Network all-news station in Los Angeles, broadcasts this "bong" sound on the hour. However, due to buffering of the digital broadcast on some computers, this signal may be delayed as much as 20 seconds from the actual start of the hour (this is presumably the same situation for all CBS Radio stations, as each station's digital stream is produced and distributed in a similar manner), though unlike program content which is on a broadcast delay for content concerns, the time signal airs as-is over-the-air, meaning it can sometimes be talked over during a live news event or sports play-by-play. KYW-AM in Philadelphia broadcasts a time signal at the top of the hour along with its jingle.

Bonneville International-owned news/talk station KSL (AM-FM) in Salt Lake City uses a "clang" that originates from the Nauvoo Bell on Temple Square, in Salt Lake City, which has been a staple on the station since the early 1960s.

In Canada, the national English-language non-commercial CBC Radio One network broadcast the daily National Research Council Time Signal from 5 November 1939 until 9 October 2023. The simulcast would occur daily at 1pm Eastern Time. Its French-language counterpart, Radio-Canada, broadcasts a similar signal at noon. Vancouver radio station CKNW also broadcasts time signals, using a chime every half-hour. Time signals on CBC broadcasts may be delayed up to 3 seconds due to network processing delays between the local radio transmitter and the time signal origin in Ottawa. The CBC's predecessor, the Canadian National Railways Radio network, broadcast the time signal over its Ottawa station, CNRO (originally CKCH), at 9 pm daily and also on its Moncton station, CNRA, beginning in 1923. CNRA closed in 1931 but the broadcasts continued on CNRO when the station was acquired by the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission in 1933 and by the CBC in 1936 before going national in 1939.

In Australia, many information-based radio stations broadcast time signals at the beginning of the hour, and a speaking clock service was also available until October 2019. However, the VNG dedicated time signal service has been discontinued.

In Cuba, Radio Reloj is a radio station which has a time signal over news. Radio Reloj translates to Clock Radio.

Digital delay
Program material, including time signals, that is transmitted digitally (e.g. DAB, Internet radio) can be delayed by tens of seconds due to buffering and error correction, making time signals received on a digital radio unreliable when accuracy is needed.

title: Time signal


text:
Raymond Keene

Raymond Dennis Keene (born 29 January 1948) is an English chess grandmaster, a FIDE International Arbiter, a chess organiser, and a journalist and author. He won the British Chess Championship in 1971 and was the first player from England to earn a Grandmaster norm, in 1974. In 1976, he became the second Englishman (following Tony Miles) to be awarded the Grandmaster title, and he was the second British chess player to beat an incumbent World Chess Champion (following Jonathan Penrose's defeat of Mikhail Tal in 1961). He represented England in eight Chess Olympiads.

Keene retired from competitive play in 1986 at the age of thirty-eight and is now better known as a chess organiser, columnist and author. He was involved in organising the 1986, 1993 and 2000 World Chess Championships; and the 1997, 1998 and 1999 Mind Sports Olympiads; all held in London. He was the chess correspondent of The Times from 1985 to November 2019, and is a prolific author, having written over 200 books on chess and mind games. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to chess in the 1985 Birthday Honours.

Chess career
Keene won the London and British Under 18 Championships (shared with Brian Denman) in 1964, and represented England at the 1965 and 1967 World Junior Chess Championships, held in Barcelona and Jerusalem respectively. At the latter event he took the silver medal, finishing behind Julio Kaplan. He was educated at Dulwich College and Trinity College, Cambridge (where he studied modern languages and graduated with an MA). Keene wrote his first chess book whilst studying at Cambridge, and won the British Chess Championship at Blackpool 1971. As a result, he was awarded the International Master title in 1972, the first English player to achieve this since Jonathan Penrose in 1961. In 1974, Keene married Annette, the sister of International Master David S. Goodman. They have one son, Alexander, born in 1991.

Keene was the second British player to meet the necessary requirements to become a Grandmaster. He was pipped to the post by a few months by Tony Miles, the first British Grandmaster in 1976. Both he and Miles won financial prizes for this feat.

Miles and Keene were at the forefront of the English chess explosion of the next 20 years, and they were followed by other British grandmasters such as Michael Stean, John Nunn, Jon Speelman and Jonathan Mestel.

Keene represented England for nearly two decades in international team events, beginning with the 1966 Chess Olympiad in Havana at age 18. He followed with the next seven straight Olympiads: Lugano 1968, Siegen 1970, Skopje 1972, Nice 1974, Haifa 1976, Buenos Aires 1978, and La Valletta 1980. His individual performances at Lugano and Haifa merited bronze medals (although individual medals were not, in fact, awarded at Haifa ) and he was undefeated in three Olympiads – these two and Siegen. His later performances, though, were less impressive, with just two draws from four games at Buenos Aires and losses in both his games at La Valletta.

He represented England four times at the Students' Olympiad (Örebro 1966, Harrachov 1967, Ybbs 1968 and Dresden 1969) and four times at the European Team Championships (Bath 1973, Moscow 1977, Skara 1980 and Plovdiv 1983). At Skara he won both a bronze medal with the team and the individual gold medal for the best score on his board.

Keene won the 1971 British championship and shared second place on three occasions, in 1968, 1970 and 1972. His tournament victories include Hastings Challengers 1966, Slater Challenge Southend 1968, Johannesburg 1973, Woolacombe 1973, Capablanca Memorial (Master Group) 1974, Alicante 1977, Sydney 1979, Dortmund 1980, Barcelona 1980, Lloyds Bank Masters 1981, Adelaide 1983 and La Valletta 1985.

Playing style
Keene's playing style tended toward the strategically original and positional. Strongly influenced by Aron Nimzowitsch and Richard Réti, he accordingly preferred hypermodern openings such as the Modern Defence, Nimzo-Indian Defence and King's Indian Defence.

Organiser
Keene worked as a chess event organiser. He was the originator and organiser of the annual Staunton memorial chess tournaments, one of the few regular events for masters held in London. The Oxford Companion comments: "By a combination of ability and shrewdness, Keene has attracted considerable sponsorship and has proved himself capable of efficient and rapid organisation of chess events". p196

Keene brought Victor Korchnoi and Garry Kasparov together for their 1983 Candidates' semi-final match in London as part of the 1984 World Championship cycle; the semi-final match between Vasily Smyslov and Zoltán Ribli was also played at the same site. He organised the 1984 Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World match in London within two weeks, enabling the event to go ahead on time after the previous plans had fallen through, described by John Nunn as "a magnificent organisational achievement at such short notice."

Keene has also been involved in organising several World Championship finals matches. He arranged for the first half of the World Chess Championship 1986 return match between Kasparov and Karpov in London. The match, however, made a loss for the British Chess Federation (BCF) and, for reasons never clarified, he resigned from his position in the BCF shortly afterwards. He organised the 1993 PCA World Championship match between Kasparov and Nigel Short in London, for which he was one of the official commentators along with Grandmasters Jonathan Speelman and Daniel King. He was the instrumental force behind 'Brain Games', which organized the World Championship match in 2000 between Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik. Following the match, however, he retained the trophy in lieu of money he believed he was owed by the collapse of Brain Games: Kramnik did not receive it until 2008. Brain Games later collapsed in controversial circumstances.

Columnist
Keene became the chess columnist of The Spectator in March 1977. His column was terminated in September 2019, when he was replaced by Luke McShane. Following the retirement of Harry Golombek, Keene was appointed the chess correspondent of The Times in 1985. In November 2019 he was replaced by David Howell. In December 1996 he became the chess columnist of the Sunday Times. In August 2017 he was replaced by David Howell.

Television personality
Keene has appeared on television. He covered the world championships of 1981, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1993, and 1995 for BBC 2, CHANNEL 4, and Thames TV. In the Duels of the Mind series which aired on the UK ITV network, Keene, along with South African author and civil rights campaigner Donald Woods, discussed and analysed what Keene regarded as the twelve best chess games ever played.

Magazine editor
From 1978 to 1982, Keene was the editor of Modern Chess Theory, a magazine on openings which included contributions from the Soviet world champions Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, and Mikhail Tal.

Author
Keene has written over 200 books on chess and mind games. He was for many years the Chess Advisor to Batsford. His early books such as Howard Staunton (1975, with R. N. Coles) often dealt with players with styles similar to his own. Aron Nimzowitsch: a Reappraisal (1974) is much admired and was revised and translated into Russian in 1986, with an algebraic edition published in English in 1999. In 1989, he and Nathan Divinsky wrote Warriors of the Mind, an attempt to determine the 64 best chess players of all time. The statistical methods used have not met with wide approval, but the player biographies and games were regarded by one book as providing a good overview.

Working for Korchnoi
In 1978, along with Michael Stean and Jacob Murey, Keene helped Viktor Korchnoi during the 1978 World Chess Championship Karpov–Korchnoi match.

Working for Karpov
In 1981, Keene came to the USSR and helped Anatoly Karpov prepare for the 1981 World Chess Championship Karpov–Korchnoi match.

Allegations of plagiarism
Keene has on several occasions been accused of plagiarism. In 1993 John Donaldson accused Keene of committing plagiarism in The Complete Book of Gambits (Batsford, 1992). Donaldson wrote "Just how blatant was the plagiarism? Virtually every word and variation in the four and a half pages devoted to Lisitsin's Gambit in Keene's book was stolen."

In 2013, Edward Winter reflected on plagiarism in chess: "a particularly sordid corner of the chess world which will never be eradicated without maximum public exposure". He went on: "The latest instance is the discovery by Justin Horton that material from the first volume of Kasparov’s My Great Predecessors series has been misappropriated by Raymond Keene in The Spectator."

Private Eye describes the plagiarism as involving "substantial amounts of text lifted from chess books, mainly Kasparov's but also other authors". One case involves Keene's notes to a game between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov, which he annotated for The Times on 8 December 2011 and The Spectator on 5 January 2013.

These alleged plagiarisms, which Winter calls "eye-popping" are catalogued at "a convenient 'plagiarism index' which is being kept updated".

Tony Miles
In 1985, Keene received £1,178 from the BCF for being Tony Miles' second at the Interzonal in Tunis; however, he had not actually been Miles' second but accepted the money and shared it with Miles. Miles never banked the cheque and told the BCF about the scam in 1987. Two months later, Keene resigned his posts as BCF Publicity Director and FIDE delegate. Keene said that his resignation was for different reasons, and that he was "furious" at his treatment after organising numerous events from 1983 to 1987.

Brain Games Network
In 2000, Keene's former brother-in-law David Levy accused him of deceiving the directors of their company Mind Sports Olympiad Ltd (MSO) by setting up a rival company, Brain Games Network plc (BGN), without their knowledge and using £50,000 of MSO Ltd money to do so. Levy further alleged that Keene changed his story several times as to the purpose of the payment and the reasons why the new company had been set up. He complained that shares in the new company were held by Keene and an associate (Don Morris) but not by the company for which they had been supposed to be working, nor any of its directors other than themselves. Levy wrote:"As one would expect, our original investors were equally astounded at the news and extremely angry at Keene. They had by now invested £1.5 million (approximately $2.25 million at that time) partly or largely on the basis of their faith in Keene and myself. Now they had learned that one of their two key consultants, the one with money-raising skills, had been working to set up a rival company."Nothing, however, was proven against Keene (who had swiftly paid an identical sum, i.e. £50,000 to MSO, making the subsequent explanation that this constituted a personal loan from himself) and his new company went on to organise the world championship match later that same year. (It was at this time that Private Eye started referring to him as "The Penguin", a nickname he had first acquired in 1966. )

Levy further criticised Keene for selling three of his own companies to BGN for £220,000 despite their being "virtually worthless". The three companies had between them "a total capital and reserves of only £2,300". At much the same time, according to Levy, BGN purchased a web site and two domain names from Chess and Bridge Limited. However, they made the purchase in two stages. The first of these stages was its sale to Giloberg Finance Limited, owned by Keene's associate Alan Lubin: the second was the immediate sale of the same items, by Giloberg, to BGN. The first sale was for approximately £60,000 (in fact $100,000) and the second was for £290,000, hence making Giloberg "an instant profit of approximately £230,000" and raising the question of why BGN should have paid a sum much greater than the original vendors considered the items were worth.

BGN collapsed in controversial circumstances. Shareholders were unhappy that sums amounting to at least £675,000 had been paid to directors in "fees and payments" despite the company swiftly becoming insolvent. Investors were also unhappy that Keene and Lubin had acquired 88% of the company "for a song" even though the remaining 12% had been sold for around £3 million.

During the course of the 2000 Braingames World Championship Keene was accused of heavy-handed behaviour in having journalist John Henderson removed from the press room with the assistance of bouncers.

Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi alleged that when acting as his second in the 1978 World Championship match, Keene broke his contract by writing a book about the match (which appeared three days after the match finished) having specifically signed an agreement "not to write, compile or help to write or compile any book during the course of the match". Korchnoi commented: "Mr Keene betrayed me. He violated the contract. It was clear that while Mr Keene was writing one book and then another, Mr Stean was doing his work for him."

Attempts to defend Keene were rebutted by Michael Stean's mother, who stated that she was in a position to know what was in Keene's contract since she herself had typed it. Keene, she claimed, had signed this despite having already negotiated a contract with Batsford to write a book about the match. She described "a premeditated and deliberate plan to deceive" and noted that Keene's conduct had come under suspicion during the match.

title: Raymond Keene