She practically grew up with this work, she says. Indeed, young violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing feels noticeably at home in Dvořák’s Violin Concerto. The way she makes her instrument sing with an amazingly nuanced and beguiling tone full of vibrancy has compelling intensity. Nothing sounds laboured here, everything seems to happen spontaneously in this music. The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra under Alan Buribayev is extremely present and sensitive in this interaction and unfolds a tremendously broad spectrum of colours. The folkloristically inspired finale of the Violin Concerto impresses with light-footed verve and shimmering airiness. A new benchmark recording has been achieved here in every respect. The longingly agitated modernity of the fantasy of Dvořák’s pupil and son-in-law Josef Suk with its subtle shades and surprising changes additionally shows the great potential of Hemsing and her colllaborators.
Fanfare Review of Eldbjørg Hemsing’s second solo album release
“…flawless intonation, a lovely tone, and, in the bargain, magical phrasing. The finest musicians possess both a keen, unique musical insight, and the technical ability to communicate those insights to their audiences. Hemsing is such an artist. And throughout, Hemsing plays with a true sense of joy that is irresistible… If you are looking for a superb version of the Dvořák Violin Concerto in first-rate sound, the new Hemsing BIS issue gets my unqualified recommendation… This new BIS recording by Eldbørg Hemsing documents the work of a major artist.”
Ken Meltzer | Fanfare | 2 August 2018
Earlier this year (Issue 41:6, July/August 2018), my Fanfare colleagues Colin Clarke and Jerry Dubins offered the highest praise for a debut disc on the BIS label, featuring Norwegian violinist Eldbørg Hemsing performing the Shostakovich Concerto No. 1, and the Concerto in G, op. 25 by Hjalmar Borgström. Now it is my turn to do the same for Ms. Hemsing’s subsequent release, a pairing of the Dvořák Violin Concerto with two works by his pupil and son-in-law, Czech composer Josef Suk, the Fantasy in G minor, and Liebeslied, op. 7, no. 1.
To be sure, the recorded competition in the Dvořák Concerto is strong. My favorites are a 1950s EMI version with Nathan Milstein, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and William Steinberg, and an early-1960s Supraphon disc with Josef Suk (the composer’s namesake and grandson) as soloist, and Karel Ančerlleading the Czech Philharmonic. Hemsing’s new version belongs in that august company. After appearing as soloist in the January 1, 1879 world premiere of the Brahms Violin Concerto, Joseph Joachim requested Dvořák to write a similar work for him. Joachim did not ultimately perform the premiere of the Dvořák Violin Concerto (that honor went to the distinguished Czech violinist František Ondříček). Nevertheless, Joachim worked closely with Dvořák in the creation of the Violin Concerto, with the expectation that it would serve as a showcase for his talents. Of course, Joachim was one of the greatest violinists of the 19thcentury, and the Dvořák Concerto demands a virtuoso of the highest order. Hemsing is more than equal to all of the challenges. Throughout, the soloist is often called upon to play mercilessly exposed passages in the highest reaches of the instrument. Hemsing dispatches these episodes with flawless intonation, a lovely tone, and, in the bargain, magical phrasing. Much the same may be said about all of the virtuoso sections of the work. I don’t think the adjective “breathtaking” to describe Hemsing’s playing is at all hyperbolic. But focusing upon isolated passages in Hemsing’s interpretation risks not doing it justice. To me, the most compelling aspect of Hemsing’s account of the Dvořák Concerto may be found in her grasp of the work’s overall architecture. Throughout, I had the distinct impression that the soloist was approaching each portion with the intent of seamlessly connecting it to what follows. The finest musicians possess both a keen, unique musical insight, and the technical ability to communicate those insights to their audiences. Hemsing is such an artist. And throughout, Hemsing plays with a true sense of joy that is irresistible. While I don’t think that the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Alan Buribayev, equals the tonal richness and vibrant playing of Pittsburgh/Steinberg and Czech Philharmonic/Ančerl, their contribution is of a high level. And the gorgeous recorded sound on the new BIS release offers a far more realistic and thrilling sonic picture than that offered by the prior recordings I mentioned, each well more than a half-century old. If you are looking for a superb version of the Dvořák Violin Concerto in first-rate sound, the new Hemsing BIS issue gets my unqualified recommendation.
In her first BIS recording, Eldbørg Hemsing made a conscious decision to pair a highly-familiar work (Shostakovich 1) with one that has languished in obscurity (Borgström G Major). Hemsing follows a similar approach in the new release, although both Josef Suk and his Fantasia in G minor are both far better known than the Borgström Concerto. Indeed, the Suk Fantasia has frequently appeared as a disc companion to the Dvořák Concerto. Suk was a highly accomplished composer (and for that matter, violinist), who was capable of individual, expressive, and emotionally powerful music (his Asrael Symphony, for example). The Suk Fantasy strikes me as a rather episodic work, but one containing many attractive episodes that certainly afford the soloist the opportunity to display both technical and interpretive prowess. It’s not surprising that Hemsing plays this work superbly as well. But here, I think that the intensity Ančerl and the Czech Philharmonic bring to their 1965 recording with the wonderful Suk (the younger) make a better overall case for the piece.
The BIS recording concludes with Stephan Koncz’s transcription for violin and orchestra of Suk’s Liebeslied, from his Six Piano Pieces, op. 7. It’s a lovely, romantic work that Hemsing plays with great affection.
The booklet includes brief commentary from Hemsing, an essay on the works by Philip Borg-Wheeler, and artist bios (in English, German, and French). Thisnew BIS recording by Eldbørg Hemsing documents the work of a major artist. If you are at all interested in hearing her, and/or are in the market for recordings of the featured works, please do not hesitate. Very highly recommended.
Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing shows courage. On her debut recording she performs a violin concerto of Hjalmar Borgström, which is almost not known, and one of Shostakovich, on which famous colleagues have overstretched themselves. But Eldbjørg Hemsing already in her first attempt succeeds with grandiosity.
Eine Sinfonie von Joachim Kaiser? Eine Klaviersonate von Karl Schumann oder Ulrich Schreiber? Eine Kantate von Eleonore Büning oder Manuel Brug? Was uns heutzutage in der Literatur noch vergleichsweise häufig begegnet, dass Kritiker selbst zu Autoren werden, bildet in der Musik die Ausnahme. Dafür muss man schon zu Robert Schumann, Hector Berlioz oder Claude Debussy zurückgehen. Doch auch für sie gilt: Sie wurden und werden vor allem als Komponisten wahrgenommen, und erst in zweiter oder dritter Linie als Musikkritiker. Bei Hjalmar Borgström hingegen ist das anders. Von 1907 bis zu seinem Tod 1925 schrieb er in seiner norwegischen Heimat Musikkritiken und wurde damit zu einer nationalen Instanz. Das Komponieren geriet für ihn mehr und mehr zum “Nebenbei”. Umso erstaunlicher, dass er nebenbei 1914 ein Violinkonzert schreibt.
Allegro con spirito, so hat Borgström das Finale zu seinem Violinkonzert überschrieben. Die Geige eröffnet furios. Dann klinkt sich das Orchester ein und bereitet den Boden für die weitere Gestaltung des Eingangsthemas: Es dominiert pure Spiellust, halb ungarisch “alla zingarese”, halb im Sinne der norwegischen Fiddle-Tradition.
Komponist mit eigenem Kopf und ohne nationale Scheuklappen
Erinnert dieser Beginn des Finalsatzes nicht ein wenig an das Violinkonzert von Johannes Brahms? Die Intervalle bei der Sologeige, die ungezügelte Spielfreude? Originär norwegisch klingt das jedenfalls nicht. Dafür gibt es biographische Gründe. Denn Borgström hat vorwiegend in Deutschland, ab 1887 in Leipzig und ab 1890 in Berlin studiert, wo er in Ferruccio Busoni einen prominenten Fürsprecher fand. Borgström selbst war fasziniert von der Macht der Programmmusik im Sinne eines Franz Liszt und auch von der Klangsprache Richard Wagners. Wieder zurück in Norwegen war Borgströms Musik nur wenig Erfolg beschieden. Das lag sicher auch daran, dass sie eben kein spezifisch norwegisches Idiom aufweist wie bei Edvard Grieg. Auch Grieg hatte in Deutschland studiert, wollte aber in Norwegen eine nationale Tonsprache etablieren. Genau das wollte Borgström nicht. Er wählte einen eigenen Weg. Sein Œuvre ist insgesamt, mit je zwei Opern und Sinfonien, wenigen Konzerten und Solowerken, eher schmal.
Erst ein Mal, nämlich im Jahr 2008, ist Borgströms Violinkonzert auf CD dokumentiert worden, mit Jonas Båtstrand, dem Sinfonieorchester der Norrlandsoperan und Terje Boye Hansen am Pult. Jetzt liegt das Werk in einer Neueinspielung vor. Sie übertrifft die ältere Version deutlich. Dabei handelt es sich um die Debüt-CD der norwegischen Geigerin Eldbjørg Hemsing. Schon als Fünfjährige hat sie mit ihrer Schwester vor der Königsfamilie ihres Heimatlandes konzertiert. Mit elf Jahren trat sie erstmals mit den Philharmonikern aus Bergen auf. Mit 22 erfolgte ihr internationaler Durchbruch, als sie sich bei der Friedensnobelpreisverleihung in Oslo präsentierte. Studiert hat Hemsing unter anderem in Wien. Die Noten zu Borgströms Konzert bekam sie bereits vor einigen Jahren geschenkt, doch blieben sie zunächst unbeachtet in einer Ecke liegen. Als die Geigerin dann doch einen genaueren Blick wagte, war sie schnell entflammt. “Was für eine fantastisch schöne, romantische Musik, und dabei auch noch gut spielbar”, so wird Hemsing in der Wochenzeitung “Die Zeit” zitiert. Die Wiener Symphoniker unter Olari Elts eröffnen dieses Violinkonzert, und nach nur wenigen Takten tritt bereits die Sologeige hinzu, anders als in den gewichtigen Traditions-Konzerten von Beethoven und Brahms. Auch wenn der Einsatz der Pauke am Beginn doch ein bisschen an das Beethoven-Konzert erinnert.
Die Tempi der Sätze zwei und drei sind in beiden vorliegenden Einspielungen nahezu gleich. Nur im ersten Satz sind Eldbjørg Hemsing und das Wiener Orchester etwas langsamer unterwegs, dafür mit ungleich klarerem Gestus. Die Übergänge gelingen fließend und natürlich, die Steigerungen organisch. Hemsings Ton leuchtet hell, aber nicht grell oder vordergründig brillant. Sie spielt durchaus mit Schmelz, aber frei von Kitsch. Wenn im Mittelteil des ersten Satzes die Musik immer dramatischere Züge annimmt, wenn Sologeige und Orchester sich mehr und mehr in einen Disput steigern, behauptet sich Hemsing geradezu kühn – mit Kraft und gleichzeitig mit einem flammenden Ton.
Top-Geigerin mit großer Klangfarbenpalette
Eldbjørg Hemsing spielt auf einer Guadagnini-Geige aus dem Jahr 1754, die ihr eine Stiftung zur Verfügung gestellt hat. Das Instrument ist, selten genug, fast noch im Originalzustand. Man muss sich nicht allzu weit aus dem Fenster lehnen, um zu behaupten, dass man von Hemsing künftig noch einiges hören wird. Denn wie sie im langsamen Satz mit warmen, fast bronzenen Klangfarben arbeitet, um zwischenzeitlich mit größter Selbstverständlichkeit den Ton ins Silbrige zu verlagern, das zeugt von großer Klasse und verspricht einiges für ihre Zukunft.
Was diese Einspielung so besonders macht, ist die Selbstverständlichkeit, mit der Eldbjørg Hemsing die leisen und sehr leisen Passagen meistert. Dann lässt sie ihre Geige wundervoll singen: geheimnisvoll und poetisch, arios und tänzerisch. unterstützt durch die zarten Zupfer der Streicher und kurze Intermezzi der Klarinette.
Vieles an dieser neuen Einspielung ist ungewöhnlich, vor allem das Programm. Denn eine direkte Verbindungslinie zwischen Hjalmar Borgström und Dmitri Schostakowitsch gibt es nicht. Als der Norweger 1925 mit 61 Jahren starb, war sein russischer Kollege erst noch auf dem Sprung zu einer großen Karriere. Schostakowitschs erstes Violinkonzert entstand 1948, zu einer Zeit, als die stalinistische Partei sein Schaffen mit Argus-Augen überwachte. Was nicht mit ihren Richtlinien konform ging, wurde abgelehnt, und der Komponist hatte Repressalien zu fürchten. Daher erfolgte die Premiere dieses Konzertes erst im Jahr 1955 mit David Oistrach als Solist.
Auch in diesem Konzert bilden Geigerin Eldbjørg Hemsing, die Wiener Symphoniker und Olari Elts eine Einheit. Das zeigt besonders der schroffe Gegensatz zwischen dem dunklen, einleitenden Notturno und dem bizarren Scherzo. Wie hier die säuselnden Bläser, Bassklarinette und Flöte, mit den schroffen Akzenten der Solovioline kontrastieren, das verrät Schärfe, Bitternis und, bezeichnend für Schostakowitsch, beißenden Humor. Das gilt in gleichem Maße für die sich unmittelbar anschließende Passage, wenn die Geige das Kommando übernimmt und die Streicher hinzutreten.
Verträumt bis bärbeißig – Schostakowitschs erstes Violinkonzert
Eldbjørg Hemsing ist gewiss kein musikalischer Muskelprotz, dem es in erster Linie auf äußere Effekte ankommt. Die Norwegerin erweist sich als sensible Künstlerin, die sich und ihren Ton immer wieder genauer Prüfung unterzieht. Daher findet sie für jede Stimmung einen adäquaten Ausdruck, ob verträumt und nach innen gekehrt oder bärbeißig und virtuos. Ihre technischen und musikalischen Fähigkeiten gehen Hand in Hand. Wenn es, wie im Finalsatz von Schostakowitschs erstem Violinkonzert, schnell zugeht, spiegelt diese Aufnahme den experimentellen Geist des Komponisten. Doch trotz der vielen, teils schnellen rhythmischen und dynamischen Umschwünge: Hemsings Geige klirrt nie, auch geraten die kurzen Linien nicht aus dem Fokus. Die Solistin weiß genau, wo sie hinmöchte und wie sie die Höhepunkte ansteuern muss, um deren ganze Wirkung so spontan und natürlich wie möglich herauszuarbeiten. Das ist eindrucksvoll und rundet den sehr positiven, stellenweise herausragenden Gesamteindruck dieser neuen Produktion ab.
Heute haben wir Ihnen die Debüt-CD der Geigerin Eldbjørg Hemsing vorgestellt. Mit den Wiener Symphonikern und Olari Elts hat sie Violinkonzerte von Hjalmar Borgström und Dmitri Schostakowitsch aufgenommen, erschienen ist sie als SACD beim schwedischen Label BIS.
“KlickKlack”, music magazine for Classical Music, Jazz and good Pop Music, is the only format in which two world stars – cellist Sol Gabetta an percussionist Martin Grubinger – are giving the TV viewers a very close experience on how professional artist work, rehearse and perform. The imagery is modern, the camera extremely subjective.
Eldbjørg Hemsing has been guest of Martin Grubinger in the BR-KLASSIK “KlickKlack” feature from 7th May 2018, beside Michael Sanderling, Chief Conductor of Dresden Philharmonic, Gautier Capuçon, French cellist, and pianist Jens Thomas.
Es ist immer wieder erfreulich, wenn junge Interpreten ihr CD-Debüt dazu nutzen, Werke zu präsentieren, die man nicht alle Tage zu hören bekommt. So hat sich die norwegische Geigerin Eldbjørg Hemsing entschieden, ihre erste Aufnahme als Konzertsolistin mit dem 1914 uraufgeführten Violinkonzert ihres Landsmannes Hjalmar Borgström zu eröffnen.
Im Beiheft erfährt man, dass Borgström – er schrieb seinen Namen demonstrativ mit ö statt ø – sich für die zeitgenössische deutsche Musik stark machte und bei Edvard Grieg, der ihm Desinteresse an norwegischer Nationalidiomatik vorwarf, auf Unverständnis stieß. Nun rekurriert Borgströms Konzert tatsächlich nicht offensiv auf Volksmusiktopoi, doch klingt das Werk weder nach Wagner, noch nach Brahms, und schon gar nicht nach Strauss oder Reger. Stattdessen hört man deutlich, dass Borgström ein Generationsgenosse Halvorsens und Sindings ist. Mittels einer reichen Klangfarbenpalette – immer wieder begegnen interessante Instrumentationseinfälle – entfaltet der Komponist unter weitgehendem Verzicht auf handwerkliche Kunststücke schlichte, gesangliche Melodien, aus deren Wendungen man, Grieg zum Trotz, durchaus auf einen Skandinavier schließen kann. Für das Soloinstrument ist das Konzert anspruchs- und wirkungsvoll geschrieben, ohne ein Virtuosenstück zu sein. Sein introvertierter Charakter zeigt sich nicht zuletzt darin, dass sowohl der Kopfsatz, als auch das Finale, die beide nur mäßig schnell sind, leise enden. Die Interpretation, die ihm durch Eldbjørg Hemsing und die Wiener Symphoniker unter Olari Elts zuteil wird, dürfe sich gut dazu eignen, dem schönen Werk Freunde zu gewinnen. Der kantable Gestus des Stückes kommt Hemsing offenbar entgegen. Sie besitzt ein sicheres Gespür für die abwechslungsreiche Gestaltung wie für die Verknüpfung der einzelnen Phrasen, so dass in ihren Händen die Musik stets in angenehmem Fluss bleibt. Vom Vibrato macht sie dabei reichlichen, aber nicht übermäßigen Gebrauch.
Über ihren Lehrer Boris Kuschnir ist Eldbjørg Hemsing Enkelschülerin David Oistrachs. So verwundert es nicht, dass sie sich dem Oistrach gewidmeten Violinkonzert Nr. 1 von Dmitrij Schostakowitsch besonders verbunden fühlt und dieses als zweites Stück auf der CD erscheint. Auch dem von Borgströms Idiom sehr verschiedenen Stil Schostakowitschs erweist sie sich als vollauf gewachsen. Namentlich zeigt sich dies in den raschen Sätzen des Werkes, in denen die Vorzüge ihres Spiels auch bei forscherer Artikulation deutlich werden.
Olari Elts lässt die Wiener Symphoniker in beiden Violinkonzerten als verlässlichen Partner agieren, dessen Spiel mit dem der Solistin trefflich harmoniert. Auch er ist ein Musiker, der es versteht, die einzelnen Klänge in große Bögen einzubetten. Hervorheben möchte ich diesbezüglich den Beginn der Passacaglia im Schostakowitsch-Konzert, der übrigens – wie auch der Anfang des Borgström-Konzerts – zeigt, dass die Wiener Symphoniker über einen ausgezeichneten Pauker verfügen.
Das Klangbild der Aufnahme hält weitgehend mit der Qualität der Darbietungen Schritt. Das Verhältnis von Soloinstrument und Orchester ist insgesamt ausgewogen, was allerdings auch den Kompositionen zuzuschreiben ist: Aller stilistischen Unterschiede ungeachtet eint Borgström und Schostakowitsch ihre Vorliebe zu durchsichtiger Instrumentation mit prägnanten Klangmischungen, so dass selbst bei deutlicher Fokussierung der Aufnahme auf das Soloinstrument – wie hier geschehen – die orchestralen Effekte nicht an Wirkung einbüßen. Einzig in der fugierten Durchführung von Schostakowitschs Scherzo tritt die Violine etwas zu deutlich hervor. Hier wäre eine stärkere Akzentuierung der jeweils themenführenden Instrumente wünschenswert gewesen. Den insgesamt sehr guten Eindruck, den die CD hinterlässt, schmälert dies jedoch kaum. Eldbjørg Hemsing ist ein überzeugendes Debüt gelungen, auf weitere Veröffentlichungen der jungen Künstlerin darf man neugierig sein.
“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.”
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.
Rating 6/6 Stars: “Eldbjørg Hemsing’s wide spectrum of sound and delicate virtuosity fits this concerto very well. She shows a technique and a virtuosity that is admirable. This recording can in many ways be regarded as Hemsing’s masterpiece – and she has passed this exam with flying colors.”
These are two widely different violin concertos for which Eldbjørg Hemsing has collaborated with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. And you are captured by her violin playing, which makes both of these concertos perfect.
Hjalmar Borgström (1864-1925) and his music have in many ways received a new spring in recent years. His opera “Thora on Rimul” and not least the orchestral works “Hamlet” (for piano and orchestra) and “Tanken”, as well as the violin sonata, have helped give Borgström the place he deserves in music history. His music is not “Norwegian” in the sense that he walks in Grieg’s footsteps. He stayed for long periods in Germany and gained much of his inspiration from European music life.
The quality of this “forgotten” concert is very good. And Eldbjørg Hemsing’s wide spectrum of sound and her delicate virtuosity fits this concerto very well. She has a musical timbre range that is impressive, something she greatly utilizes in this violin concerto.
That she knows well and masters the music of Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) is beyond doubt. His first violin concerto is intense with its rhythmic and intense sound colors, and its is undoubtedly a masterpiece.
A number of great violinists have recorded this work – and the first was David Oistrakh, to whom the concerto is dedicated.
Hemsing has studied this work with the Ukrainian musician and Professor Boris Kushnir – a very good choice as she performs this concerto with a solid dose of Eastern European understanding. There is not a single tone that remains anonymous in her interpretation. She shows a technique and a virtuosity that is admirable.
Supporting her, Eldbjørg Hemsing has the very good Vienna Symphony Orchestra, attentively and skilfully led by Estonian conductor Olari Elts.
This recording can in many ways be regarded as Hemsing’s masterpiece – and she has passed this exam with flying colors.
In a classical recording industry seemingly obsessed with marketing beautiful young female violinists, but very often presenting them in repertoire to which most of them seem to have little individual to add, how do you make your mark? Norwegian Eldbjørg Hemsing came up with a bright idea typical of a thoughtful approach in which the music always comes first: to twin a 1914 concerto she genuinely admires by a compatriot very few people will know, Hjalmar Borgstrøm (1864-1925), with what is perhaps the ultimate 20th century challenge to violinists, Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto.
Is the Borgstrøm concerto a neglected masterpiece? No. Is it worth hearing? Absolutely, not only for its authenticity and sincerity of utterance, but also because Hemsing uses it to showcase the lyrical soul of the violin (it’s rich in melodies, some more distinctive than others). Graham Rickson expands in this week’s classical CDs roundup. I admired the new BIS disc enough to make the trip to Bodø above the Arctic Circle in Norway to hear a live performance, not least because I was interested to see how it withstood the “live” test in this much-redeveloped town’s jewel, the concert hall designed in conjunction with the library on the harbour by London-based practice DRDH (architects Daniel Rosbottom and David Howarth).
It held the attention throughout, not least because Hemsing was as much the guiding force behind the work as Eivind Gullberg Jensen, conducting the combined NOSO (North Norwegian Opera and Symphony Orchestra) and Arctic Philharmonic (the performance pictured below by Synne M Tommersberg for Stormen Konserthus). Hemsing was vivacious company at supper afterwards, and the next morning we sat down to talk not only about the work but also about her focused philosophy of music-making.
DAVID NICE Can we start where everybody will, with the debut disc and this very clever idea of twinning a concerto which most of us don’t know with the Shostakovich First Violin Concerto, which we do. Was that your idea or in conjunction with Robert von Bahr of BIS?
ELDBJØRG HEMSING No that was my idea, actually, and first I really wanted to record the Shostakovich, which is a piece I’ve had inside me since I was young, and I was studying with Boris Kushnir, who knew David Oistrakh [the dedicatee of the concerto], had the direct link, and was brought up in this whole environment, this political difficulty and the pain and the sorrow and the distress, and I felt fairly safe just knowing that there had been this contact, also that I played it quite a lot, I thought, OK, what do I play Shostakovich with? And I really wanted the biggest contrast possible, not only in having something unknown but also something that would give the biggest change in sound. For me Shostakovich, to put it simply, is really dark and heavy and you’re pushed as far as you can go as a human being.
And the audience is too…
Yes, it’s really that you are on the edge of your seat, hopefully, and Borgstrøm to me was the complete opposite, there were the beautiful, lyrical Nordic sounds, and I thought, that can be an interesting pairing.
It’s very daunting to be in a market with so many great recordings of the Shostakovich. You say it was the link back with the Oistrakh – did you know any of his recordings of the concerto?
Of course. By the way, this was actually recorded some time ago, and already I’m thinking, did I really do it like that?
You do it differently now?
I do, definitely. But that’s a whole part of why I waited so long for the recording. Because I was a bit afraid of this idea, that when you do something in a four-day recording sequence, that’s put on CD for ever, because music develops all the time, and that was a little bit limited to that time, OK, that’s how it sounded then, and maybe later it will sound different.
Then you can do the Second Concerto, which is astonishing.
It’s beautiful, so dark, too, but in a different way.
The Borgstrøm – my impression was that it’s a wonderful gift for a violinist, and it is your lyricism that carries it. It’s full of great ideas but it could sound a bit loose, you could think, where is this going? You’ve lived with it for quite some time. Do you feel that you’ve become more bound to it the more you’ve played it, and that there’s something deep underneath?
I think so, and there’ something about the piece that from the first moment I opened the score really spoke to me. It is as you say especially in the first movement quite fragmented, so it is a challenge which I think is quite fun to make sense of it, that it leads somewhere, that it has a long line hopefully, because it is very broken down, and the second movement luckily is more like an aria –
The way it opens up towards the end with the pizzicato accompaniment is a “wow’” moment, because you get a lot of breadth…
Exactly. It reminds me of something, I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but it’s a really beautiful moment, I think, and then the third movement is more like a folk dance, but it’s very hard to play, very up and down. It is definitely the challenge to try to keep the orchestra involved, not necessarily to make all one line, but to make it cohesive, and it’s fairly long – 35 to 36 minutes.
And the first movement feels big. That fantastic cadenza makes you really sit up, it’s a big event. Is it all written out?
Yes, and it’s quite a funny cadenza, because everything else is virtuosic, but not to that extent, and suddenly comes this up and down, here and there moment, but Borgstrøm obviously knew how the violin works, because it’s quite well written, actually.
You say you hear Norwegian intonations, we hear a few but to me it’s much more the lingua franca of late romanticism. What strikes you as particularly Norwegian?
There is a particular moment in the first movement when after a few of the runs I have a few trills and then I go on to the A string – it’s just very pure, not many layers, it’s only with the orchestral strings, then the wind come in shortly afterwards, it’s something about the chords and the purity, it’s not overly romantic, which I think is also the Nordic sound in a way, that it’s quite pure.
The orchestration some would call plain, but I think it’s very candid and one feels it comes from somewhere, it’s not “I’m writing a virtuoso concerto,” there’s real feeling. Yet he likes playing with what at the time would have been fairly forward-looking harmonies.
That’s true. He was quite an interesting composer, I think, and it was unfortunately for him just a case of bad timing. He really fell between two chairs, as we say.
Do you think he didn’t seem nationalistic enough to the Norwegians?
I think it’s a mix of different things. It’s a bit like you said because we had the union with Denmark and Sweden altogether for 500 years, at that point everyone was searching for national identity, for what is Norwegian, it was really a big search, and Grieg of course came in there, went round the country gathering folk tunes for his inspiration, and even to this day people identify that with what is Norwegian. Borgstrøm was more focused on Germanic and romantic ideals, and this is the school he wrote in, he spent at least 16 years in Berlin and Leipzig, his development took place there. Also when he wrote the concerto, that was 1914 and there were already new sounds around, it was just a bit old-fashioned in a way. With the two world wars, especially in Norway, it was not the most popular thing to continue with the old German ideas. I think it was a mix of all those things that kept him away from the centre.
It’s very refreshing to come back to a violin concerto that is entirely grateful to the player, because you must find this with a lot of new works, you’ve worked with Tan Dun quite a bit, but many contemporary composers work against the idea that the violin sings…
And I really hope they will come back to that, because I think it’s the purpose of the violin, it has to sing, it’s like a soprano, I really love playing something where you can find the right colours in the sounds, and if it’s too much effect then I feel there’s not really that much you can do with it as a performer.
It often seems to be the idea to make every sound but the legato.
Which is a bit weird, isn’t it? I think so.
I agree. But I think that time has probably passed, you’ve got people like John Adams writing fantastic works.
That’s true. No, I think the lyricism and the melodies have to be there, and I hope people will start writing like that again. Which may be a rather dangerous thing to say, but something more in that direction would be so refreshing it that point.
You may want to say something about Tan Dun, but do other contemporary composers stand out for you for writing gratefully for the violin, that you can think of?
There are many great ones, for sure, I haven’t worked so much on contemporary music other than with Tan Dun and some new Norwegian pieces, I have done a few of those. What I really love about Tan Dun is how rewarding it is to work with a living composer, who takes part in the whole process, and you can actually ask, what do you think of this piece, what is your inspiration, what character do you want at this point? Tan Dun also plays the violin himself so he knows how to write for it, and it’s really inspiring, and fun, too.
With Borgstrøm, you get a sense of his personality, and we were talking a bit last night about how this very dark music almost takes over the finale before the jolly melody comes back. Do you sense the melancholy figure underneath the freshness?
I think when you play the concerto and look at the picture of Borgstrøm, it’s two very conflicting images. Because he seems to have been very conservative and strict, he was also a music critic towards the end of his life, and famous for having a really sharp pen, he didn’t have any inhibitions about saying exactly what he meant, then you have this concerto which is so innocent and somehow a bit naive, it’s fun and playful and it’s bizarre to see that this piece came out of that picture.
As a critic, was he against certain modern tendencies?
Yes, he said that what he really loved and thought people should be more focused on, is programme music. And the late romantic era was his cup of tea.
But I suppose these composers who lived through times of great change had to be true to their roots, or what they heard when they were developing.
Exactly. And that’s him, that’s how he was.
You got to know Borgstrøm’s music through an enthusiast?
That was a family friend, the conductor and bassoonist Terje Boye Hansen. He has been very passionate about Norwegian music and especially about Borgstrøm as a really good composer who deserves to be heard, so he gave me a pile of Borgstrøm’s music, and I took it home to my village, about three years ago, and the Violin Concerto leapt out at me. He told me it had only been performed twice, with a 50 year gap in between. It was a strange and fantastic discovery, and especially now that I’m able to show people. I had pretty much similar reactions both when I was recording with the Vienna Symphony and also with this orchestra, from the first rehearsal – in Vienna we had two days on the Shostakovich, as you know it’s extremely demanding physically, so to come in on the third day and be asked, what is this Borgstrøm? Is it modern, what is it? I said, you won’t know until you actually start playing and they were sitting relaxed and casual, and the minute we started playing the whole atmosphere changed, everyone just had this moment of discovery all together, which was really fantastic. And to be able to see that is really worthwhile, when people become aware of great music.
The conductor was there alongside you last night, but you also seemed to be leading in a sense, they were taking as much from you as from him.
It is a very intertwined work in certain parts, and they overlap a bit and then take over…
Quite subtly…
I think it’s very cleverly orchestrated, actually, and also not to have to fight as a violinist to be heard, that sometimes happened. But I find it’s really well balanced. And most concertos should ideally feel like chamber music.
All music should – it was Abbado’s dictum, that everyone should listen to each other. But this is quite rare in a concerto partnership, because the soloists are jetting around and there isn’t a lot of time to work together. And I don’t know if you find this, but for me there are not that many conductors who are very soloist-sensitive.
No, definitely. And I think what is the most disturbing thing I know is when there is someone who is overly active…
Who tries to impose…
What I rely on is the sound, because that’s what matters, but it’s disturbing in the eyesight to see someone who is over-active, and that stresses me. But I thought Eivind did a really fantastic job last night, and he’s also very easy and just does what he wants to do.
The orchestra sounded like it was inscaping – there was no forcing.
That’s good.
What struck me is that you too have this wonderful inwardness, and you can go from ppp to fff in a couple of seconds, but the audience has to come in to hear you – there’s no forcing out but rather bringing in. Do you have a philosophy about that?
Actually I do, and one of the most important things is to make people really listen. There’s always noise around in daily life, and I think it’s extremely important to try at least to create these moments when magic can happen, and I personally like to listen in a concert to someone who has you on the edge of your seat, when you think, what’s happening, what’s going on, and you need these moments of something different. Those are the moments when you think, that’s why we do this.
The older I get the more I think it’s entirely about communication. You can be a wonderful musician but if you don’t give out, it’s pointless. You could see the music in you when you weren’t playing, and that doesn’t happen a lot with soloists. There was never a moment when one lost concentration, and when I listened to the CD I thought there might be, but it’s a matter of approach.
And I think now that I’ve played it more it is definitely one of those pieces which is better to play live, because it is very interactive, and if it gets too square then it will lose people. Because the piece is a bit fragmented and goes somewhere or takes off…
Which is one of its charms. You were playing in public at a young age. Have you found that the ideals of communication have come more over time, or with certain teachers? Have you learned more about that?
I think from quite a young age it was always important to show what a joy music can be. It’s quite simplistic when you’re young, but there’s so much fun and you want to show that. But I must say that the person who taught me most about that was Boris Kushnir – I studied with him for years, but he told me so much about how the importance of what you have to communicate comes through and even if you feel it and think it, it has to come through the violin, you have to carry the sound, to have this voice as nerve, something that makes people listen, and also to make the colours as if you were speaking to someone.
Oistrakh always said about the first movement of the Shostakovich First Violin Concerto that it’s like a soliloquy in Hamlet – you are the great actor, the monologuist, and people have to be listening to every word. The Norwegian side of it – there’s been a remarkable upsurge of superb players. Is it partly to do with the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo?
I think so. I went to that school for 11 years. And what they do so well is that they have this crazy environment of just friendship and musical freedom, which I personally think is a great thing in Norway, because we don’t usually have these long traditions like Austria or Germany. It’s quite free in that you can try out different styles and play as you like, there’s no “this is how it should be”.
That’s the essence of good teaching, isn’t it, to bring out the player’s personality rather than impose?
Oh yes, yes.
But there is also the folk tradition. Did you grow up with that?
Yes, I grew up playing the Hardanger fiddle. I still play it, I make sure I have several projects a year, because it’s important to keep the style. It’s equally important to the classical violin here. Especially the valley that I’m from, Valdres, each valley or place has its own tradition. So with the tonality and the rhythms, I grew up with that and it’s a huge part of my heritage.
Have you given encores where you’ve changed to the Hardanger fiddle?
Sometimes, I will make sure I bring it our more often. But a little challenge with it is that it’s quite tricky to tune. You should take at least 10 minutes to warm it up. And you have to have one you really trust, because gut strings move around quite a lot. But it’s a beautiful instrument.
Do you have one that is special for you?
No, at home I have quite a few of them, my mum and sister also play them. They’re beautiful and well decorated.
So do you and your sister play duos together?
We used to. Nowadays we tend to play in a festival together. We both do artistic work for it. She’s a great violinist, she lives in Valdres.
You’ve led chamber orchestras as a leader-conductor?
Not so much now, but when I was young I was the concert-master of a chamber orchestra, and we always played without a conductor, and without scores also. It’s really good training, because then you have a much greater understanding of what is happening rather than just playing your part, and you see what’s happening too.
This is a great move now – the Aurora Orchestra too, and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra do it a lot. Was that your idea?
No, it was from the school, that they wanted us to learn in such a way. I love it with chamber orchestras, when they have this core of really great players who just love to play together.
I was impressed with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra – but they need money to do it, because it costs to take your time.
And this is something I always find a bit confusing in London especially, how musicians are having to rush from one project to another, I have friends there who say, sometimes we don’t even have time to rehearse everything before the concert. What is the point of playing if you don’t prepare for it?
London orchestras are famous for being brilliant sightreaders.
It’s impressive that they can pick up a new score and play it immediately. It’s a very different mentality, though.
Festivals are a good place to develop, and your generation is much more enterprising in gathering together friends and working over a week or two, developing work in the community and so on.
I think many people in my generation and even the generation above have been a lot more aware of how much more you can do yourself, not only in terms of audiences but also your own platform, because there are so many opportunities to do that on social media. It’s like one part has gone out and another has come in. Some people don’t even have agents any more, they have their own YouTube channels. But also now because there have been a lot of chamber music series that have closed down. I also noticed it for myself, that I play probably most of the time with orchestras and very few recitals.
Why is that? Lack of money?
Mostly, yes, because the audiences are there, it’s more like giving a different platform. The reason why we wanted to start a festival in my home village of Aurdal, it’s small, there are 700 people living there, and the whole community has always been very supportive and in the last few years especially, I’ve been travelling a lot and living in Berlin, and I wanted to give something back.
Does it happen in the summer?
No, actually, it’s a winter festival. Because this area is also about skiing. So we wanted to combine that with music and nature. One of the concerts was up in a mountain church, and you can have a guided ski trip before you come to the church, then you hang your skis up on the wall, get a coffee and a cinnamon bun perhaps and then go in and listen to the music for one hour, and then head back on skis. This year we had 30 international artists coming, a great group of people. We did Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht [for string sextet], we left the quartets to the regular team [pictured below: Hemsing and colleagues after a concert earlier this year].
Does that feed into your work generally?
Definitely. And there’s so much buried repertoire I wish I had more time for, and just getting some friends together and playing the quartet repertoire would be good, because it’s such a huge part of music history. Being in a quartet takes a lot of time and commitment, but just to know the repertoire…
This idea of leader-conducting, does that interest you as something to develop further?
I would love to do that, and it was interesting yesterday when someone asked Eivind, does the orchestra need a conductor? And in theory with the top-grade orchestras, they could play perfectly on their own, if they have a really good concert-master and they all function together, but the conductor or leader should give the musical input and shaping. And I love that part, actually, just to have the full picture. I’d love to do that. Have to look into it.
Are there any concertos you really want to champion in the next few years?
Definitely. I don’t have a next project like the Borgstrøm, because that was quite special, but I would love to also play more things that haven’t had the spotlight on them, if a work is really good quality, it’s just a question of having the right feeling for it, that also requires that the piece has something in it. But I’d really love to do the Elgar Concerto.
“…jointly with Wiener Symphoniker and Conductor Olari Elts, Eldbjørg Hemsing presents an interpretation which is convincing, rich of colors and personal. With consistently brilliant sound and flexible expression, Eldbjørg Hemsing makes this album absolutely worth listening to.”
Zwei Entdeckungen auf einem Album: Die norwegische Violinistin Eldbjørg Hemsing und das Violinkonzert ihres Landsmannes Hjalmar Borgström (1864–1925). Borgström war zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts als Kritiker und Komponist bekannt. In Vergessenheit geriet seine Musik höchstwahrscheinlich dadurch, dass er sich weigerte, eine typisch skandinavische Klangsprache zu adaptieren – wie Grieg es getan hatte. Dennoch zog das 1914 geschriebenes Violinkonzert Hemsing sofort in seinen Bann, auch weil dessen Klangsprache sie an ihre Heimat erinnerte. Im Kontrast zu Borgströms romantischem Werk steht Dmitri Shostakovichs erstes Violinkonzert. Seine Klangsprache ist weniger pastoral, eher dramatisch und schmerzerfüllt, doch auch hier schafft Hemsing es gemeinsam mit den Wiener Symphonikern und Olari Elts eine überzeugende, farbenreiche und persönliche Interpretation zu präsentieren. Mit durchweg brillierendem Klang und flexiblem Ausdruck macht Eldbjørg Hemsing dieses Album absolut hörenswert.
Eldbjørg Hemsing står foran sitt store, internasjonale gjennombrudd. Med seg på reisen har hun en norsk fiolinkonsert som har vært glemt i hundre år.
Publisert 05.02.2018 | Ingvild Amdal Myklebust
Hovedscenen på Nationaltheatret i Oslo har aldri vært større enn den maidagen i 1996. På klakkende bunadsko inntar hun flomlyset sammen med storesøster Ragnhild på åtte. Bak seg aner hun konturene av det tunge sceneteppet og av moren som viser dem riktig neieteknikk. Foran dem venter et bekmørkt folkehav. Hun vet at kongefamilien sitter der ute. Og Wenche Foss som hun møtte i stad. Snart er de framme ved scenekanten. Da skal de løfte opp felene til haka og spille Briskjehauga slik de pleier. Bare en meter igjen nå.
Eldbjørg Hemsing on NRK Klassisk: “My Favorite Music”
Eldbjørg Hemsing in “My Favorite Music” on Norwegian governmental broadcasting station NRK takes us from traditional music in Valdres through classics like Bach and Beethoven up to the collaboration with Chinese composer and Academy Award winner Tan Dun and to a new release of the Violin Concertos by Borgström and Shostakovich.
Eldbjørg Hemsing shares stories that shed light on the music with program director Stein Eide.
The 1h54min radio feature in Norwegian language can be listened to at following weblink:
Eldbjørg Hemsing named 2018 ‘Artist in Residence’ at Stormen Konserthus
Violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing is the ‘2018 Artist in Residence’ at Stormen KonserthusBodø 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 Philharmonicand 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.
“Moments of ethereal beauty as the violin’s melody intertwined with those of the woodwinds” – Reviewed at National Concert Hall, Dublin on 3 November 2017
“Dvořák’s Violin Concerto in A minor is at times an elusive concerto to pull off: true to violin concertos of this era, it is not short on virtuosic bravura passages yet its subtle, restless character is a much harder selling point. This was the focus of the soloist, Norwegian rising star Eldbjørg Hemsing as she eloquently meditated on the more wistful writing of the first movement. At times, as high up on the G string in the recapitulation of the opening Allegro, she overindulged in vibrato which obscured the tender lyricism but there were moments of ethereal beauty as the violin’s melody intertwined with those of the woodwinds. The octaves and double stops glowed with passion while the scales and arpeggio were executed with laser-like precision. Her luminous tone added lustre to the ruminative lyricism of the second movement while the NSO responded with a warm and sensitive accompaniment. It was in the mercurial finale that musician and music struck the most rewarding balance. The Slavic folk tune glistened with meticulous light-hearted good cheer, with sharp rhythmic delineations from the orchestra. Capturing the exquisite, ephemeral soundscape, Hemsing expertly handled the shifting cross rhythms and the fiendish octaves, bringing this concerto to an energetic and satisfying close.” > Video Excerpt from Concert of Eldbjørg Hemsing with RTE Symphony Orchestra under Miguel Harth-Bedoya
Skandinaviske violinister graver i disse år i egen baghave og finder alternativer til de kendte violinkoncerter af Tjajkovskij og Mendelssohn. På den måde er noele romantiske violinkoncerter dukket op i både Denmark, Norge og Sverige, der ikke er til at sta for.
En overraskelse er også violinkoncerten af nordmanden Hjalmar Borgstrøm (1864-1925). Han var en ægte senromanti ker, der elskede Wagner og komponerede store orkesterværker. Hans Violinkoncert blev skrevet i 1914, lige inden den gamle verden gik under. Et stykke nordisk romantik, beslægtet med Griegs norske toner, Peterson-Bergers sommerlyrik og Sibelius’ store vidder. Borgstrøm havde en overlegen kompositionsteknik, og det giver hans Violinkoncert en glamourøs karakter. Den måler sig med andre senro mantiske koncerter og har potentiale til at smelte hjerter. Og med det iiber-skan- dinaviske komponistnavn ‘Borgstrøm’ fortæller overskriften alle, at her kommer den nordiske lyd!
Koncerten blev indspillet første gang i 2010, men nu kommer Borgstrøms Violinkoncert længere ud, når den norske virtuos Eldbjørg Hemsingtil maj udgiver den på det nordiske plademærke BIS, indspillet sammen med Wiener Symfonikerne. »At jeg overhovedet blev klar over, at koncerten fandtes, skyldes dirigenten Terje Boye Hansen«, fortæller Eldbjørg Hemsing.
»Han er en stor forkæmper for musik, som af forskellige grunde er blevet glemt, og gav mig en hel bunke noder, blandt andet denne violinkoncert, jeg aldrig havde hørt om før. Det var vældig spændende. Jeg begyndte at spille lidt af den og fandt ud af, at musikken er utrolig fin, melodisk og godt skrevet for violinen. Man hører tydeligt det norske og det nordiske, samtidig med at den har et internationalt præg. Stakkels Borgstrøm var lidt uheldig med timingen, og hans violinkoncert var kun blevet spillet to gange nogensinde i Norge. Så jeg tænkte, hallo, mange burde da spille det værk, når nu det er så fint. Der er jo ikke ret mange norske violinkoncerter, der nyder anerkendelse«.
Hvordan fik du lov til at indspille en ukendt nordisk violinkoncert på dit debutalbum?
»Det var mit privilegium at vælge selv! Jeg havde vældig lyst til at indspille Sjostakovitjs Violinkoncert nr. 1, som jeg holder meget af. Men det er så sort og så tungt og emotionelt krævende, at jeg havde lyst til at kombinere den med noget helt anderledes. Noget nordisk og lyst i tonesproget. Borgstrøms violinkoncert er fra den helt anden ende. Det er en interessant kombination«.
Det er vel en satsning at bruge kræfter på at indstudere sådan et ukendt stykke?
»Jo, men det er faktisk det bedste ud gangspunkt, for så er der ingen referen cepunkter. Jeg kan gøre akkurat, som jeg vil og skal ikke tage hensyn til, hvordan andre har spillet den. Borgstrøms violin koncert har mange kvaliteter, man kan arbejde med. Det er en rigtig skat, og jeg er vældig glad for at få muligheden til at give Borgstrøm revanche«, siger Eldbjørg Hemsing, som i år har opført violinkoncerten et par gange og til næste år spiller den tre gange til, blandt andet med dirigenten Paavo Järvi.
On the occasion of the concert of Eldbjørg Hemsing, performing Violin Concerto No. 1 D minor, Op. 31 from Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881) with das junge orchester NRW under Ingo Ernst Reihl at Historic City Hall Wuppertal on 8th October 2017, the internationally upstriving Norwegian artist was interviewed and featured by German broadcasting station WDR 3 in “Tonart”.
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