Ludvig Gudim has performed for millions of TV viewers, been a soloist with numerous international orchestras, and plays in the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. But on the 3rd of May, he performs for us!
Ludvig Gudim, 24, born in Oslo, Norway, is the winner of the Juilliard Violin Concerto Competition and numerous national and international awards. He won 3rd prize in the prestigious international Menuhin Competition junior division in 2014. He also has won the Norwegian Soloist Prize, represented Norway in the Eurovision Young Musicians contest in Cologne, and was named Norway’s Young Musicians Competition “Musician of the Year.” In 2016, he won 2nd prize at the Princess Astrid International Violin Competition.As a soloist, Ludvig has appeared with numerous orchestras around the world including the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Brussels Chamber Orchestra, The Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Vietnam National Symphonic Orchestra, Trondheim Soloists, Oslo Camerata and London’s Orpheus Sinfonia. He also has been the concertmaster of Young Strings of Norway for several years. The Korean Herald has described him as “a world-class concertmaster.”A keen chamber musician, Ludvig has performed with highly acclaimed musicians including Itzhak Perlman, Janine Jansen, Alisa Weilerstein, Kathy Stott, Steven Isserlis, Christian Tetzlaff, Lars Anders Tomter, Ivry Gitlis and musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic. He has participated in The Verbier Festival, “Chamber Music Connects the World” at the Kronberg Academy and Bergen International Festival.Ludvig has studied violin since the age of five and from 2007 was a student at Norway’s Barratt Due Institute of Music with Stephan Barratt-Due and Henning Kraggerud. In 2013 he began travelling to New York to participate in the Perlman Music Program. He is currently pursuing his bachelor of music degree at Juilliard with Itzhak Perlman and Li Lin. Ludvig plays a 1710 Antonio Stradivari, generously on loan from the Anders Sveaas Foundation. Ludvig is part of the prestigous mentor program Crescendo.
Praised for her dynamic, passionate conducting style, Taiwanese American conductor Mei-Ann Chen is acclaimed for infusing orchestras with enthusiasm and high-level music-making, galvanizing audiences and communities alike. Music Director of the MacArthur Award-winning Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, her contract has been extended through the end of the 2028-2029 season. Chen has been Chief Conductor of Austria’s Recreation - Grosses Orchester Graz at Styriarte since fall 2021 following two seasons as the orchestra’s first-ever Principal Guest Conductor, making her the first female Asian conductor to hold this position with an Austrian orchestra. She has served as the first-ever Artistic Partner of Houston’s ROCO since 2019, and since 2022, as an Artistic Partner with Northwest Sinfonietta (WA). Highly regarded as a compelling communicator and an innovative leader both on and off the podium, and a sought-after guest conductor, she recently made her Chicago Symphony Orchestra @ Ravinia Festival debut and has appeared with distinguished orchestras throughout the Americas, Europe, Taiwan, The United Kingdom, and Scandinavia, and continues to expand her relationships with orchestras worldwide (over 150 orchestras to date). Honors include being named one of the 2015 Top 30 Influencers by Musical America; the 2012 Helen M. Thompson Award from the League of American Orchestras; the 2007 Taki Concordia Fellowship founded by Marin Alsop; and 2005 First Prize Winner of the Malko Competition (she remains as the only woman in the competition history since 1965 to have won First Prize), and ASCAP awards for innovative programming.
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel (1805-47) is said to have been as gifted as her brother, the prodigy Felix Mendelssohn. Both received instruction in piano and composition. However, her works have only recently received the recognition they deserve. This also applies to opus number 24: the overture in C major - a piece that is particularly suitable as a concert opener.
Max Bruch is a well-known composer almost solely due to his Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor. Apart from Kol Nidrei for cello and orchestra, his other works are almost forgotten. The violin concerto (1864-68) belongs to the standard repertoire of any great violinist. The famous violinist Joseph Joachim assisted Bruch in writing the piece, and the composer dedicated the concerto to him. Brahms also dedicated his violin concerto to Joachim. Bruch intended to call the concerto "Fantasy," which characterizes it well. The melodic themes are captivating.
Johan Svendsen, along with Grieg and Christian Sinding, belongs to what is often called the "golden age" of Norwegian music. In hindsight, he has been somewhat overshadowed by Grieg, but Svendsen excels in the grand forms. He was a leading conductor in his time, with a legendary performance of Wagner's Valkyrie. Svendsen wrote two symphonies - the first quite early in his career and the last, No. 2 in B major, when he was at the height of his composing powers. The work ranks among the finest Nordic symphonies. It has a classical formal structure, but particularly in the scherzo, the third movement, Norwegian folk music shines through; the main theme has the character of hardanger fiddle tunes. Svendsen was superb in his handling of the various colors of the orchestral voices, and it shows in this symphony. The richness of ideas is evident in all four movements, expressed with exceptionally good orchestration.
Friday 03. May, at 19:30, Stavanger Concert Hall
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: Overture
Max Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1
Johan Svendsen: Symphony No. 2
