Tag: Borgstrom violin concerto

Eldbjørg Hemsing with new recording release ‘Grieg – The Violin Sonatas’

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Credits: Photography by Nikolaj Lund

Following the acclaimed recordings of concertos by Borgström and Shostakovich, Dvořák and Suk, and by Tan Dun, Eldbjørg Hemsing is following in the footsteps of her great-great-grandfather, who once inspired Edvard Grieg to compose one of his most famous works. Joint by Macedonian pianist Simon Trpčeski, Eldbjørg is embarks the journey of Grieg violin sonatas on her latest release on BIS Records.

As a celebrated ambassador of Norwegian cultural heritage, Eldbjørg Hemsing was always going to turn to Edvard Grieg eventually – a composer who is central to both Norwegian music history and the Romantic era in general. Hemsing’s new recording of Grieg’s three violin sonatas on BIS Records also has a much more personal biographic background, however.  

In 1848, Ludvig Mathias Lindeman received funding from the Collegium academicum of Christiania (Oslo) University to collect folk tunes for Edvard Grieg. During his travels across Norway, he stayed in Valdres and met Hemsing’s great-great-grandfather Anders Nielsen Pelesteinbakken, who sang a tune to him. Lindeman noted it down and Grieg later found it in the collection. The small fragment of the folk tune must have caught the composer’s attention and he subsequently used the melody as the inspiration and main theme of one of his greatest works for solo piano, the Ballade, Op. 24. 

Over 170 years later, Eldbjørg Hemsing is presenting her own interpretation of Grieg’s three sonatas for violin and piano. The sonatas are considered to be representative of different stages in Grieg’s artistic development and were composed over a period of 20 years. The second violin sonata can be seen as one of Grieg’s great successes in capturing the musical identity of his native country, particularly in the sequences based on peasants’ dances. Because of her passion for preserving Norway’s rich folk music heritage – as demonstrated in her previous projects such as the second ever recording of Hjalmar Borgström’s violin concerto – Hemsing was keen to explore the compositions of her famous fellow countryman, who so profoundly shaped the Norwegian cultural identity. 

Alongside the Grieg sonatas, Eldbjørg Hemsing is also presenting her first original composition „Homecoming – Varitations on the folk tune from Valdres“ as a testament to the personal significance of this new recording and its history. Moreover, in pianist Simon Trpčeski Hemsing has found a strong musical partner, an internationally acclaimed artist praised for celebrating the rich folk traditions of his own native country, Macedonia.  

Grieg Violin Sonatas will be available exclusively on Apple Music from February 21st 2020. The album will be released globally from March 6th 2020 on all streaming platforms as well as in physical format in your closest CD shop.

DEBUT CD REVIEW IN PIZZICATO

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“PIZZICATO SUPERSONIC AWARD: An excellent interpretation of Shostakovich’s first Violin Concerto is paired with the almost unknown, yet interesting concerto written by Norwegian composer Hjalmar Borgström, which equally experiences a more than adequate performance.”

Uwe Krusch | Pizzicato | 7th May 2018

Eröffnet wird diese CD mit dem Violinkonzert von Hjalmar Bjorgström. Wie so viele Norweger hatte er seine Ausbildung in Deutschland, in seinem Fall in Leipzig erhalten. Fand er auch das Studium an und für sich wenig als bereichernd, so inspirierte ihn die reiche Musikkultur, weswegen er lange verweilte. Als er dann endlich nach Norwegen zurückkehrte, war er so in dieser Welt verfangen, dass er dem hochromantischen Stil treu blieb und sich auch nicht darum bemühte, Elemente der norwegischen Musik in sein Wirken aufzunehmen. Das registrierte Grieg mit Verwunderung.

Das Violinkonzert von Borgström ist also diesem romantischen Stil verbunden und, wie der neutrale Titel anzeigt, auch ohne programmatischen Hintergrund, wenn es auch einen narrativen Charakter hat.

Klassisch ist die dreisätzige Form und man hat immer wieder den Eindruck, alte Bekannte wie Brahms, Mendelssohns, Schumann zu treffen, da es die Sprache seiner berühmten Vorgänger intuitiv übernimmt. Dennoch kann man ihm kein Plagiat vorwerfen. Das Stück entwickelt durchaus einen eigenen Charme und ist handwerklich nach allen Regeln meisterhaft gestaltet. Nur hinkt es den neuen musikalischen Entwicklungen zur Entstehungszeit 1914 hinterher.

Eldbjorg Hemsing kann geigerisch aus dem Vollen schöpfen. Ihr Spiel strahlt Souveränität aus, es ist temperamentvoll und bietet dem Hörer einen klaren und schlackenlosen Ton. Dadurch kann sie diese Rarität im Repertoire so ausleuchten, dass das vielleicht ein wenig biedere Werk trotzdem erstrahlt und man mit Interesse bei der Stange bleibt. Ihre hochentwickelten gestalterischen Fertigkeiten setzt sie danach für eine durch und durch überzeugende Darstellung von Shostakovichs erstem Konzert ein. Dieses eine breite Palette von Stimmungen abbildende Werk durchdringt sie mit derartiger Tiefe der Darstellung, dass es eine reine Freude ist. Besonders die Passacaglia lebt von der auch die kleinsten Nuancen auslotenden und herauskitzelnden Ruhe, bevor sie die Burlesque kunstvoll ausgetanzt.

Gemeinsam mit den galant zupackenden Wiener Symphonikern unter Olari Elts werden alle Farben der beiden Werke effektvoll zur Geltung gebracht. Die ausgezeichnete Technik der Aufnahme vervollständigt die positiv zu benennenden Punkte.

ELDBJØRG HEMSING IN CLASSICAL MUSIC MAGAZINE

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Eldbjørg Hemsing prominently featured in May 2018 issue of CLASSICAL MUSIC magazine (UK)

Violinist Jack Liebeck curates this strings edition of Classical Music encompassing his many artistic passions, from music education and photography through to practical advice for performers on maintaining healthy technique and taking instruments on tour. Professors Brian Cox, Robert Winston and Brian Foster explore the relationship between science and music; the benefits of hand therapy for common musicians’ injuries; CITES and travelling with instruments; the art of photographing performers; and what happens when students exercise their rights as consumers in higher education?

Plus, violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing turns up the Romantic heat in Norway; Joanna MacGregor celebrates the 70th anniversary of Dartington International Summer School; Orchestra Manager of the Year Sue Mallet; percussionist and conductor Thomas Søndergård; the role of a recording producer; Gallicantus tackle Orlande de Lassus’s sibylline prophecies; and osteopathy for musicians.

> More details in the digital and print version of CLASSICAL MUSIC

DEBUT CD REVIEW IN RESMUSICA

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“…an outstanding artist with a warm tone, accurate and precise playing… Eldbjørg Hemsing gives the second movement, the Scherzo, a bewitching and hypnotic interpretation, unforgettable. The other three movements, in the pure style of the Russian musician, place this perfectly controlled version at the level of the greatest recordings. The Vienna Symphony, conducted by the rigorous and experienced Estonian Olari Elts (born in 1971), shares the outstanding merits and contributes to making this recording a subject of legitimate lust and curiosity.”

Jean-Luc Caron | ResMusica | 1 May 2018

Three decades separate the Borgström and Shostakovich concertos for violin and orchestra, representatives of two irreconcilable, if not contradictory, worlds admirably defended on the BIS label.

Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing (born 1990), an outstanding artist with a warm tone, accurate and precise playing, has a very honorable career. Her subtle understanding of music is regularly emphasized. This recording, if necessary, furnishes us with a new proof.

The concerto for violin in G major by his compatriot Hjalmar Borgström (1864-1925), a contemporary of Carl Nielsen, returns to the light. He deserves it amply. The fame of this pupil from Leipzig (where he traveled in 1887), who was an ardent defender of German orchestral music and program music, was eclipsed by the eruption of the new modernity emerging around the First World War. His lack of enthusiasm for Norwegian musical nationalism and its icon Edvard Grieg surely contributed to his marginalization. However, the Kristiania Concerto, which was premiered in 1914, was well received because of its rich and abundant melodic writing, passionate, lyrical, rhapsodic, and some splendidly orchestrated passages. In the Adagio there are a few repetitive steps that are strikingly reminiscent of a section of Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto (1941)!

Shostakovich’s Concerto for Violin No. 1 in A minor (1948, revised in 1955), written for David Oistrakh and valiantly defended by him (and recorded twice), transports us to another world, fascinating, exuberant and dark, alternately marked by harshness, caricatural dancing and insistent hammering, a concealed confession of the true state of mind of a rebellious and wounded creator. Eldbjørg Hemsing gives the second movement, the Scherzo, a bewitching and hypnotic interpretation, unforgettable. The other three movements, in the pure style of the Russian musician, place this perfectly controlled version at the level of the greatest recordings (David Oistrach, Maxime Shostakovich, EMI, 1972, Lydia Mordkovich, Neeme Jarvi, Chandos, 1989, Yefim Bronfman, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sony, 2003).

The Vienna Symphony, conducted by the rigorous and experienced Estonian Olari Elts (born in 1971), shares the outstanding merits and contributes to making this recording a subject of legitimate lust and curiosity.

DEBUT CD REVIEW IN RHEINISCHE POST

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Musik aus tiefster Geigerseele

“The wonderful Violin Concerto in G major op. 14 from 1914 is a real hit, and you can be thankful to the Swedish label BIS for letting the work now appear at its best. The solo part is played by the fabulous young Norwegian Eldbjørg Hemsing: she impresses with a brilliant technique, her tone is bright and soft – and the grandeur of a free violinist soul is enthroned above everything. The 27-year-old artist, of whom there is still a great deal to hear, brings the work, which one can hear wonderfully carefree, so to speak, back into the repertoire. The Wiener Symphoniker, under the direction of Olari Elts, assists masterfully. This SACD is rounded off by a no less impressive performance of the Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor by Dmitri Shostakovich, which captures the edges and abysses of the music.“

Wolfram Goetz | Rheinische Post | 5 Mar 2018:

Die einen kamen aus dem hohen Norden nach Deutschland, um hier tief in die Tradition der klassischen Musik einzudringen und die letzten Weihen zu empfangen. Dann kehrten sie zurück, kümmerten sich um die authentische Musik ihrer Heimat und um die Art, wie sie selbst als Komponisten in dieser nationalmusikalischen Thematik eine eigene und unverwechselbare Stimme fanden. Für Hjalmar Borgstrøm war das nicht der richtige Plan. Der 1864 in Oslo geborene Komponist ging 1887, als 23-Jähriger, nach Leipzig, aber er dachte nicht daran, sich die zentraleuropäischen Errungenschaften alsbald wieder abzuschminken. Er war infiziert von der Macht der Programmmusik, er genoss das volle Programm von Johannes Brahms, Franz Liszt und Richard Wagner und stand einem norwegischen Idiom fern (wie es etwa, selbstverständlich auf wundervollem Niveau, bei Edvard Grieg der Fall gewesen war).

Und als Borgstrøm zurück war in Oslo, da fiel der Erfolg seiner Musik nur matt aus: Man sehnte sich zumal nach dem Ende des Ersten Weltkriegs nach Esprit, nicht nach Erdenschwere. Norwegen schaute nach Frankreich, und Borgstrøm musste sein Geld als Musikkritiker verdienen. In dieser Profession war er allerdings hoch angesehen, er galt als Instanz. Dabei ist das wundervolle Violinkonzert G-Dur op. 14 aus dem Jahr 1914 ein echter Knüller, und man kann dem schwedischen Label BIS dankbar sein, dass er das Werk jetzt in Bestbesetzung hat aufnehmen lassen.

Den Solopart spielt die fabelhafte junge norwegische Eldbjørg Hemsing: Sie prunkt mit einer glänzenden Technik, ihr Ton ist leuchtend, hat Schmelz – und über allem thront die Grandezza einer freien Geigerseele. Die 27-jährige Künstlerin, von der man noch sehr viel hören wird, holt das Werk, das man wunderbar unbeschwert hören kann, sozusagen zurück ins Repertoire. Dabei helfen die Wiener Symphoniker unter Leitung von Olari Elts meisterlich mit.

Abgerundet wird diese SACD durch eine nicht minder beeindruckende, die Kanten und Abgründe der Musik einfangende Wiedergabe des Violinkonzerts Nr. 1 a-Moll von Dmitri Schostakowitsch.

DEBUT CD REVIEW IN KLASSISKMUSIK

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RATING: 6/6 STARS

★★★★★

“… a fabulous discovery … [Hemsing] offers a star performance, technically steady as a mountain goat, bold and assertive where required and sweetly filled like spun sugar in the slow movement… the interpretation of Shostakovich’s first violin concerto is more than superb… this recording is strongly recommended.​”​

Klassiskmusik | Martin Anderson | Oversatt fra engelsk av Mona Levin | 14 February 2018

Forskjellige lands evne til å overse store deler av sin egen kunstarv opphører aldri å overraske – og det gjelder ikke bare Norge. Nesten hvert eneste land med en musikktradisjon utenfor mainstream lukker øynene, eller heller ørene, for den. Jeg kunne sette opp lange lister med franske komponister som ikke blir spilt i Frankrike, skotske komponister som forblir uspilt i Skottland, belgiske komponister som er ukjente i Belgia, spanske …. Du skjønner tegningen.

Det faktum at Norge bruker lang tid på å (gjen)oppdage viktige norske komponister, er altså hverken nytt eller uvanlig. Den mest oversette norske fiolinkonserten er den i d-moll av Catharinus Elling (1858–1942) som ble utgitt i 1918; Arve Tellefsens innspilling fra 1987 avdekket et verk fullt på høyde med det romantiske standardrepertoaret innen fiolinkonserter – Bruch g-moll, Dvořák, Glazunov, Tsjaikovskij osv – og allikevel er det forbløffende nok ikke foretatt noen annen innspilling i løpet av de mellomliggende tre tiår. Tellefsens pionerinnsats, som finnes på YouTube, viser med all mulig tydelighet hvor viktig minneverdige melodier er for at et verk som en fiolinkonsert skal oppnå suksess (lytt etter «Don’t cry for me, Argentina» – Elling var der først!).

Hjalmar Borgstrøms (1864-1925) fiolinkonsert i G-dur fra 1914 er ikke like minneverdig som Ellings (den har atmosfære fremfor sterke melodier), og med sine 36 minutter er den for lang for sitt materiale, men den er en fabelaktig oppdagelse uansett. Den innleder med et varsomt kallerop fra paukene, en dristig, søkende påstand fra solofiolinen besvares av innforståtte treblåsere, og slik folder den 16 minutter lange førstesatsen seg som en rapsodi i fri form, mer som en tankegang i utvikling en i noen tydelig musikalsk form. Den er ofte svært vakker i sin dagdrømming, sporadisk satt opp mot heroisk orkesterkomponering som sterkt antyder friluft – skjønt noe mer generelt nordisk friluft enn spesifikt norsk. Den langsomme Adagio-satsen begynner med en rørende koral-aktig figur i strykere og horn, som nå og da vender tilbake. Paradoksalt, til tross for fravær av hva tyskerne kaller «ørekrypere» i det melodiske materialet, har musikken uansett ekte personlighet. Finalen slår inn med en fengende (endelig!) dans, som viser seg å være hovedtemaet i en rondo, skjønt Borgstrøm vandrer ofte off piste, og denne satsen går i mål etter mer enn 11 minutter. Men selv om musikken ikke har tatt den retteste veien mellom A og B, er utsikten langs ruten aldri mindre enn herlig – og på slutten synes verket bare å bli borte i krattet og forsvinne i noen meloditråder. Hvis Borgstrøms konsert ikke skulle slå an, er det iallfall ikke Eldbjørg Hemsings skyld: hun byr på stjernespill, teknisk stø som en fjellgeit, dristig og påståelig der det kreves, og sødmefylt som spunnet sukker i den langsomme satsen. Den estiske dirigenten Olari Elts og wienersymfonikerne gir formfull, livlig orkesterstøtte.

Deres tolkning av Sjostakovitsj’ første konsert (et pussig verk å sette sammen med Borgstrøm) er greit mer enn fremragende – den mangler noe av det desperate bittet, den ville lidenskapen og tragiske uavvendeligheten som (for eksempel) de som uroppførte den, David Ojstrakh og Jevgenij Mravinskij, fylte den med fra midten på 1950-tallet av. Noe av grunnen er at Hemsing ikke graver dypt nok ned i strengene, slik at solostemmen mangler tyngde. Klarheten i denne innspillingen ligger selvsagt milelangt fra bokseklangen den gang, og hvem ville vel kjøpe denne platen for Sjostakovitj? Jeg ville også foretrukket større engasjement i musikken i Thomas Blocks CD-hefte: han avspiser den dypt bevegende Passacaglia i 3. sats i Sjostakovitsj med tretten ord. Når det gjelder Borgstrøm, anbefales denne innspillingen på det sterkeste.

FORTE FEATURE FILM WITH ELDBJØRG HEMSING

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“Forte” is the new feature film from David Donnelly(“Maestro“) on three strong, utmost remarkable and ouststanding women who are achieving unlikely success in classical music: Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing, Argentinian composer and conductor Lucía Caruso and Russian-born violinist Tatiana Berman from the United States.

Story: Forte is the international story of three women who are challenging industry norms by making their own rules in a musical genre steeped in tradition. A young Norwegian soloist champions a rare, self-discovered composition and risks a promising career to bring it to life. A small-town girl, born and raised in the Russian Arctic, gives up an executive position at a top artist management corporation to create her own international maverick agency. An Argentinian composer gets the opportunity of a lifetime. And a cultural entrepreneur and mother of three struggles to balance her family and career. The one thing these bold, game-changing individuals have in common is: strength.

Direction/Production: Forte is written and directed by David Donnelly, founder of Culture Monster and director of the acclaimed hit documentary Maestro. It is produced by David Donnelly and Anastasia Boudanoque, founder of Primavera Consulting. Executive Producer is Roland Göhde of the Göhde Foundation.

Filming Locations: Sintra, Portugal; Cincinnati, Ohio; Paris, France; London, England; New York, New York; Rhinecliff, NY; Mendoza, Argentina; Aurdal/Oslo, Norway; Berlin, Germany; Moscow, Russia

> Forte website
> Forte on Facebook

The first official trailer of “Forte” is out now:

ELDBJØRG HEMSING STORMEN ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

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Eldbjørg Hemsing named 2018 ‘Artist in Residence’ at Stormen Konserthus

Violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing is the ‘2018 Artist in Residence’ at Stormen Konserthus Bodø Norway, where she will perform in concert and recital on several occasions throughout the year. The iconic concert hall, which is situated in Bodø in the far North of Norway, was unveiled in 2014 and has been praised for both its world-class acoustics and initiative in presenting musical excellence. In her first appearance at Stormen Eldbjørg Hemsing will perform Massenet’s Thaïs: Méditation at the New Year’s Gala Concert (5 January 2018), together with the Nordnorsk Opera og Symfoniorkester – Arctic Philharmonic and conductor Henrik Schaefer. She returns in spring to perform Hjalmar Borgström’s Violin Concerto in G major, op. 25 (9 March) with the Nordnorsk Opera og Symfoniorkester – Arctic Philharmonic and Eva Ollikainen – Conductor, with an additional performance at KulturHuset i Tromsø. Also featured in the Residency are performances of Dvořák ́s Mazurek and Halvorsen’s Norwegian Dances for Violin and Orchestra at the NOSO ́s outdoor concert at Nordland Musikkfestuke, whilst her final appearance will be a specially programmed recital with the acclaimed Macedonian pianist Simon Trpčeski. “I am honoured to be appointed Stormen’s ‘2018 Artist in Residence” commented Eldbjørg Hemsing. “I can’t wait to get up to the North again where I have such fond memories of previous performances and where the wild and powerful nature gives a different dimension of musical inspiration. I am particularly proud to be performing Borgström’s violin concerto which is a piece that I have become passionate about and which deserves much more attention than it currently receives. He is a Norwegian composer who was famous at the beginning of the 20th century but whose name has completely dropped from programmes both at home and abroad.”

About Stormen Konserthus Bodø / Stormen Concert Hall Bodø

Stormen Konserthus Bodø / Stormen Concert Hall Bodø’s world-class acoustics ensure optimal conditions for classical masterpieces as well as the performances of pop/rock shows, theatre, dance and conferences.The large hall seats 900 people and offers some of the worlds best acoustics for classical music. Variable acoustic panels and a full size flytower and orchestra pit makes this hall equally suitable for opera, ballet, pop, jazz, rock and theatre. Our Steinway grand piano was carefully selected by Leif Ove Andsnes. The small hall seats 240, the chamber hall around 80. The foyers are well suitable for concerts and receptions, and legendary club venue Sinus (460 capacity) has the perfect atmosphere for jazz and rock. “We are very proud to appoint Eldbjørg Hemsing as the ‘2018 Artist in Residence’. She has truly established herself as a top international artist and we look forward to the variety of her virtuoso performances at our concert hall.” Rolf-Cato Raade, director Stormen.