Arne Nordheim has been one of the most conspicuous figures in the musical landscape of Norway since the 1960s, and is recognized as a very successful pathfinder. Nordheim has written works in most genres, but his principal instrument is undeniably the orchestra. His early works, such as Evening Land (1957), Canzona (1960), and Epitaffio (1963), are all inspired by the general European search for new sonorities within the traditional body of instruments; though Epitaffio also boasts taped electrophonics. Nordheim was absorbed by the electro-acoustic medium for a period, during which purely electronic works like Solitaire (1968) alternate with others, in which electrophonic sounds are opposed to percussion or other acoustic instruments. In 1972 his Eco for soprano, two choirs, and orchestra was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize. He has received a large number of prestigious international prizes and honours. In 1997 Arne Nordheim was elected honorary member of the International Society for Contemporary Music.