Johan Halvorsen: Chamber Music
Birgitte Staernes (violin), Helge Kjekshus (piano)
the writing for all these pieces reflects the fact that Halvorsen himself
was a violinist who performed these works in his recitals. Altogether an attractive portrait of a composer understandably...
Johan Halvorsen: Chamber Music
Birgitte Staernes (violin), Helge Kjekshus (piano)
Purchase product
the writing for all these pieces reflects the fact that Halvorsen himself
was a violinist who performed these works in his recitals. Altogether an attractive portrait of a composer understandably...
About
Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935) grew up in the town of Drammen in south-eastern Norway. He studied the violin at an early age and spent time learning from the famous Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky. Halvorsen combined work as a violinist and a violin teacher, living one year in Aberdeen and three years in Helsinki. He became an important figure in Helsinki’s music scene and enjoyed composing, unfortunately not much of his work survives, but this charming Chamber work CD will bring the spotlight to bear on this fascinating Norwegian composer.
Contents and tracklist
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
- Birgitte Stærnes, Helge Kjekshus
Awards and reviews
August 2012
the writing for all these pieces reflects the fact that Halvorsen himself
was a violinist who performed these works in his recitals. Altogether an attractive portrait of a composer understandably overshadowed by his great contemporary, Grieg.
August 2012
There is a fund of winning melody on this disc...this is not a pyrotechnic display but a collection of wonderfully attractive and inventive music, beguilingly played.
Musical Opinion
the performances are particularly convincing, revealing Halvorsen to have been an important figure in Scandinavian music...we can identify some notably original aspects of composition here which place Halvorsen very much in a class of his own amongst his Scandinavian contemporaries...the recording quality does these highly gifted and committed musicians complete justice...This is a most impressive and, in its way, valuable record.
