Norway
theartsdesk at Førdefestivalen - fado, tango and desert blues among the Norwegian fjordsSaturday, 29 July 2017
This year’s Førdefestivalen was gabled by an opening Nordic Sound Folk Orchestra showcase and a spectacular closing gala, live-streamed and broadcast Europe-wide. It featured a dizzyingly eclectic range of world and Nordic folk bands, as well as the... Read more... |
Sunday Book: Jo Nesbo - The ThirstSunday, 16 April 2017
The jacket designs of Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole thrillers don’t muck about. The novelist’s name with its anglicised spelling is branded in eye-catching upper-case yellow, accompanied by the latest sales figures. "Over five million copies sold worldwide... Read more... |
CD: Ulver - The Assassination of Julius CaesarMonday, 10 April 2017
The Frankie Goes to Hollywood of “Two Tribes”. Talk Talk. Stadium-era Depeche Mode. Laibach. a-ha’s aural dramas “Stay on These Roads” and “Manhattan Skyline”. “New Year’s Day” by U2. These are the musical building blocks of Ulver’s The... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Alnæs, Granados, Kelly, MompouSaturday, 25 March 2017
Eyvind Alnæs: Piano Concerto & Symphony Håvard Gimse (piano), Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra/Eivind Aadland (Lawo Classics)Eyvind Alnæs’s C Minor Symphony, written in 1897 after his return to Norway from studying in Leipzig, hints at great things,... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Oslo: Mozart beneath a Munch sunWednesday, 15 March 2017
Leif Ove Andsnes directing two great Mozart piano concertos from the keyboard may be the chief attraction when the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra comes to London's Cadogan Hall on Friday to celebrate its 40th birthday. It was certainly the bait which... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Bergen: Questions upon questions at Borealis FestivalTuesday, 14 March 2017
There comes a point in any experimental music festival when you have to accept the silliness and go with it. And at Borealis, that point comes very early. Only a couple of hours off the plane in Bergen and we're in a pedestrian tunnel under the bus... Read more... |
Mørk, Bergen Philharmonic, Gardner, Cadogan HallSaturday, 21 January 2017
The Bergen Philharmonic recently appointed Edward Gardner as its Chief Conductor – ENO’s loss is Bergen’s gain. He is contracted to 2021, so this is the start of a long relationship. On the strength of this concert, the London leg of a UK tour, it... Read more... |
Hedda Gabler, National TheatreTuesday, 13 December 2016
Theatre conventions are a funny thing. Today, it’s actually quite difficult to see a modern classic dressed in the clothes and performed on the set of its specific historical period. It has to be in contemporary dress. And in a contemporary setting... Read more... |
theartsdesk at the Rosendal Festival: Schubert above a fjordWednesday, 24 August 2016
More than just a great and serious pianist, Leif Ove Andsnes is a Mensch. His special gift in recent years has been to bring young musicians just establishing their careers together with star players like himself in beautiful and/or interesting... Read more... |
CD: Hedvig Mollestad Trio - Black Stabat MaterWednesday, 13 July 2016
Thirty-three minutes is not long for an album. What actually counts is not length but what is said and its impact. Norway’s Hedvig Mollestad Trio know what they are doing and over Black Stabat Mater’s 33 minutes they do it with such clarity, force... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Folque, Undertakers CircusSunday, 12 June 2016
The names may be unfamiliar, but Folque and Undertakers Circus are as good as better-known bands. Despite being musical bedfellows neither Norwegian band is as esteemed as, say, Trader Horne and Trees or Colloseum and Lighthouse. Folque issued their... Read more... |
Art of Scandinavia, BBC FourTuesday, 15 March 2016
Through the snowy wastes we crunched. The winter scenery was overwhelmingly beautiful and almost devoid of any human habitation: gorgeous mountains in the distance, the black waters of the fjords gleaming, the winter sun shining through the pale... Read more... |
