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Rosendal kammermusikkfestival
10. aug. - 13. aug.
Rosendal
Rosendal Kammermusikkfestival 2023
«Brahms knew Beethoven's shadow – ‘I always hear the giant's footsteps behind me’. After having Beethoven in focus in 2022, it feels natural that this summer we turn our attention to the legacy of Johannes Brahms.»
Leif Ove Andsnes
Rosendal Kammermusikkfestival, founded in 2016 by pianist and artistic director Leif Ove Andsnes, has established itself as one of the most interesting and unique festivals of its kind. Each year the festival explores a theme of its own, based on a composer or a period. In this way Rosendal Kammermusikkfestival has made its mark internationally as «a small, but big, festival in wild Norwegian nature» (El Pais), «rich and valuable, thanks to the level of the performers and the depth of the thematic programmes» (La Repubblica).
This summer Leif Ove Andsnes puts the spotlight on Johannes Brahms. Brahms' rich and varied chamber music has resulted in some of the genre's most central works. Over four days, 10-13 August, Andsnes is joined by 25 guest artists in a densely packed programme of lectures and concerts to explore Brahms' iconic works and the gypsy music that inspired him. This year's festival also brings forward György Ligeti, who would have turned 100 this year. One of the Ligeti works on the festival programme is the Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano, which is directly influenced by Brahms' own trio for the same instruments.
On stage in August Andsnes is joined by the musicians and lecturers Bertrand Chamayou, Roland Pöntinen and Yeol Eum Son (piano), James Ehnes and Guro Kleven Hagen (violin), Ida Bryhn and Tabea Zimmermann (viola), Julia Hagen and Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Dover Quartet (string quartet), Sharon Kam (clarinet), David Guerrier (horn), Håkan Hardenberger (trumpet), Matthias Goerne (baritone), Henrik Mestad (actor), Gunnar Danbolt (art historian) and Erling E. Guldbrandsen (lecturer). The festival also welcomes Zum Roten Igel, a brilliant ensemble named after the inn Det røde pinnsvin in Vienna, where Brahms enjoyed both goulash and gypsy music.
About this year's festival Leif Ove Andsnes says that «Brahms' music does not explode in the same way as Schumann, Richard Strauss or Wagner. It is rather as if it implodes with subtle, but deep, passion. My hope for this year's programme is that we shall experience the breadth of Brahms' chamber music; the drama in the Piano Quintet, the joy in the Piano Trio in C major or in the Magelone Songs, the heartfelt sadness in the Clarinet Quintet – one of the most moving chamber music works I know.»
«Because there is often an autumnal air in Brahms' music, we tend to talk about the dark and gloomy character of the music. At the same time it has so much joy and inner ecstasy in it. I think the violinist Isaac Stern put it beautifully: ‘Whether his music reflects sun or storm, a happy moment or a moment marked by sorrow, there is always a fundamental optimism at the bottom. If Beethoven was jagged mountains, high peaks and valleys of manic depression, Brahms is like the sea: always present and eternally comforting.’»
Rosendal Kammermusikkfestival would like to thank Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen for substantial financial support, which has made it possible to realise the festival's ambitious artistic goals.
Upcoming concerts
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Past concerts
- 13. Aug 2023Konsert i RiddersalenRiddersalen, Baroniet Rosendal, Rosendal
- 13. Aug 2023Konsert i Kvinnherad kyrkjeKvinnherad kyrkje, Rosendal
- 12. Aug 2023Konsert i RiddersalenRiddersalen, Baroniet Rosendal, Rosendal
- 12. Aug 2023Konsert i RiddersalenRiddersalen, Baroniet Rosendal, Rosendal
- 12. Aug 2023Konsert i Kvinnherad kyrkjeKvinnherad kyrkje, Rosendal
- 12. Aug 2023Konsert i RiddersalenRiddersalen, Baroniet Rosendal, Rosendal
- 11. Aug 2023Konsert i Kvinnherad kyrkjeKvinnherad kyrkje, Rosendal
- 11. Aug 2023Konsert i RiddersalenRiddersalen, Baroniet Rosendal, Rosendal
- 11. Aug 2023Konsert i RiddersalenRiddersalen, Baroniet Rosendal, Rosendal
- 11. Aug 2023Konsert i Kvinnherad kyrkjeKvinnherad kyrkje, Rosendal
The 10 most recent of 11 past concerts. Use the date filter to see more.
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