Midsummer Celebration at Torvet

We're inviting the whole city to the main square on the most beautiful summer day of the year. Classical delights and good vibes, plus food and drinks. Welcome!

Date
Time
–
Venue
Torvet
Buy tickets
Trompetist Tine Thing Helseth foran en Sankthansbål
Foto: Liv Øvland

About the concert

We're kicking off the festival with a proper celebration for the whole city. This year's Midsummer Celebration at Torvet will be an evening where we gather and set the mood for the best week in Risør.

After the opening concert in the church, we all wander down to meet the rest of the city for a proper street party. Here you'll meet the festival's star artists showing themselves at their best, with hot dogs, waffles, and something good to drink.

Bring a smile and good spirits, and we'll wrap up in good time before the bonfire is lit out by the sea. Welcome to Risør Chamber Music Festival 2026!

Additional Content

Concert Program

Welcome to the celebration at the square!

If you have a ticket to the Opening Concert in Risør Church, the Midsummer Celebration at Torvet is included in your ticket.

The concert consists of two parts.

Part One

Edvard Grieg: Excerpts from 6 Songs, Op. 48 (1884–88)

  • Hilsen (Greeting)
  • I Rosentiden (In the Time of Roses)
  • En Dröm (A Dream)

Performers:

  • Mari Eriksmoen, soprano
  • Gunnar Flagstad, piano

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Maurice Ravel: From Sonata for Violin and Cello in A minor, M.73 (1920–22)

  1. Lent
  2. Vif, avec entrain

Performers:

  • Alena Baeva, violin
  • Victor Julien-Laferrière, cello

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Georg F. Handel / Johan Halvorsen: Sarabande con Variazioni (1897)

Performers:

  • Jan Söderblom, violin
  • Lilli Maijala, viola

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Jules Massenet: Méditation from the opera Thaïs (1894, rev. 1898)

Performers:

  • Arabella Steinbacher, violin
  • Gunnar Flagstad, piano

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Manuel de Falla: Danse Espagnole from the opera La Vida Breve (1904–13)

(arr. Fritz Kreisler)

Performers:

  • Arabella Steinbacher, violin
  • Gunnar Flagstad, piano
Part Two

George Gershwin: Summertime from Porgy and Bess (1934)

Performers:

  • Mari Eriksmoen, soprano
  • Tine Thing Helseth, trumpet
  • Gunnar Flagstad, piano

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Kurt Weill: Youkali from the musical Marie Galante (1934)

(arr. Jarle Storløkken)

Performers:

  • Mari Eriksmoen, soprano
  • Tine Thing Helseth, trumpet
  • Gunnar Flagstad, piano
  • Jarle Storløkken, guitar
  • Frode Berg, double bass

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Herb Alpert: Trumpet Bonanza

Performers:

  • Sebastian Haukås, trumpet
  • Tine Thing Helseth, trumpet
  • Gunnar Flagstad, piano
  • Jarle Storløkken, guitar
  • Frode Berg, double bass

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Summer Jazz on the Pier

Performers:

  • Sebastian Haukås, trumpet
  • Gunnar Flagstad, piano
  • Jarle Storløkken, guitar
  • Frode Berg, double bass

Composers

Komponist Edvard Grieg

Edvard Grieg

Edvard Grieg

Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist from Bergen, of Scottish ancestry. He studied at the Leipzig Conservatory. A major voice of the Norwegian nationalist school, he used folk music to create a distinctive national style. Known for Peer Gynt, Piano Concerto, Holberg Suite, and Lyric Pieces. Norway's greatest composer and first world wide superstar, his funeral drew 40,000 people to Bergen's streets.

Komponist Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) was a French composer of Swiss-Basque descent. His final years were clouded by aphasia that prevented him from composing or speaking. A master orchestrator known for superb craftsmanship, he composed Boléro, Daphnis et Chloé, piano concertos, and the famous orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Combining clarity with elements of impressionism, neoclassicism, and jazz, he remains France's most popular composer, influencing Vaughan Williams and de Falla.

Georg F. Händel

Georg F. Händel

Georg Friedrich Händel (1685–1759) was a German-born Baroque composer who became a British citizen in 1727. Born the same year as Bach, he died wealthy with a state funeral at Westminster Abbey. A master of opera, oratorio, and instrumental music, he composed the famous Messiah in just 23 days. Also known for Water Music, Royal Fireworks, and Zadok the Priest, played at every British coronation since 1727. Creator of the English oratorio tradition, he influenced Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn.

Artists