50 år. En anselig alder, det får’n si. Beethoven er rett og slett blitt skikkelig gammel. Men fortsatt så langt fra utdatert det er mulig å komme. Evig aktuell. Evig moderne. Muligens den mest spilte komponisten i hele verden. Vel verdt en skikkelig fest. Og fest skal det sannelig bli: Vi avslutter Resonansåret med en aldri så liten én-kvelds mini-festival viet Beethoven i alle hans fasetter. Her blir det stor kunst, tårer, undring, banaliteter, latter, og gjøglerier i skjønn forening – en Beethoven-happening helt utenom det vanlige, kun mulig å oppleve i Resonans! OBS: Sett av kvelden, dette er ikke unnagjort på en time eller to (men det serveres selvfølgelig gratis mat underveis, så blodsukkernivået holdes på forsvarlig nivå...). Fest(ival)-musikerne som skal sette Beethoven under lupen denne desemberkvelden, er plukket med omhu. 

For å ta Oslo strykekvartett først: det finnes sikkert kvartetter i verden som kjenner Beethoven like godt, men vi nekter å tro at noen kjenner ham bedre! Oslo strykekvartett har gjennom mange år så til de grader dypdykket inn i Beethovens musikk at tonespråket hans nærmest er blitt second nature. Det samme kan sies om pianisten Tor Espen Aspaas. Hans årelange forsking på Beethovens musikk kulminerer blant annet i framføring av alle 32(!) pianosonatene gjennom jubileumsåret. Vi rekker ikke alle sonatene på Gjøvik. Eller kanskje vi gjør det?? Hva så med samtidsensemblet Asamisimasa? Hva i all verden gjør de her? Sa vi ikke at Beethoven er evig moderne? Klart vi også må ha med samtidsmusikernes blikk på det store ikonet! Og til slutt, på et instrument som ikke engang var oppfunnet på Beethovens tid: akkordeonisten Evelina Petrova, kveldens uforutsigbare joker. Å, så gøy dette blir! 

Resonans er en av Norges mest spennende kammermusikkserier, kunstnerisk ledet av Kristin Fyrand Mikkelsen, Johannes Skyberg og Gunnar Flagstad.

Resonans gir musikalsk energi i hverdagen med unike konserter hver måned; høst, vinter og vår.

Opplev fantastiske og anerkjente utøvere i en uhøytidelig og svært intim ramme. Ta del i sterke opplevelser og slipp deg løs i den spesielle Resonansapplausen.

Resonans

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

AVLYST // Resonans: Beethoven-fest

About the concert

Programme

Performers

Oslo Strykekvartett

Resonans

LISTEN TO MUSIC BY THE CONCERT'S COMPOSERS

The newsletter about classical music across the Nordics

Navigation

Discover

Live Klassisk

Contact