Ludwig van Beethoven

Opus 13, Piano sonate nr.8 'Pathétique' 
arr. Øystein Sonstad 
Oslo Strykekvartett
​
Strykekvartett op. 74 i Ess-dur
Engegårdkvartetten
​
 

Oslo Quartet Series presenterer alle Beethovens 17 strykekvartetter i løpet av helgen 6.-8. november med de tre norske strykekvartettene: Engegårdkvartetten, Oslo Strykekvartett og Vertavo. Velkommen til kvartettfest!

Øyvor Volle - violin 
Annabelle Meare - violin 
Berit Cardas - viola 
Bjørg Lewis - cello

The Vertavo Quartet is internationally recognised as one of the most masterful string quartets playing today. Since their formation in Norway in 1984, their dynamic and deeply thoughtful performances have captivated audiences. In June 2005, the quartet was honoured with the Grieg-Prize: a prize bestowed on artists of high international standing and whose former recipients include Leif Ove Andsnes, Truls Mørk and the Grieg Trio. Just ten years previously in 1995 they had won First Prize at the 2nd Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition where they were also awarded the Audience prize and the Critics' prize.

Vertavo now play at all the major concert venues in the world. They tour extensively throughout Europe and also in Japan and the US. Their last US tour included performances at Stanford Lively Arts, Chamber Music in Napa Valley and Lincoln Center. In the past years, tours and concerts have also taken them to Norway, Spain, Mexico, Sweden, Poland, the US and the UK. They gave concerts at Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Barbican, London; Kings Place, London and in last year's celebration of Benjamin Britten' s centenary, Vertavo were invited to play at the Aldeburgh Festival 2013.

Collaboration also plays an integral role in the Vertavo Quartet's concert life; they have formed partnerships with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Leif Ove Andsnes, Lambert Orkis, Steven Kovacevich, Håkan Hardenberger, Martin Fröst, Sabine Meyer, Isabelle van Keulen. In 2015 they undertook a quintet tour with the renowned British pianist Paul Lewis.

The quartet's discography is a diverse one and includes Schumann, Brahms, Grieg, Debussy, Bartok, Nielsen, Asheim, "Les Vendredis" (Russian vignettes of the turn of the 20th century) all for SIMAX Classics, as well as the Mozart clarinet quintet with Martin Fröst for BIS Records. Their Debussy and Grieg recording received the Diapason d'Or. Their most recent SIMAX release is of Beethoven's Op.130 and Op.133.

Vertavo have always had a great affinity for contemporary music. They have given commanding performances of works by Ligeti, Adès, Widmann, Gabriela Frank and works by contemporary Nordic composers such as Nørgård, Edlund and Asheim. In March 2013 to great critical acclaim, they gave the world premiere of Poul Ruders's 4th String Quartet at a major festival of Danish and Finnish composers at the Barbican Hall in London: "Played with a thrilling iron-fist-in-velvet-glove touch by the Vertavo Quartet, it was a miracle of stylistic light-footedness." The Telegraph March 2013.

Vertavo Quartet are Artistic Directors of Vertavofestivalen held annually in Norway.

Photo: Rune Kongsro

Vertavo Strykekvartett

Solidly rooted in repertoire from the classical period to  the present day, Oslo String Quartet has become one of Scandinavia’s  most acclaimed and sought-after chamber ensembles. Their deep commitment  and unique ability to combine intellectual approach with vivid  presentation has attracted attention far beyond Norway’s borders. 
Oslo String Quartet was founded in 1991 by violinists Geir Inge  Lotsberg and Per Kristian Skalstad, viola player Are Sandbakken, and  cellist Øystein Sonstad. The four members each had wide experience from  playing with other ensembles and orchestras at home and abroad, coming  together to form an élite group for refined studies of the chamber music  repertoire. 
To begin with this resulted in an extensive series of  concerts at the University Aula in Oslo, where Beethoven’s string  quartets comprised the core of their programmes. In addition to other  major works for string quartet, the series included several premier  performances of works by Norwegian composers. The group made their mark internationally when they achieved a place in  the finals of the London International String Competition in 1994. 
At  the same time their recording of Edvard Grieg’s complete string  quartets was attracting attention abroad, and in 1999 the group’s  recording of the complete string quartets of Carl Nielsen was selected  as Editor’s Choice in the prestigious Gramophone magazine. After this  came numerous recordings of important works such as Alban Berg’s Lyric  Suite and Jean Sibelius’ Voces Intimae, and several newer works on  labels including Naxos, CPO, Fabra and Aurora. Wilhelm Stenhammar's  string quartets no. 3-6 were recorded by the OSQ 2006/2007, was released  by CPO in 2011. 
The groups latest recordings are Grieg Revisited  and a second volume with popular tunes arranged for the Quartet by  Øystein Sonstad, both projects for the Fabra label. 
From the very beginning Oslo String Quartet revealed a particular  interest in new music, and they regularly commission and perform works  by living composers. For their contribution to contemporary music they  were nominated “Performer of the Year” in 1998 by the Norwegian Society  of Composers, and in 1999/2000 they were awarded the Music Critics’  Prize. 
They have also been responsible for uncovering “hidden  treasures” of the Norwegian quartet repertoire; it is thanks to Oslo  String Quartet that we can today enjoy excellent recordings of works by  Fartein Valen, Klaus Egge, Johan Kvandal, David Monrad Johansen and Knut  Nystedt, among others.

Focus on presentation and experimenting with new and different  audiences has always been an important aspect of the quartet’s  activities. School concerts and mini-festivals with specially adapted  programmes have provided useful insight into communicating with  audiences. The “Beethoven Code” festival, during which Oslo String  Quartet performed Beethoven’s complete string quartets for the second  time, proved to be a major breakthrough, attracting new audience members  from a great variety of backgrounds. The key to this success lay  perhaps in the quartet’s close collaboration with a number of lecturers  and speakers who at each concert offered a new perspective on  Beethoven’s work.
In 2007 violinist Liv Hilde Klokk took over the  position of second violin. The quartet arranged two new mini-festivals:  “G-force” in conjunction with the hundredth anniversary of Edvard  Grieg’s death, and “Schubert Mysteries”. As well as continuing the  concept of a verbal perspective in the form of talks and readings, the  latter festival also introduced various musical guests. The quartet has  recently enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with the Stavanger  International Chamber Music Festival, Stavanger City of Culture 2008,  and the Norwegian National Ballet in a production called “På kammerset”  (In private). Together with choreographer Jorma Elo they have developed a  work for the stage which includes Schubert’s String Quartet in D minor,  “Death and the Maiden”. The production has been staged in Stavanger and  Kristiansand, and at Oslo’s new opera house.
As well as having been  regular guests at all the major chamber music festivals in Norway for  many years, Oslo String Quartet has been invited to major international  events, including the Schleswig Holstein festival. The quartet has  toured Germany and the rest of Europe, and given regular performances at  London’s Wigmore Hall. Their USA début in 2005, at Carnegie Hall in New  York, is the highlight of their international career to date.

Photo: Andrej Grilc

Oslo Strykekvartett

I år er det 250 år siden Ludwig van Beethoven ble født. Dette vil vi ikke overse, vi føler det rett og slett tvingende nødvendig at en institusjon som Kvartettserien, i denne anledning viser fram til publikum hans kanskje største mesterverk, strykekvartettene.

Alle Beethovens 17 verk vil presenteres i løpet av helgen 6.—8. november av de tre norske strykekvartettene: Engegårdkvartetten, Oslo Strykekvartett og Vertavo. Dette vil bli en unik mulighet for alle kvartettelskere her i landet som kanskje aldri noensinne har kunnet nyte så mye Beethoven på så kort tid. Og det er nettopp den muligheten en festival gir: at publikum i ro og mak kan finne fram til sitt mest lyttende ’jeg’, og i denne tilstanden være i stand til å høre mer musikk og ta inn mer musikk enn om repertoaret skulle presenteres over en lengre serie. Gjennom et tett program vil publikum få anledning til å følge Beethovens musikalske utvikling og uttrykk.

Kvartettserien ønsker å rette en stor takk til Formuesforvaltning som har gjort det mulig å gjennomføre denne minifestivalen.

Beethovenhelgen er del av en større tidagers festival i et samarbeid mellom Det Norske Kammerorkester, Oslo-Filharmonien, Kringkastingsorkestret, Oslo Quartet Series og Den Norske Opera & Ballett. 


NÅR OG HVOR: 6.-8.november 2020 på Sentralen Marmorsalen, Øvre Slottsgate 3, Oslo 


Fredag kl 19
Opus 18 nr.1 i F-dur - Oslo Strykekvartett         
Opus 59 nr.1 i F-dur - Engegårdkvartetten
Opus 135 i F-dur - Vertavo

 
Lørdag kl 11
Opus 18 nr.3 i D-dur - Vertavo
Opus 18 nr.4 i c-moll - Engegårdkvartetten
Opus 59 nr.3 i C-dur - Oslo Strykekvartett

 
Lørdag kl 14
Opus 18 nr.5 i A-dur - Oslo Strykekvartett
Opus 95 i f-moll - Oslo Strykekvartett
Opus 127 i Ess-dur - Oslo Strykekvartett

 
Lørdag kl 17
‘Hva skal vi skrive etter dette?’  
Liv Hilde Klokk i samtale med Lorenza Borrani og Håkon Thelin om op. 131

 
Lørdag kl 18
Opus 131 i ciss-moll - Vertavo      
Urfremføring verk av Håkon Thelin - Vertavo

                       
Lørdag kl 19:30
‘Hvor godt kjenner du din Beethoven’?
BeethovenBingo – Nachspiel ved festivalens musikere


Søndag kl 11
Opus 18 nr.2 i G-dur - Engegårdkvartetten
Opus 59 nr.2 i e-moll - Engegårdkvartetten
Opus 132 i a-moll – Engegårdkvartetten

 

Søndag kl 14
Opus 13, Piano Sonata nr. 8 ‘Pathetique’ arr. Øystein Sonstad - Oslo Strykekvartett 
Opus 74 i Ess-dur - Vertavo
 

Søndag kl 17
‘Beethovens reise mot det endelige livsmålet’
Foredrag med Wolfgang Plagge

 
Søndag kl 18
Opus 18 nr.6 i B-dur - Vertavo
Opus 130 i B-dur - Engegårdkvartetten
Opus 133 i B-dur Grosse Fuge, lydeksperiment - Oslo Strykekvartett


BILLETTINFORMASJON: 

Enkeltbillett konsert: kr 370 / 325 / 300 / 100  (ordinær / honnør / A-kort / student)
Dagspass: kr 950,
Festivalpass for hele helgen: kr 1300,-
Billetter kjøpes via www.tix.no 

Som abonnent av Oslo Quartet Series får du inngang til alle konsertene. 

Oslo Quartet Series: Alle Beethovens strykekvartetter på én helg!

Klaversonate nr. 8

Piano Sonata No. 8

Strygekvartet nr. 10

String Quartet No. 10

Strykekvartett nr. 10