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– My father would have rolled in the grave several times if he had heard this, says Terje Dørumsgaard.
His father, Arne Dørumsgaard, dreamed that Norway would have an international sound archive. When the state said no, he finally handed over his huge music collection to the Stavanger Township in 1984.
DISAPPOINTED: Son Terje Dørumsgaard represents the family on the board of the Norwegian Institute of Sound. He believes that it is important that the collection is physically accessible to the new generations, as his father wanted.
Photo: private
The agreement came after Dørumsgaard spoke about the meeting on an NRK show in 1983.
But now the municipality will no longer be responsible for managing the Norwegian Sound Institute, which was established to care for the unique collection.
MAKING RECORDINGS: Arne Dørumsgaard recorded 14,000 hours of music from radio broadcasts across Europe. Some of these are rare recordings, which have never been released. The collection focuses on professionals.
Photo: Morten Krogvold
Dørumsgaard’s gift consisted of 80,000 recordings, 10,000 reel-to-reel tapes, 5,000 cassettes, and 3,000 music books.
– At that time, the insurance value was NOK 30 million. The municipality got it for a penny. Much of the material is irreplaceable. There are no other places, says the son.
The music library has expanded with several collections and now consists of nearly 200,000 audio devices and books. This makes it one of the largest open classical music collections in the world.
The latest grant came in September, when the department received 10,000 vinyl records from two artists in Oslo.
RENEWED: Then-Councilor Ole Hetland (right) visited Arne Dørumsgaard and his wife Nella Valenza at Marzio in Italy, to note that the deal had been renegotiated in 1998.
Photo: private
Pressured economy
For the municipality of Stavanger, this year’s agreement means an expense of just over NOK 2.7 million.
The municipality covers fixed expenses, including the CEO’s salary and half of a music librarian position. But now the politicians are saying enough.
– It’s about prioritizing. We have always said that now it is the performing artists and the free field that must be protected at a very economically demanding time for the municipality, says the leader of the committee for culture, sports and social dialogue (Ukis) in Stavanger, Dag Mossige (Labor) .
PRIORITIZATION: Stavanger City Council Labor Party cultural policy spokesperson Dag Mossige believes that record collection is not something the municipality can prioritize.
Photo: Anett Johansen Espeland / NRK
What particularly worries politicians is part of the agreement that establishes that the municipality undertakes to increase part of the amount of aid by 6.5 percent each year.
A unanimous committee in September requested that the department cut the budget by a minimum of 6 percent. They also requested a legal assessment of the possibility of terminating the agreement.
Now, the Schjødt law firm has concluded that it is possible. The municipal director proposes that it take place on January 1, 2022.
DIGITALIZATION: The National Library has recently offered to digitize all the Norwegian material in the audio tape collection, which consists of 15,000 recordings, but first the department has a great job to classify what goes to Mo i Rana.
Photo: Anett Johansen Espeland / NRK
It may be a claim for compensation
The Norwegian Sound Institute despairs and believes that the municipality has no right to terminate the agreement.
The foundation hired the Projure law firm, which concludes that the municipal director’s recommendation is illegal.
Lead attorney Erik Mauritzen writes in a note that he believes the heirs will be able to claim compensation for breach of contract, if the municipality terminates the agreement.
– The board has no other choice. If politicians support the municipal director, we should ask for an arbitration award, says the chairman of the board of the Norwegian Sound Institute, Bjarne Kvadsheim (Sp).
He believes that it is the municipality’s task to find someone who can take charge or share the obligations, if he wants to withdraw from the agreement.
– It was the municipality that took the initiative to send the collection here. I wish they would take care that we are the only city in Norway that has something like this. It’s unique to Stavanger, says Kvadsheim.
One of those who helped alone to compile the collection of the house of Dørumsgaard in the north of Italy is Per Dahl.
He is a music researcher at the University of Stavanger (UiS) and a specialized consultant on the collection.
– They have clearly said that they would prefer to cut off the department’s arm as soon as possible. It’s quite an inculturally friendly way of thinking.
BIST: A bust of Arne Dørumsgaard is placed in the collection in Stavanger. He is also known as a composer, writer, and reciter of poetry from China, Japan, and Korea.
Photo: Anett Johansen Espeland / NRK
Watch NRK’s show on the debate over the acquisition in Stavanger and the opening in 1990:
– dishonesty
The two are particularly upset about the wording of the case presentation to politicians earlier this fall.
Here, the municipal director presents an imaginary future scenario. The calculation shows that an annual increase in the grant will correspond to an operating grant of NOK 725 million in 2125.
“A few centuries later, taking into account a moderate level of inflation, all the income of the municipality will have to be transferred to the operation of the sound institute.”
– Move forward 105 years in time. He’s on the verge of fraud, says Dahl.
Kvadsheim also opened his eyes when he read that the sound institute could topple the entire municipal economy at some distant point in the future.
– I have never experienced anything like this in my long career as a politician, and I have little sense of it. The strangest thing is that it does not say anything about what the municipality’s income will be like in 2125. As said in the commission; this is playing with numbers to create excitement.
Herbjørn Tjeltveit, director of citizen and community contact in the municipality, comments on the case in an email to NRK:
DIRECTOR: Herbjørn Tjeltveit, director of citizen and community contact in Stavanger Municipality, agrees to terminate the contract.
Photo: Anders Fehn
– The starting point for the evaluation is that the regulation of the subsidy in the agreement is not reasonable. An attempt was made to rhetorically emphasize this irrationality in the case using a mathematical projection over a long period of time.
I’m not sure if UiS can take over
The municipality mentions the university as a possible new contractual partner for the Norwegian Sound Institute.
The collection is located in Bjergsted, where the entire classical music environment of the city gathers, including the UiS College of Performing Arts.
– The parts of the collection that consist of rare recordings have significant research value, says the dean of the faculty, Morten Schjelderup Wensberg.
UIS: The University of Stavanger believes that parts of the collection are interesting for research, but cannot promise financial support, says Dean Morten Schjelderup Wensberg.
Photo: UIS
The faculty recently hired a PhD fellow who will use the music collection to research an art in a historical context.
UiS has also commissioned an independent peer review of the department’s research potential.
But a possible acquisition is very uncertain.
– In the current financial situation, it will be very difficult for the faculty to assume financial obligations without external partners and fresh funds. But we are concerned about finding good solutions, Wensberg says.
The municipal director’s proposal will be considered by politicians on November 11. The family does not see an immediate solution.
– This is part of my father’s life’s work. It would be a shame if it disappeared for a few crowns.
FATHER AND SON: An old family photo of Terje Dørumsgaard and his father Arne, who moved to Italy in 1968. He died in 2006, aged 84.
Photo: private
