An Accordion in a Trapeze
interview
R
Rachel Einarsson | Klassisk Bureau3 min read|15. May 2026
When Det Norske Kammerorkester visits Det Kgl. Teaters Gamle Scene on 27 and 28 May 2026, it does so in the form of the theatre concert “DSCH”. But it also does so with Bjarke Mogensen on stage. He has been given a very special role as Shostakovich himself, and this will be experienced in both the music and the scenography.
Klassisk bureau has spoken with Bjarke Mogensen about his role, about frustration and enthusiasm, about having a completely different project on the go, and about how experience constantly accumulates and comes in handy in special situations.
There is something entirely paradoxical about Bjarke Mogensen.
Something contradictory in the observation that he is both an award-winning, unique and acclaimed soloist in the well-established world of classical music and, one-to-one, a quite calm and humble man who, despite his own success, does not have a shadow of temperament and only very reluctantly accepts being called a star. There is also something about the instrument - a handsome black accordion weighing no less than 17.5 kg. That Bjarke Mogensen, with his calm manner, literally sits there holding the surging, voluminous stream of harmony that he creates, masters and administers with heartfelt precision.
We meet in one of the bright but windowless rooms practically beneath the Opera House in Oslo in January. The subject is that evening's theatre concert “DSCH” in the same building, in which Bjarke Mogensen is to play the accordion while also portraying Shostakovich in person. It is Katrine Øigaard Sonstad, double bassist in the orchestra, who originally had the idea for “DSCH”. Her husband, Øystein Sonstad, who is a cellist in the orchestra, joined early in the development of the theatre concert, which is a dramatic potpourri of various works by Shostakovich. “DSCH” has been a long time coming, but is now being staged in Copenhagen with the help of Cumulus Teatret. “DSCH” has already been on the bill in Oslo, Bergen and London.
First we talk a little about what it is like for Bjarke Mogensen to be a solo musician; with an instrument that shines out in the great mass of orchestral instruments - a niche solo instrument which, however, has in recent years been making its way towards more concerts for the general public in Europe. Bjarke Mogensen is not unaccustomed to playing in unconventional constellations with his instrument like the one he will soon take part in again with Det Norske Kammerorkester. But there must be a point in standing out from the crowd. Or in his own words: “You must contribute something new, it shouldn't exist merely to please the audience. You shouldn't do it just to collect likes,” says Bjarke Mogensen with calm conviction.
That leads us to reflections on what he actually does in “DSCH”. Fundamentally he is not meant to be a great soloist, because the idea behind “DSCH” is, among other things, that all the performers should have equally much to do. But even so, Bjarke Mogensen is given a special task. “I am the alter ego of Shostakovich and his loneliness. That is what I symbolise. My instrument is a foreign element on the stage - just like the composer,” explains Bjarke Mogensen.
Photo: Magnus Skrede
Read the rest of the interview at www.klassiskbureau.com
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27. May
19:30 | 2026
Gamle Scene
Copenhagen K
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