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Oslo Circles
OSLO CIRCLES – ‘fabulously inventive’ (klassiskmusikk.com)
Oslo Circles is a new baroque ensemble from Oslo, and the musicians are established and leading figures in the Scandinavian and international baroque scene. The baroque violinist Astrid Kirschner gathers musical circles of different sizes around her, in which every musician contributes their unique talent and musical experience, background, style and nationality. The musicians can also be found in other international groups such as Concerto Copenhagen, B’Rock, Academia Montis Regalis, Barokkanerne, Barokksolistene, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and many more.
Because of their fascination with words and music, Oslo Circles also collaborates a great deal with singers and actors, such as David Hansen (countertenor), Berit Nordbakken Solset (soprano), Marianne Beate Kielland (mezzo-soprano), Halvor F. Melien (bass-baritone), Ann-Beth Solvang (mezzo-soprano) and the Norwegian film star Anders Baasmo Christiansen. Oslo Circles plays regular concerts in Norway, and in 2017 the group made its critically acclaimed international debut at the Froville Festival in France. The group has also played at the festivals Baroque & Beyond (Sweden), Wunderkammer (Trieste, Italy), Spazio & Musica (Vicenza, Italy) and Varadzin Baroque Nights (Croatia), where the group also won the critics' prize for the festival's best musical interpretation in September 2019. Oslo Circles’ first CD for SIMAX, One Charming Night, with arias and theatre music by Henry Purcell (with David Hansen, countertenor), was released in November 2019. The press called the recording ‘absolutely splendid’ and the musicians ‘fabulously inventive’, and felt that ‘in short, this is one of the most unalloyed festive recordings I have heard in years,’ (Martin Anderson, klassiskmusikk.com). The prestigious German radio channel Bayern 4 Klassik recommended the CD as its CD recommendation of the week in January 2020: ‘good-mood sound and sputtering sparks’, and Musicweb-international thought it ‘excellently played and sung. A recording from the top drawer’.
In 2018 Oslo Circles started its own concert series, 1685, in Akershus Castle Church in Oslo. Oslo Circles is supported by Arts Council Norway (Norsk Kulturråd), Music Norway, Fond for utøvende kunstnere, Aksel Byes legat and Oslo kommune.
Photo: Lars Bryngelsson
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