Spellemann nomination and international response

I’m very pleased to share that Piano Concertos for Left Hand and Orchestra has been nominated for a Spellemannprisen 2024 in the Classical category. It’s a great honour to be considered for this award, and I’m deeply thankful.

Since its release, the album has received generous attention from the international press. Deutschlandfunk Kultur called it “brilliantly interpreted by Mathias Halvorsen,” with a sound that’s “strong in contour and lively, like a high-resolution panoramic shot.” BBC Music Magazine described it as “a focused, glittering” performance, with “generous phrasing and attention to textural transparency” from the orchestra.

Trouw wrote that “Halvorsen and Tausk make something truly special out of both concertos,” and BBC Record Review remarked that the Ravel “holds its own with some of the great recordings… Absolutely worth your attention.” In his review, Robert Hugill praised “a feeling of rhapsody and fantasy,” and wrote that the Korngold receives “a towering performance,” while the Ravel “more than holds its own.” Audiophilia simply wrote: “Beautifully played.”

I’m very grateful to conductor Otto Tausk and the orchestra for making this recording possible, and to everyone who has taken the time to listen and engage with it. Your support means a great deal.

New release on the way: Piano Concertos for the Left Hand

22nd of November I have a new album coming out, this time it is a collaboration with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and conductor Otto Tausk. We takle two concertos for left hand and orchestra, both commissioned by Paul Wittgenstein. Very excited for this one, and cannot wait to show the final result! The beautiful cover is crafted by designer/artist Ida Hatleskog.

Here is a little except from the booklet text:

In the aftermath of World War I, Europe was left with deep physical and emotional scars. The challenge was not just to rebuild cities but to reconstruct national identities and navigate a changed international society. For Paul Wittgenstein, a pianist who lost his right arm in the war, this was both a personal and physical struggle. His injury occurred on the Eastern Front, where he was captured by Russian forces in 1914. The loss of his arm could have ended his career, especially as he had not been a particularly distinguished pianist before the war. However, it instead became the start of a remarkable new chapter in his life - as a touring pianist with only one arm.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Maurice Ravel, from opposing sides of the conflict, were among the composers Wittgenstein commissioned new music from. Ravel, while deeply patriotic, had a complex relationship with the war. His fragile health prevented him from serving as a soldier, relegating him to the role of a truck driver. Nevertheless, the war left a lasting impact on him, shaping the disillusionment, loss, and fragility found in his later works—perhaps most profoundly in his left-hand concerto.

For Korngold, the war was a time of profound upheaval. Though he was not directly involved in combat, the political and cultural shifts it caused deeply influenced his creative outlook. His left-hand concerto, composed during the interwar years, reflects the lingering tension and emotional intensity of a Europe still grappling with the scars of conflict.

New album: Sinding Violin sonatas just released on Lawo!

New album with violinist Magnus Boye Hansen was just released on Lawo! On our first duo endevour, we dived deep into the wild musical world of norwegian mavrick composer Christian Sinding. This album presents all his three numbered sonatas, all of which combined presents a rich view of the composers ideas and musical instincts.

Listen to the full thing here: Christian Sinding: Violin Sonatas 1-3 (orcd.co)

Christin Sinding is a late romantic composer, caught between the Norwegian national romantic ideals of Grieg, and the wild post - wagnerian musical ideals. His response to both is very different than many of his piers, and portrays a character with a very unpretentious view of his own art. His music is bold, unpredictable, often impulsive and very willing to share power with the performing musicians (in opposition to Mahler, Schoenberg and other same-timers). He is known as a provocative presence while still alive, both at home and abroad (writing cabaret songs with titles such as “cocaine”) etc.

These sonatas show the breath of his changing attitudes, from the wild 1st sonata (full of radical, audaciously chromatic and often symphonic approaches to chamber writing) to the lyrical, melodically oriented but often almost sleazy 3rd sonata.

I really love both playing and working on his music - especially how it often turns into what feels like puzzle solving, working hard to figure out what he’s up to (where the music lies) in a particular phrase or section. I also find Sinding to be among the most human of composers: He is funny, romantic (his melodic and harmonic sense is very, very well developed), both self ironic, funny and brave at the same time (my read on his hazardous technical instrumental writing) and the light way he treats his own art.

His music (in my view) is often misunderstood and perceived as heavy and frustrating. I strongly disagree, and hope that this new album projects our reading of this wonderful and eclectic composer. I strongly encourage you to have listen - just be warned: His music contains some dangerously good tunes.