Norwegian Baroque ensemble Barokkanerne present an homage to Venice and Italian Baroque music: "Recordare Venezia". During the last 500 years of the legendary maritime republic, it became the centre of power of a completely different kind: the power of art, of play and of fable. Not only Palladio's churches, Canova's marble sculptures of Titian and Tintoretto's explosive art of painting, but, above all, music.

Prokofiev described his Fifth Symphony as “...the culmination of an entire period in my work. I conceived it as a symphony on the grandeur of the human spirit.” He regarded this symphony, composed in the summer of 1944, as his finest work. The first movement opens quietly and lyrically with a rising theme for flute and bassoon, but with the introduction of brass and percussion the hard-edged side of Prokofiev’s language becomes more evident. Prokofiev may be considered by many to be among the major symphonists of his time, though his contribution to this genre is uneven. Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881–1950) was certainly one of the most prolific symphonic composers of the twentieth century. Myaskovsky’s twenty-seven symphonies are diverse in style, character and form, ranging from a single movement to five movements, but generally he was a traditionalist, especially in terms of tonality and structure. Myaskovsky composed his Twenty-first Symphony, sub-titled Symphony-Fantasy in F-sharp minor, in response to a commission from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. (Other composers who were commissioned for this occasion included Stravinsky, Kodály, Milhaud, Roy Harris and Walton.) Frederick Stock, the orchestra’s conductor at that time and an admirer of Myaskovsky’s music, performed this work many times. Alexander Gauk conducted the USSR State Symphony Orchestra in the world premiere in November 1940. The first performance in America was given by Frederick Stock with the Chicago Symphony just a few weeks later.

The three works on these recordings seem to traverse, in sequence, three of the primary realms of human experience: Body, Spirit and Mind. However, as Carl Nielsen pointed out in relation to his second symphony, The Four Temperaments, the principal characters of each movement are, at times, interspersed with hints of the other temperaments. The same is the case with Bumerang, Rabalder and Svev, the three remarkable compositions by Knut Vaage on this album. There are elements of the intellectual in the very physical Bumerang. Rabalder gives the impression of being the most physical of the three, until we realize it is set out as a spiritual journey from noise to silence and their attending emotional states. The physical and the spiritual visit themselves upon the predominantly cerebral Svev.

The story of Mary Magdalene has been a source of comfort for many women, and research has shown that medieval ballads about Mary Magdalene are often sung by single mothers. The Mary Magdalene ballads, found in Solør, Telemark and Gudbrandsdalen, along with other folk tunes and improvisations, form the musical basis of the vocal element, where Sinikka Langeland uses the recitative form to tell the story while surrounded by works of Johann Sebastian Bach. The instrumental music is meant to intensify the emotions and atmosphere of the story although it is in itself, of course, some of the most beautiful music ever written.

“Impromptu — Works By The Young Signe Lund” is the last of two albums featuring the composer’s total output for piano. The first one, “Étudespoétiques” (LWC1196), was released in 2020.The works on this recording date from the years of Signe Lund’s youth up to her breakthrough around 1900. Piano music that could not be included for lack of space is available on the digital release Malgré moi accessible on Spotify, iTunes, Tidal and other digital platforms. Rune Alver has many years of experience performing Grieg’s music at the Edvard Grieg Museum Troldhaugen. He maintains an extensive concert schedule as soloist and chamber musician with performances throughout Europe and in Russia, China and South Africa. In 2013 he per-formed a solo recital at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Rune Alver collaborates with leading musicians, actors and visual artists in traditional and more experimental contexts. He has recorded a number of critically acclaimed albums, among them the complete piano works of Johannes M. Rivertz and David Monrad Johansen.

Bergen Barokk's second release on the LAWO Classics label Suite Life, takes us to the French court during the reign of the Sun King. Elegant conversation, music, painting, fencing and dance - the arts performed with a certain nonchalance - were the true test of aristocrats. The leading musicians during the Sun King's reign composed obligingly within the confines of strict protocols of style, though they were allowed to give their own personal touch. The suites on this recording are largely taken from the many great musical publications from the Paris of the early 1700's. The publications, which were released "avec Privilege du Roy" reflect the grand balls, concerts, opera and ballet performances at the court and were well-received by a bourgeoisie filled with reverence for the luxurious and illustrious court life.

Chopin’s E minor Concerto and Schumann’s Opus 92 remain two of the finest works for piano and orchestra by composers of the Romantic era- the universal spirit of these compositions being equally relevant in the early decades of the 21st century as they were when they first appeared. Sveinung Bjelland is one of The Norwegian Radio Orchestra’s preferred partners, both as soloist, which he has been numerous times, and in its chamber music series. With an ear for detail in sound and phrasing and content only after achieving his intended nuances at the micro level, he is, at the same time, a pianist with the power and authority needed to be heard over the orchestra. In these works, the interplay between soloist and orchestra is especially important, and it may be noted that the conductor on this recording is also a pianist. Bjelland is Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Univeristy of Agder. The Norwegian Radio Orchestra is known and cherished throughout the land and regarded by music-loving Norwegians with a unique combination of respect and affection. The orchestra is comprised of highly talented classical instrumentalists and its musical philosophy is distinguished by a light-hearted approach, a curiosity for all kinds of music, and an unwillingness to pigeonhole musical styles.

While Prokofiev's first violin sonata was meant to sound "like wind in a cemetery", the second, written as a flute sonata, is characterized more by cloudless skies and an absence of concerns. Both are dedicated to the legendary violinist, David Oistrakh, who played parts of the first sonata at Prokofiev's funeral. On this recording, the Five Melodies serve as the transition between light and darkenss. The work was originally a wordless vocalise written while Prokofiev was living in the USA. It was arranged for violin and piano during his years in Paris.

 

REVIEW:

 

Båtnes and Gimse are recorded much more closely than Ibragimova and Osborne, but on top of that their playing has in general a sharper edge to the projection, which is by no means out of place in this music. One might, at first, question the measured tempo for the Moderato first movement of the Second Sonata, which adds well over a minute to the timing on the Ibragimova and Osborne disc. But on repeated listening it works, somehow bringing a touch of unease to the melody’s sultriness. In fact in the entire programme, while Ibragimova and Osborne offer telling insights into the music’s dynamic and emotional shading, the more forthright approach of Båtnes and Gimse has a valid point to make as well—not that they are in any way wanting when it comes to the allure of lyrical restraint, either in the sonatas or in the Five Melodies. Maybe this is not a decisive verdict, but I shall happily live with both versions.

 

– Gramophone

This new release is the last installment in Petrenko's fortunate survey of Scriabin's symphonic output. Gramophone writes: “Kirill Gerstein is just the sort of 'thinking pianist' to take it on [Scriabin’s Piano Concerto] and he does a terrific job, and Vasily Petrenko and the Oslo Phil are highly sympathetic partners.” The multifaceted pianist Kirill Gerstein has rapidly ascended into classical music’s highest ranks. With a masterful technique, discerning intelligence, and a musical curiosity that has led him to explore repertoire spanning centuries and styles, he has proven to be one of today’s most intriguing and versatile musicians. His early training and experience in jazz has contributed an important element to his interpretive style, inspiring an energetic and expressive musical personality that distinguishes his playing.

Trygve Aarvik has been one of Norway’s leading oboists for decades. As the solo oboist in the Norwegian Radio Orchestra between 1981 and 2018, he is also the most heard oboist in Norway, with countless radio and television broadcasts to his name – “everyone” has heard Trygve’s singing oboe. Now he steps forth as soloist in works by three central Norwegian composers. The newest and most broadly conceived work among them is a concerto for oboe and orchestra by Kjell Habbestad, in addition to two hidden classics, “Cantus VIII” by Egil Hovland for oboe and string quartet and “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Johan Kvandal. The string quartet consists of Kolbjørn Holthe and Henrik Hannisdal on violins, Jon Sønstebø on viola and Frida Fredrikke Waaler Wærvågen on cello; Ingar Bergby is conducting. In “Cantus VIII” we find the essence of several of Hovland’s many sources of inspiration: both post-war musical modernism and his close relations to sacred music. In Kvandal, the influence from folk music is more prominent, and Trygve is in particular given the opportunity to amaze with long, beautiful lines for the solo oboe in the second movement of the concerto. Kjell Habbestad’s concerto for oboe was ordered by Trygve Aarvik and had its world premiere with Aarvik and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in 2012. For all his stylistic eclecticism, one finds that Habbestad is firmly based in the sacred music tradition, like Hovland. Habbestad draws inspiration from famous poems (Plath, Celan, Bjerke and more). The piece traverses through all the planes of human existences, from everyday life, through emotions and memories, and ends on a spiritual-religious level. With broad orchestral brushstrokes and a virtuoso solo part, the concerto is an important contribution to Norwegian music in general and to the oboe repertoire in particular.

On his new release, Études Poétiques, pianist Rune Alver presents the listener with piano pieces of Signe Lund (1868 – 1950). Lund is one of the most distinguished female composers in Norwegian musical history, but the release is controversial nonetheless. In the early 1930s, Lund began to take an interest in National Socialism, and in 1935 she became a member of the Norwegian National Socialist party, Nasjonal Samling. Convicted of treason after the Second World War, she remained sympathetic to the Nazi ideology until her death. However, all the pieces on the album were composed between 1896 and 1928, when Signe Lund was a committed socialist and dedicated feminist. During this time she was involved in a number of causes, including an effort to strengthen the rights of Norwegian composers, and she was one of the initiators of the movement that led to the founding of the Norwegian Society of Composers in 1917. This release features a selection of Lund’s most familiar pieces, among them, the languorous and melancholy “Legende”, and “Fredsklokker” (“Peace Chimes”), which she composed upon hearing that World War One had ended. Her distinct tonal language is characterized by a combination of clarity and melancholy darkness. Despite the controversies, Alver’s album helps us gain important knowledge of the role of women in the history of Norwegian music. Études Poétiquesis the first of two releases of Signe Lund’s complete piano works on the LAWO Classics label. Rune Alver (b. 1957) made his debut as pianist at the age of twenty. He was born in Bergen and educated at Bergen Music Conservatory and the Norwegian Academy of Music. Alver is active as soloist and chamber musician and maintains a rigorous concert schedule, with performances in Germany, France, Russia, China, South Africa and the USA.

The songs on this release — volume 2 — continue the chronological list from volume 1. The album begins with the remarkably special cycle Wartburg, encompassing an enormous range of singing pathos. The text by Theodor Caspari has to do with Wartburg Castle, with its sweeping history. Martin Luther sought refuge there from May 1521 to March 1522. Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia resided there from 1211 to 1228, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited the castle several times, and, notably, the famous “minstrel contest” at the castle was an inspiration for Wagner when he composed his opera Tannhäuser. So it is not so unusual that Theodor Caspari was also inspired by the castle’s history and reputation when he wrote his Wartburg texts. After Wartburg come the last of Sigurd Lie’s published texts: Sange Sub Rosa, Sol-Laug and Sidste Sange. They are followed by songs found as manuscripts and later published in the book Sanger (Songs) from 1999. Here it is interesting to see that Sigurd Lie also tried his hand at Haugtussa songs, and we find them in a National Romantic vein that is seldom seen elsewhere. The remaining unpublished songs we have recorded are much the same as Lie’s other compositions. The album closes with two strophic songs: Staren and Det er et gammelt Kvæde.

To compose microtonal piano music, to explore the infinitesimal gaps between the white and black keys, is to embrace the necessity to rethink, retool and, of course, retune the instrument in order to expand or simply reconfigure its tonal makeup and capabilities. Such an exploration extends to other aspects too, to timbre, structure, melody, and most obviously — and radically — to harmony. The five composers on this album, Eivind Buene, Keiko Harada, Øyvind Mæland, Michelle Agnes Magalhaes and Andreas Gundersen, all take a distinct, individual approach in their exploration beyond the conventional limits of the piano.

The annual Christmas concert series at Oslo Cathedral, 'Klinge skal et jubelkor', has long been a highlight of the pre-Christmas period in Norway's capital city. Once every year, all of the choirs associated with the cathedral come together to perform a programme of Christmas music, from the youngest fledglings in the boys' choir to the veteran choristers who have sung at the cathedral their whole lives. Together with brass, timpani, harp, and two organs, the choirs perform Christmas carols central to the traditions of the Church of Norway. This recording of Oslo Cathedral's Christmas programme demonstrates that the cathedral continues to thrum with it's rich musical tradition.

Christiania Mannskor, under the baton of conductor Marius Skjølaas, perform works by father and son David Monrad Johansen and Johan Kvandal. Some of the texts are traditional, from old norse texts, some are by Norwegian poets like Henrik Wergeland and Ivar Aasen.

In a world where unrest and war make constant headlines, human migration is an issue that touches peoples everywhere. On its latest release, The Silk Road, the Oslo-based wind chamber ensemble Oslo Kammerakademi presents a beautiful programme inspired by the subject of cultural migration – what happens when cultures meet, for example because of the movement of populations, trade, politics or conflict.

The Women’s Choral Society of the University of Oslo (KSS) under the direction of conductor Marit Tøndel Bodsberg Weyde has established itself over the course of many years as one of the country’s leading female choirs. On this release, the choir takes a new direction in its collaboration with two of Norway’s most trendsetting jazz musicians.

Ewa Jacobsson is a composer and visual artist. She has been sound collecting since the early 80s. She also collects visual castaway elements from actual sites, and uses materials such as marzipan, oil, steel, wire, photographs, drawings. Her work includes site-specific installations with visuals, sound and preparation of spaces, pure sound composition, collaborations with musicians, physical sounding objects and live performance at exhibitions, museums, concert spaces and in other contexts, including works for public spaces or participatory works. Advanced techniques and materials combined with the lowtech is a reflection of her interest in the transmission of importance and meaning, existentially or politically, through different media, ignoring the hierarchies commonly used. On this recording we're presented with two works: Jarring Sounds for piano and electronics, performed by Jacobsson and pianist Kenneth Karlsson and recorded live, and Hearbaricum Fields (electronics/samples), performed by Jacobsson.

All four compositions of Ørenslyd are developed from an exploration of acoustic and vocal sound formation and the active participation of our listening ability in this formation. The four pieces represent different manifestations of the tonal expression of the human voice and the acoustic richness of the double bass. Ørenslyd (from “øre”, ear, and “lyd”, sound) means “the opportunity to hear something being said or to be heard yourself”.

Seven Disobediences
Seven Imperatives is my answer to the tradition of character pieces for piano, such as Debussy’s Préludes and Grieg’s Lyric Pieces; short, relatively simple but concise miniatures with a motto, and usually with one prevalent sentiment—like a musical short story. The title of each of the seven pieces is an imperative consisting of four letters: Seek! Push! Lean! Etc.
One of the pianists who has taken the Imperatives into his repertoire, is Kenneth Karlsson—central to the founding and artistic development of Cikada. So, when Donaueschinger Musiktage asked me to write a work for Cikada for their concert there in 2018, I seized the opportunity to explore another cornerstone of the piano literature: In a solo concerto, you see a whole orchestra dutifully following a brilliant ego that is completely dominating the stage. Beethoven’s last piano concerto was even called the Emperor Concerto, an epithet the thoroughly anti-authoritarian composer would have hated.
As I transformed Seven Imperatives (2001) into the “concert” Seven Disobediences (2018), I looked into Cikada’s beautiful collaborative social and artistic structure. When Kenneth, “The Emperor” (Italian: imperatore) gives his imperatives to his fellow musician, how do they react? Well, when he tells them to spin, they happily spin together with him, but when he says “SINK!”, they do the opposite and rise gracefully towards the sky. Towards the end, they all leave their positions and their instruments and gather around the piano’s big body to caress it and make it purr by fondly knocking on its shiny, black surface in loving disobedience.
-Rolf Wallin

Works for Cello and Piano by composers Igor Stravinsky, Francis Poulenc, and Claude Debussy, performed by Norwegian artists cellist Amalie Stalheim and pianist Christian Ihle Hadland.

The quintet, with its peculiar instrumentation and its tonal and rhythmic playfulness— described by some as “successfully circusy”—is a prime example of Prokofiev as an ironist and humorist, a superb craftsman who elegantly juggles his material and produces surprisingly sonorous, tonal and rhythmic kaleidoscopes. Humour has long been a central ingredient in Jon Øivind Ness's music, but there has been a development from the anarchistic maximal to the punctuated minimal.

Mozart’s original music for organ consists of 17 one-movement “Epistle sonatas” — chamber music written between 1772 and 1780 for masses in Salzburg. The instrumentation for 14 of these is two violins and basso continuo, while the remaining three are written for more instruments. The pieces are short — this is music written to be played between the reading of texts. In 1790 Mozart was commissioned to write music for what was known as a “Flötenuhr” — a large grandfather clock containing a self-playing organ. The works are compositions of exceptionally high musical quality. Here the mature Mozart reveals his gifts as a contrapuntalist and his ability to create singable melodies and forward-looking harmonies.

Johan Kvandal’s string quartets nos. 1–3 have already been recorded, but here we are also introduced to his other works for this classical ensemble. The Engegård Quartet are ideal interpreters of these often challenging works spanning almost four decades of the composer’s life. Thus they show the artistic development of one of the foremost Norwegian composers of the post-war generation.

A theme that violinist Sara Övinge aimed to pursue in the project was the juxtaposition of the electronic and the organic. Philip Glass’s 2nd Piano Concerto is arranged for synthesizer and strings, a kind of updated version of Vivaldi’s string orchestra with continuo. But where previous recordings have gone for an electronic sound resembling the baroque harpsichord, Sara wanted to create a more electro-acoustic soundscape.