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A warm and direct personality. Quick-witted. Humorous and infernal musical. This is a beginning in how you can describe André Chini. Norrbotten NEO has long wanted to make a program with Chinis music. Among NEOs favorites - one of the many commissioned works has been done over the years - La princessede Babylone; a colorful , humoristiskt and tumultuous rhythmic works, rich as a whole opera. The concert becomes a veritable empathetic pendulum motion, where music becomes life, humor and intelligence, all under the direction of André Chini!
Pierre-Andre Valade is a dear and recurring guest of Norrbotten NEO. Valade is known for his sharp way of listening, and his subtle sense of harmony and sounds, with his eyes fixed on making it easier for musicians to perform at the top level. His presence thus represents a strategically important artistic venture from the ensemble's side. It is therefore particularly exciting to Valade conducting a program with french connections, both directly as well as indirectly.
The human voice has a special magnetism and ability to awaken the listener's empathy. Undoubtedly, this is an ingredient in the program Beautiful Screams. But not for that we let the melodies marinate our minds with melancholy lyrics about heartache and pain. We instead let the voice be so much more. The sighs, the sounds and breathing get to act side by side with the tones and become a dramaturgical strong whole. Beautiful Screams - beautiful box - is thus a program that throws us into a world where the voice expressing the whole spectrum of emotions. The literary and musical cross-linkages in the concert are many.
This program spans several generations of Swedish composers, but also builds a bridge between espressiv stubborn punk attitude and subtle, ethereal sounds. The program contains a record five world premieres, all commissioned by Norrbotten NEO. Doyen in this context is Tommy Zvedberg (b. 1946), which for decades has fascinated his audience with his world of sound. Together with Sun Andersson, Anders Lind , Lisa Streich and Tony Blomdahl (b. 1972) the concert represent a constitute of an incredibly delicious exposé of what is happening right now in the so-called electroacoustic music genre (EAM). Challenging, beautiful, dizzying, rhythmically, concrete and abstract, and the persistently subversive
In short - the concert that includes everything. And here it is thus mixture of EAM and Norrbotten NEO brilliant musicians that's the point. A type of mixture that in a good way is likely to create added value for the audience. The program contains (previously mentioned) none the less than five first performances of previously unheard musical landscape! The concert is therefore a must for the curious and with a desire to leave the concert hall with that newly kindled light in their eyes.
Music that touches with its sincerity and that subtly uses different sounds, timbres and sonority! A celebration of Kaija Saariaho's oeuvre! The focal point of Echoes of Autumn is the new work by Kaija Saariaho, Light and Matter, which Norrbotten NEO co-commissioned along with Bowdoin Music Festival, The Library of Congress and the Britten Sinfonia.
She is credited to both the form perfection and of her dynamic empathy, harpsichordist Anna Paradiso Laurin.
Solist: Anna Paradiso Laurin, cembalo
J. S. Bach (b. 1685) | Cembalo concert in F minor 10' |
V. Palumbo (b. 1972) |
nostos (2014) 7' Premier performance in Gällivare, oct 30 2014 |
J. H. Roman (1694) |
Sonata (1736) 7' |
A. Scarlatti (b. 1660) |
Folia (1723) 7' |
J. H. Roman (b. 1694) |
Triosonata C minor (1727) 10' |
F. Donatoni (b. 1927) |
Ciglio II (1993) 5' |
J. S. Bach (b. 1658) |
Brandenburg No5 (ca 1721) 20' |
In this programme NEO explores the inner and outer state of winter, a commonplace of life this far north. The centerpiece is a quite well-known violin concerto by Antonio Vivaldi.
- Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Thou art not so unkind,
As man's ingratitude-
William Shakespeare from As you like it
Per Mårtensson (b.1967) | Diptycon (2010) 12' Commissioned by NNEO |
Franco Donatoni (1927-2000) |
Ave (1987) 8' |
A Vivaldi/NNEO (1678-1741) |
the Winter 8' soloist Christian Svarfvar |
Tristan Murail (f.1947) |
Winter Fragments (2000) 13' |
In 2012, the American composer John Cage would have turned 100. His work remains a source of inspiration for many artists and composers. The concert will be interfoliated with readings from his short story collection Indeterminacy (1959). The concerts will be interleaved by short stories from John Cage's Indeterminacy, 1959
John Cage (1912-1992) | 4'33 (1952) Indeterminacy - 157 |
John Cage (1912-1992) |
from Sonatas and Interludes (1948) Indeterminacy - 17
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John Cage (1912-1992) |
Seven (1988) |
Karl-Heinz Stockhausen (1928-2007) |
Spiral for a soloist with a shortwave receiver (1968)Indeterminacy - 41 |
Morton Feldman (1926-87) |
The Viola in My Life 2 (1970) Indeterminacy - 27 |
John Cage (1912-1992) |
Concert for Piano and Orchestra (1957-58) Indeterminacy - 14 |
In 2012, Norrbotten NEO presents four varied concert programmes with the ensemble´s specialty, high-class contemporary chamber music, including several first performances - but also readings of literature, Vivaldi's 16th century violin concerto Winter, and quite a few surprises ...
Mika Pelo (f. 1971) | Soot (2012) 10' Commissioned by NNEO |
Joakim Sandgren (b.1965) | Empreintes digitales (2008-09) 9' |
Molly Kien (f.1979) | No Chaos (2012) 10' Commissioned by NNEO |
Jesper Nordin (b.1971) | In the midst of trespassing (2010) 14' |
Madeleine Isaksson (b.1956) | Isär (2012) 10' Commissioned by NNEO |
Tristan Murail (b.1947) |
Winter Fragments (2000) 13´ |
Franco Donatoni (1927-2000) |
Ave (1987) 8´ |
Jesper Nordin (b.1971) |
Sufaces scintillantes (2008) 10´ |
INTERMISSION
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A Vivaldi/NNeo (1678-1741) |
Vintern 8´ |
Henrik Strindberg (b.1954) |
Bryta snitt, tiden fryser 7´ |
Anders Hultqvist (b.1955) |
Light Winter Light (2207) 9´ commissioned by NNEO |
Bent Sørensen (b.1958) |
The deserted Churchyards (1990) 8´ |
Tristan Murail (b.1947) |
Winter Fragment (2000) 13´ |
David Felder (b.1953) |
Partial [Dist]res[s]toration (2002) 17´ |
INTERMISSION
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Rolf Wallin (b.1957) |
The Age of Wire and String (2005) 15´ |
Steve Reich (b.1936) |
Double Sextet (2008) 20´ |
Where does the title Winter Fragments come from?
As a rule I don't like naming a piece before I've finished writing it, like counting your chickens before they're hatched. The completed piece may well differ considerably from the initial project, which is a concept, ideas, sounds and images, while the finished product is sound, organised within time. There's a gulf between the two. So this title has to be taken for what it's worth. It is at one and the same time an acknowledgement of the festival where the piece is to be created ("Sounds of winter and today"), and the experience of a genuine winter last year, particularly where we now live, to the north of New York, a region of lakes and small mountains. The lake in front of our house was frozen over, and there were sixty centimetres of snow all round. For the most part the sun shone brightly and its intense light bathed the house, which is open to nature all round. Sometimes a violent storm would arise, followed by silence, and the blinding light would corne back. Perhaps the "fragments of winter" are there.
Has the instrumentation any symbolic meaning?
No! And anyway what counts is not so much the instruments themselves as the way you use them. Using exactly the same grouping (flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano) I've written pieces which sound quite différent. Winter Fragments uses the same instruments, not for symbolic reasons but for practical ones, and will sound quite différent again. There are also the electronic sounds which melt into the ensemble. I am trying therefore to renew the experience of Bois Flotté for small ensemble and synthetic sounds, but in a fairly different style, with different musical and sound vocabulary. I also hope to put in more detailed work on spatialisation, with the aid of the studio at Annecy.
Could you define a successful work?
For me, a "successful" work does not necessarily mean one which is the most popular with the audience - and vice versa. Some works that I think are successful, at least in one sense, might leave a number of listeners quite puzzled. Above all, I look for evidence of a certain quality in the musical flow (and others might say this quality is "necessary", but I don't think anything should be really necessary in art). I know intuitively when I get to that stage of evidence, even though I'd find it hard to explain all the ins and outs. It is concerned with the intrinsic quality between the musical objects (such as timbre, harmony and figuration), and their position in time. There is no clear rule here, because what is at stake here is perception, the emotions aroused by these objects, the psychological effect produced by their succession, and the distortion in the perception of time created by the quality of the chosen objects as well as their immediate relationship - and so on. It is all very complex, and cannot be boiled down to some set of objective rules or pigeonholing of abstract characteristics, which would in any way be far too reduced. Finally, my ultimate aim would be to create and master an entirely personal "language" - which is not a very precise term but I use it because there's nothing better - which I could use to communicate, a language which would be as flexible and versatile as, for example, the musical idioms of the end of the tonal period, a language that would rediscover certain universal and permanent categories of musical expression, without wading through some sort of nostalgia, or taking one of the "post-modern" paths with which we are bombarded today.
Tristan Murail
Fredrik Hedelin (b.1965) |
Trio (2008) 8´ |
Marcus Fjällström (b.1979) |
Silver Mansion Trauma (2002) 10 |
Fredrik Söderberg (b.1966) |
Wrong Music II – Embryo (2004) 10´ |
Toru Takemitsu (1930-96) |
Voice (1971) 7´ |
Steve Reich (b.1936) |
New York Counterpoint (1985) 12´ |
Kent Olofsson (b.1962) |
Flutes and Cymbals for Cybele (1991) 11´ |
N. Cameron Britt (b.1974) | Brocken Specter 3´ |
Pierre Boulez (b.1925) |
Sonatine (1946) 13' |
Tristan Murail |
Treize Couleurs du soleil couchant (1978) 12´ flute, clarinet, piano, violin & violoncello + live elektronic ad lib. |
Maurice Ravel |
Chansons madécasses (1925-26) 14´ soprano, flute, cello and piano after Evariste-Désiré Parny de Forges Nahandove Aoua Il est doux |
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Per Mårtensson (b.1967) |
1st French card signed G B (1994) 10´ soprano, clarinet, percussion, piano, viola |
Philippe Leroux (b.1959) |
AAA (1996) 16' |
Madeleine Isaksson (b.1956) |
Rum (1999-2000) 12' |
Rebecca Saunders (b.1967) |
The under-side of green (1994) 9´ |
Kaija Saariaho (b.1952) |
Serenatas (2008) 14´ piano, violoncell, slagverk (2004) 10´ |
Unsuk Chin (b.1961) |
Double Bind? (2007) 17' violin och elektronik |
Isabel Mundry (b.1963) |
Die Vorüberlaufenden (2003) 10' flöjt(Picc/A-Fl), basklarinett, violoncell |
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George Crumb (b.1929) |
Eleven Echoes of Autumn (Echoes I) (1966) 17´ |
John Cage (1912-92) |
Seven (1988) 20´ |
Morton Feldman (1926-87) |
The Viola in My Life 2 (1970) 10´ flöjt, klarinett, slagverk, celesta, violin och violoncell |
Charles Ives (1874-54) |
Largo for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano (1901/34) 5´ Violin, klarinett och piano |
Steve Reich (b.1936) |
Double Sextet (2008) 20´ flöjt, klarinett, vibrafon, piano, violin och violoncell |
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Bent Sørensen (b.1958) |
The deserted Churchyards (1990) 8´ |
Fredrik Hedelin (f.1965) |
Trio (2008) 8´ |
Franco Donatoni (1927-2000) |
Arpège (1986) 12´ |
INTERMISSION
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W A Mozart (1756-91) |
Kvartett för flöjt, violin, viola & cello Nr. 1 i D-dur K. 285 10´ |
Steve Reich (b.1936) |
Double Sextet (2008) 20´ |
Brita Byström |
Revolt i grönska (2008) 9´ ”new Commission” |
Jostein Stalheim |
TaNGO9 (1998) 8-9' |
Per Mårtensson |
Quartet (2000) 5´ |
Igor Stravinsky |
Tango, vals och Ragtime from A Soldier’s Tale 9´ |
INTERMISSION
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Tristan Murail |
Garrigue (2008) 12´ |
Igor Stravinsky |
Tango 4´ |
Astor Piazolla |
3 tango sensations 15´
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There is a new tango fever! Everywhere tango clubs are popping up where enthusiasts meet to dance and socialize. But the music itself is also changing. Renowned Norwegian accordeon player Geir Draugsvoll guides us through a tango journey that changes from past to present.
Geir Draugsvoll, born in 1967, is counted among the top accordion players of our time. He has collaborated with composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Arne Nordheim, Magnus Lindberg and Staffan Mossenmark and premiered a large number of new works. Aside from solo appearances, Mr Draugsvoll regularly collaborated with the Scottish accordeon player James Crabb.
This production with Geir Draugsvoll and Norrbotten NEO features the versatity of tango music by combining three works: Igor Stravinsky's Tango from 1940 (originally written for piano);Argentine tango nestor Astor Piazzollas 3 Tango Sensations, composed in the late 1980s before a recording together with the Kronos Quartet, and the Norwegian composer Jostein Stal Heims TaNGO9 from 1998. Stal Heim, also an accordeon player, has an interest in the movement of music and different energy levels. In the production, tango becomes something more than a dancce form.
Draugsvoll combinination of these compositions illustrates the tango music's constant dialogue with its own history, the necessary interaction between continuity and change.
29th January, 2015
30th January, 2015
1st February, 2015
13th March, 2015
14th March, 2015