Opera de sidney jorn utzon biography
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Jørn Utzon
Danish architect (1918–2008)
Jørn Oberg UtzonAC (Danish:[ˈjɶɐ̯ˀnˈutsʌn]; 9 April 1918 – 29 November 2008)[1] was a Danish architect. In 1957, he won an international design competition for his design of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Utzon's revised design, which he completed in 1961, was the basis for the landmark, although it was not completed until 1973.[2]
When the Sydney Opera House was declared a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007, Utzon became only the second person to have received such recognition for one of his works during his lifetime, after Oscar Niemeyer.[3] Other noteworthy works include Bagsværd Church near Copenhagen and the National Assembly Building in Kuwait. He also made important contributions to housing design, especially with his Kingo Houses near Helsingør.[4]
Utzon attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (1937–42) and was influenced early on by Gunnar Asplund and
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The idea for a dedicated performing arts centre in Sydney had been discussed for decades, yet it was not until the mid-1950s that it gained enough political traction to become a reality. It was a transformative period for Australia whose economy was rapidly expanding, fuelled by unprecedented levels of post-WWII immigration from Europe. After the rupture of war, a newly optimistic nation was looking to define itself.
A key advocate for a new opera house was English composer Sir Eugene Goossens, who moved to Sydney in 1947 to take up the position of conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Sir Eugene had spent the previous 20 years as the conductor of orchestras in the United States that performed in large, purpose-built halls. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra, in contrast, performed in the 1889 Sydney Town Hall. Upon his arrival in Sydney, Goossens immediately drew attention to the inadequate facilities.
“Mr Goossens ... felt that ... in Australia there was a challenging situatio
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| JØRN UTZON | ||||
BIOGRAPHY / TIMELINE / FURTHER READING / RELATED | ||||
| Name | Jørn Oberg Utzon | |||
| Born | April 9, 1918 | |||
| Died | November 29, 2008 | |||
| Nationality | Denmark | |||
| School | ||||
| Official website | utzon-archives.aau.dk | |||
| BIOGRAPHY | ||||
Jørn Utzon occupies a special position in 20th-century architecture that defies simple categorization. As a Dane, he invites com-parison with German Expressionism, especially Hans Scharoun; his greatest works are in Australia, Kuwait, and Mallorca; and although he gave Gunnar Asplund, Alvar Aalto, and the Dane Kay Fisker as his mentors, his casual spontaneity, | ||||