Norwegian Treasure by Kverndokk, Grieg, Svendsen, Van (2019/2019), Dirigent Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Bølgen Kulturhus, Langestrand, Noorwegen

Norwegian Treasure The Oslo Philharmonic perform music by three Norwegian composers at Bølgen Kulturhus in Larvik. The concert opens with a new work for wind and percussion by Gisle Kverndokk (b. 1967), commissioned by Bølgen Kulturhus and the Oslo Philharmonic. The work is called Ocean Waves − Hommage á Arne Nordheim, and is inspired by Nordheim's music and by Larvik's dock area. The soloist in Grieg's Piano Concerto is Ryoma Takagi from Japan, winner of the 2018 Grieg International Piano Competition. “The most lively genius, just the right national tone and truthfully, a brilliant way of handling the orchestra", wrote Edvard Grieg enthusiastically in a letter when he had heard a rehearsal of Svendsen’s Symphony No. 1 in 1867. He later described the concert itself in Christiania as “a triumph for Norwegian art”. Many are of the opinion that it was after this experience that Grieg noted “Must never be performed!” on his own Symphony in C Major from 1864. It’s possible that Grieg saw Svendsen as a greater symphonic composer than he could ever hope to become. Audiences were thrilled too, and the work enjoyed great success in both Norway and Europe for many decades to come. Since then, Svendsen’s Symphony No. 1 has proven to be one of the most enduring symphonies written by a Norwegian composer, regardless of epoch or style.