Bergen International Festival 2015 English catalogue | Page 42

042 BE RGE N INTE RN AT I ON AL FE STIVAL 2015 FOU N DAT I ON S FOU N DAT ION S B E RG E N IN T E RN AT ION A L F E ST IVA L 2 01 5 m 04 3 Borodin String Quartet Ruben Aharonian violin Sergey Lomovsky violin Igor Naidin viola Vladimir Balshin cello H Å KO N S­H A L L E N DAT E/ T I M E Sunday 31 May at 19:30 D U RAT IO N 2:20 including interval ALEKSANDR BORODIN (1833–1887) String Quartet no. 2 in D major DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906–1975) OT H ER String Quartet no. 8 in C minor, op. 110 Introduction (in Norwegian) by Gunnar Danbolt at 18:55 PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840–1893) String Quartet no. 2 in F major, op. 22​ T IC KET * Full price: 420 Under 30: 150 *Festival card: 40 %–30 % discount Les Arts Florissants The French vocal and instrumental ensemble rounds off a tour lasting several years with a concert of Monteverdi madrigals at the Bergen International Festival. Over recent years Les Arts Florissants have worked with Monteverdi's entire madrigal collections under the leadership of its associate conductor, the tenor Paul Agnew. When they visited the Bergen International Festival in 2012, the local newspaper described their performance with superlatives: 'the delivery was animated and full of drama, and reached all extremities of dynamic breadth. An exciting ensemble with excellent communication skills and a vibrant performance of the pop music of four hundred years ago!' In Håkonshallen eight singers and eleven instrumentalists will perform Madrigals of Love from Monteverdi's eighth and last Book of madrigals. 042 W W W.FIB.N O Paul Agnew explains that the great Eighth Book of Madrigals is really two books, one on war and one on love. They are monumental in size, being twice as long as any of his other madrigal books; they are a monument to Monteverdi's long career and a monument to the madrigal itself, which many at the time viewed as an outdated phenomenon, superseded by the operatic aria. Today the book is considered to be at the forefront of the genre. Some of the pieces are written for music theatre, and Les Arts Florissants perform them partially staged. Les Arts Florissants Paul Agnew musical direction, tenor Hannah Morrison soprano Miriam Allan soprano Lucile Richardot contralto Stéphanie Leclercq contralto Sean Clayton tenor Cyril Costanzo bass Antonio Abete bass Supported by Institut français Sponsored by DNV GL m H Å KON SH A L L E N DAT E / T IME Tuesday 02 June at 19:30 Borodin String Quartet DU RAT ION 1:45 including interval OT H E R Introduction in Norwegian by Erling Dahl jr. at 18:55 T IC K E T * Full price: 400 Under 30: 150 *Festival card: 40 %–30 % discount Russian masters in the programme and on stage. The legendary Borodin String Quartet was founded in Moscow in 1945 by a group of music students, acquiring a unique position in the Soviet Union. The ensemble played at Stalin's funeral, and Shostakovich always consulted them when he wrote string quartets. During the cold war the Borodin V'FWBv2