The summer of 2024 saw the resurrection of Peaches Christ Superstar in Vienna, Salome at the Scaldis Festival, and a few other festival appearances. But perhaps most exciting was the first edition of PODIUM - Fartein Valen Internasjonale Musikkfest; a new, fused, and expanded version of the festival Nikolai Matthews and I have been running in Haugesund, Norway, for almost two decades.
This year was a real turning point for the festival. After years of fostering a dedicated local audience, we took a leap by merging the best of what PODIUMfestivalen and Fartein Valen-festivalen had to offer.
We expanded in every sense: 10 days, 10 venues, 3 municipalities; with a wonderfully engaged audience and wonderful performances from everyone involved. The festival brought together an eclectic mix of musicians and composers, ranging from Fartein Valen’s deeply introspective works to world premieres of brand-new compositions.
One of the highlights was seeing how this festival has become a place for collaboration. Whether it was children discovering improvisation through Transfigurator 3000 or local musicians working work side-by-side with international artists, there was a sense of shared ownership. We’ve always wanted the festival to be a living thing, where the community is as much a part of the music as the performers themselves. 2024 really felt like the beginning of something larger, something that could become something very unique. And, of course, the numbers reflected this—ticket sales and attendance far exceeded previous years.
We are already looking ahead to 2025, which, judging by the response from this summer, is going to be very exciting. We have some ludicrous plans for next year, but more on that later. For now, I’m grateful for everyone who made this first edition of PODIUM - Fartein Valen internasjonale musikkfest such an unforgettable experience. It’s not every day you get to watch something you’ve nurtured for so long evolve into its next phase, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
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27th of April saw the premiere of my new three - act opera And Then There Were None. This is my second opera, and the worlds first opera based on a story by Agatha Christie. The opera was commissioned by Haugesund Kammeropera and Haugesund Teater, directed by Morten Joachim Henriksen, with scenography by Gjermund Andresen.
The story is the quintessential horror crime story, with Christies original novel still being the best selling crime novel of all time. At the start of the opera a group of strangers are invited to an isolated island, when a storm hits. Very soon the guests start dying one by one, and they soon realise they are being hunted.
The libretto follows Christies play from 1939 quite closely, with only minor adjustments. Christies original language is the basis for the tone of the play, which is very humorous and light - at least in the first act. The music tries to mirror the tension of the situation, and often tries to enhance the contrast between mundane conversation (Would you like a drink? Whisky? Sherry?), and the highly dramatic and virtuosic medium opera can be. Hence, I often describe the style of the piece as self-ironic opera.
As the opera progresses and the bodies pile up, the tone turn darker, and the music turns more dramatic and less frivolous. The material is denser, and the use of pastiche elements from the first act is gone (almost). Some of the characters and their vocal parts go through drastic changes, while others seems not too affected by the terrifying situation they all of a sudden find themselves in.
"Criminally powerful Agatha Christie-opera: With the opera-crime presentation 'And Then There Were None'….
The ambitions are high, and the result is quite impressive….. The opera format intensifies the poignant atmosphere, but also amplifies the humor in the piece."
- Karen Frøsland Nystøyl, NRK
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The reaction to our La Bohemè has been quite overwhelming, and it has been exciting to see the different aspects of the project reviewers have picke up on. We have also been very surprised and excited by the fact that several major magazines & papers have chosen to engage. Here are a few highlights:
The Sunday Times ★★★★★
Purists, brace yourselves. Yes, the list of personnel written out above comprises just the two players. This audacious enterprise by the Dutch violinist van Bellen and the Norwegian pianist Halvorsen is possibly the first to tackle the transcribing of an entire opera. And here's the thing: it takes absolutely nothing away from Puccini's miraculous score. On the contrary, through musicianship that at times takes the breath away, the pair's reworking acheves an astonishing (and deeply affecting) fullness and richness. Never do you feel a lack of narrative heft or emotional engagement. Indeed, in Che gelida manina. Quando me'n vo' and Donde lieta usci, violin and piano "sing" so lyrically that Rodolfo, Musetta and Mimi are right there before you.
BBC Music Magazine, Alexandra Wilson (Chamber Music Choice of the month) ★★★★★
….. The bohemians’ high jinks – played by van Bellen and Halvorsen with tremendous bravura – are distilled brilliantly, whilst at the end of Act II the arrangement mind-bogglingly creates the effect of an entire marching band. Even more astonishingly, each character’s ‘voice’ is given a distinctive tone colour. Mimì is fragile, Rodolfo is assertive, though both are played by the violin, and by some wizardry these distinctions are apparent even when the two ‘sing’ together in duet. Such is the emotional commitment of the two musicians, the sense of immediacy in the recording, and the lush, dynamic playing inspired by performers from Puccini’s own era such as Fritz Kreisler and Leopold Godowsky, that by the time we reach the end it is quite possible to forget that we have not been listening to ‘the real thing’. Bravi, van Bellen and Halvorsen, for this ravishing achievement.
deVolkskrant (40 best albums of the year, no. 23)
It wasn't really an opera year. maybe it had something to do with the lockdowns: after all, many opera albums are live recordings. But there was a very original opera project without vocals. Violinist Mathieu van Bellen and Mathias Halvorsen made a virtuoso arrangement of Puccini's La Boheme - the entire opera, yes, for piano and violin. Vocal playing, all the characters retained their own character: insanely successful.
Klassekampen, Magnus Andersson
…… In short: They have created meaningful chamber music for piano and violin of the operatic form. Not least the transport sections are interesting – all the sections that do not have the most famous melodies, but rather serve to carry the dialogue and the text on. This is where Puccini went the furthest towards letting the orchestration become the narrative element. In these parts, van Bellen and Halvorsen have let loose through an imaginative use of their instruments, which is central to the drama's carrying over the release's 90 minutes. Several other critics have compared the transcription to the music of a silent film, but I think that this is a work that stands on its own two feet. We don't need to see anything else for ourselves but to listen to the richly varied movement. The two musicians also deliver on such a high musical level that this has ended up as a drama that deserves its very own genre designation.
(translated from Norwegian)
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Friday 18th of november we finally had the release of the new album La Boheme. It was done together with marvelous violinist Mathieu van Bellen, and features our own complete arrangement of Puccini four act opera. The arrangement is made is such a way we both perform several characters, orchestra and choir, so the parts are rather buisy. This absolutely one of my favourite things to do live, and as it happens I am also ridiculously proud of this new incartnation.
The project was a coproduction between Backlash Music, Podium Festival Esslingen and Muziekhafen Zandaam. It was recorded by Johann Guenther with a cover by Ida K. Hatleskog.
Listen here
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Last week I premiered my new solo project Lost In Beethoven at the Beethovenfest Bonn. This represents a new kind of thing for me: Seemingly endless amounts of Beethoven mixed with open aleatoric elements controlled by the audience. From the program:
In this unique concert experience the audience will be wandering through a musical maze build of all Beethovens 32 piano sonatas. They will have to manouver strange musical crossroads and escape blind alleys in search of secret passage ways leading from sonata to sonata. Resulting in one majestic piece of continous music (every note coming directly from the master himself), this musical labyrinth can be enjoyed as a pure concert (just close your eyes and lean back), a musical escape room (if such things did not exsist before they do now) or be observed as the ultimate union between pianist, composer & audience; all taking part in creating an epic, unique and never repeatable journey through Beethovens always evolving musical universe.
The two performances ended up being vastly different, and having the audience so active is just a very satisfying experience. During the performance many people participated, and everyone (young and old) brought their own instincts and style to the stage. Definately somthing I want to do more - its rare to laugh and smile this much during a classical event.
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On the 19th of august Mathieu van Bellen and I will present our version of Richard Strauss Salome at PODIUM Festival Esslingen. This is our 3rd opera project, following Puccinis Tosca and La Boheme. The project is very much in the same vein as the two previous ones, but this time tackling a somewhat different type of opera. Strauss based his opera on the play by Oscar Wilde, putting the original play to music almost word for word. Like with the two other operas we have arranged the orchestra between us, and divided up the soloists (Mathieu does Herod & Salome, while I tackle Jokhanaan). Subtitles are designed by Ida Hatleskog, while Anselm Bieber is doing the dramaturgy. I can’t wait to get this to the stage and share this wild and wicked musical journey with an audience!
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After a semester of running from project to project, I wanted to give a quick summary of the last couple months, and provide a quick look ahead into the new year (quite excited about 2022 at this point, so fingers crossed things will not derail once again!).
The fall of 2021 had almost to many exciting things bundled up together. From the Well - prepared Piano (Gothinburg Philharmonie) and Podiumfestivalen i Haugesund to La Boheme and Tosca (in Elbfilharmonie, Dusseldorf festival and more), Messian’s Quartet to the End of Time with LightsOut (tour in total darkness across Norway) to several solo and chamber music performances of various kinds and a recording of Sindings Violin sonatas with Magnus Boye Hansen for norwegian label LAWO.
The first quarter of 2022 has quite a few exciting things. First among them is a project presenting two concertos for only the left hand piano and orchestra by Ravel and Korngold with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and conductor Otto Tausk. These concertos were commissioned by the pianist Wittgenstein who lost is right arm during WW1. In Ravel’s case the concerto is commissioned only a few years after the war by a soldier fighting on the other side. No wonder the resulting piece is rather dark - spirited.
Next is the premiere of a brand new triple concerto for violin, double bass and prepared piano by the emminent Håkon Thelin. Fellow players are Magnus Boye Hansen, Nikolai Matthews and Norwegian super group Ensemble Allegria. This is preceded by the recording of a new album by Boyes Cafeorkester, including a few orchestral classics like Strauss Till Eulenspiegel, Ravel La Valse and Prokofiev symphony no. 1.
Sprinkled in between are a couple chamber music projects in Iceland, a few working phases for new projects (still secret), and the long awaited album release of On Palestrina.
All this planned before April, so really hope thing head (fast!) in the right direction.
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