Album release - Ssens trio - Lebensfries
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Live Klassisk2 min read|28. March 2026
Album release from Ssens Trio - Lebensfries
Lebensfries by the Icelandic composer Hafliði Hallgrímsson is ready for release, performed by the acclaimed Norwegian ensemble Ssens Trio. The work is written as a string trio for violin, viola and cello, and stands as one of Hallgrímsson's most intimate and reflective chamber works. It is dedicated to Ssens Trio, who also commissioned the piece.
Composed in 2020, Lebensfries has the subtitle Homage to Lars Hertervig, referring to the Norwegian Romantic painter whose life and art are marked by lyricism, fragility and inner intensity. Hallgrímsson translates this painterly inspiration into a musical landscape of long, unfolding lines and concentrated, expressive richness of detail, inviting the listener into a meditative space where time seems to stand still and memories play a central role.
Hafliði Hallgrímsson, born in 1941 in Akureyri, Iceland, is internationally acclaimed for an output that combines Nordic clarity with a deeply personal and lyrical voice. As a former solo cellist with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, he has since the early 1980s devoted himself fully to composing, creating music that spans orchestral, vocal and chamber genres. His works have been widely performed and recorded, and he has held prestigious positions, among them composer-in-residence with Islands symfoniorkester.
Ssens Trio, consisting of the violinist Sølve Sigerland, the violist Henninge Landaas and the cellist Ellen Margrete Flesjø, has established itself as one of Scandinavia's leading chamber ensembles. Since its founding in 2014 the trio has gained international recognition for its recordings and concerts, with several award nominations and a strong reception in leading classical music publications. Their close, communicative interplay and commitment to both the classical repertoire and contemporary music make them particularly well suited to Hallgrímsson's nuanced and emotionally charged score.
With this release, Ssens Trio directs renewed attention to Lebensfries as a work of quiet power and lasting resonance. The recording highlights the deep artistic relationship between composer and ensemble, and gives listeners a gripping encounter with a modern Nordic masterpiece rooted in shared cultural memory and expressive depth.
Read more about the release on Ssens' website: www.ssenstrio.com
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