The Pioneers

Haydn and Beethoven were trailblazers, but they weren't alone in being first with new ideas and approaches. Here we celebrate those who took the leap.

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Risør kirke
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En lyspære med solnedgangen som lyskilde
Foto: Ameen Fahmy

About the concert

Haydn, Beethoven, Boulanger, Pärt. There are always those who question how things have 'always' been done.

Those who are a bit different and who certainly don't care what the world thinks, but dive headfirst into their own fantasies and dreams.

Some are celebrated in their own time, others get a slap on the wrist. But we depend on those who dare to test and explore, and posterity will always let quality endure.

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Concert Program

This concert has an intermission between the pieces by Nadia Boulanger and Teresa Carreño.

Ludwig van Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte

Ludwig van Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 (1816)

  • Auf dem Hügel sitz ich spähend
  • Wo die Berge so blau
  • Leichte Segler in den Höhen
  • Diese Wolken in den Höhen
  • Es kehret der Maien, es blühet die Au
  • Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder

Performers:

  • Roderick Williams, baritone
  • Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
Arvo Pärt: Fratres

Arvo Pärt: Fratres for violin and piano (1977)

Performers:

  • Johan Dalene, violin
  • Sveinung Bjelland, piano
Nadia Boulanger: Trois pièces

Nadia Boulanger: Trois pièces for cello and piano (c. 1914)

Performers:

  • Victor Julien-Laferrière, cello
  • Alexandra Dariescu, piano
Teresa Carreño: Mi Teresita

Teresa Carreño: Mi Teresita, little waltz (1914)

Performers:

  • Sveinung Bjelland, piano
Anne-Marie Ørbeck: Two Songs

Anne-Marie Ørbeck: Two Songs (1959)

  • Sne
  • Vaggsång

Performers:

  • Tine Thing Helseth, trumpet
  • Gunnar Flagstad, piano
Clara Schumann: From the Piano Concerto in A minor

Clara Schumann: 2nd movement from the Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7 (1833–35)

  • Romanze: Andante non troppo con grazia

Clara's only piano concerto, written when she was 16, while she still bore the name Wieck. Premiered in Leipzig in 1835, conducted by none other than Felix Mendelssohn. What makes this movement so special is that she removes the orchestra entirely and relies only on the intimate power of chamber music. It is highly unusual to let the orchestra rest for an entire movement in a concerto, and it says something about how highly she valued chamber music.

Performers:

  • Alexandra Dariescu, piano
  • Frida Fredrikke Waaler Wærvågen, cello
Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D major, Op. 20, No. 4

Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D major, Op. 20, No. 4, Hob. III:34 (1772)

  • Allegro di molto
  • Un poco adagio affettuoso
  • Menuett. Allegretto alla zingarese – Trio
  • Presto e scherzando

Performers:

  • Schumann Quartet

Composers

Komponist Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) was an Austrian composer who spent 30 years with the Esterházy noble family. A friend of Mozart and teacher of Beethoven, he composed 107 symphonies, 83 string quartets, and the oratorio The Creation. Called "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet," he shaped and consolidated the Classical forms. His foundational role in establishing the symphony and string quartet makes him essential to understanding classical and chamber music. Haydn is this year's composer in focus at Risør Chamber Music Festival.

Komponist Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was a German composer from Bonn who settled in Vienna. Completely deaf by 1818, he composed many masterpieces in his final decade. He wrote 9 symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, and the opera Fidelio. The crucial bridge between Classical and Romantic eras, he elevated instrumental music to high art. Widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in history, he profoundly influenced Schumann, Brahms, and generations of composers.

Komponist Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger (1887–1979) was a French teacher, conductor, and composer. She stopped composing after her sister Lili's death in 1918. The first woman to conduct major orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic and Boston Symphony, she taught for seven decades. The most influential composition teacher of the 20th century, her 1,200+ students included Copland, Bernstein, Piazzolla, Philip Glass, and Quincy Jones. Her students became known as the 'Boulangerie.'

Komponist Arvo Pärt

Arvo Pärt

Arvo Pärt

Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) is an Estonian-born composer and a pioneer of holy minimalism. He created the tintinnabuli style in 1976 after an eight-year creative crisis. Known for Für Alina, Fratres, Tabula rasa, Spiegel im Spiegel, and sacred works like Te Deum. Named the world's most-performed living composer, his tintinnabuli style has changed how we understand music and the concept of classical music.

Artists