Bergen International Festival 2015 English catalogue | Page 50
050
BE RGE N INTE RN AT I ON AL
FE STIVAL 2015
FOU N DAT I ON S
Ole Bull’s
homes
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
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Lysøen
Christopher
Tun Andersen
with Gunnar Flagstad
LYSØ E N
DAT E / T IME
DU RAT ION
1 :00
Saturday 30 May
at 11:30 & 14:30
'It is no coincidence that the music
of both Ole Bull and Niccolo Paganini
feature in this programme. Robert
Schumann had high regard for Ole Bull's
playing, as he did for Paganini's. Both
violinists have composed extremely
virtuoso works, vying with each other to
produce the best technical innovations
and challenges,' says the young violinist
Christopher Tun Andersen.
Accompanied by Gunnar Flagstad on
the piano he performs works including
Ole Bull's demanding Bellini Variations
in the composer's fairy-tale castle.
m
LYSØ EN
T IC KET *
Full price: 600
Under 30: 150
Transportation
included in the
ticket. More
information on
page 84.
*Festival card:
40 %–30 % discount
The beautiful villa on Lysøen – the Island of
Light – was built in 1873 as a summer residence
for Ole Bull, the Norwegian violin virtuoso and
composer. It is something of a fairy-tale castle
with its onion domes and intricate ornamenta
tion. For many, the boat journey to the island
culminating in a concert in Ole Bull’s unorthodox
sitting room is a valued tradition. Ole Bull’s villa
at Valestrand on the isle of Osterøy is another
Festival venue. The architecture is heavily influenced by National Romanticism, and was among
the first houses in Norway designed in dragon
style. The house became an important artistic
meetng place in Ole Bull’s lifetime.
i
Herresthal explains: ‘The theme running through
this series of concerts is the Norwegian composer
Olav Anton Thommessen. With a twinkle in his
eye he has incorporated Bergen composers and
other celebrities into his music. During the festival
we can experience miniature performances from
several fancifully entitled works: Bulls'hit (for violin), the virtuoso piece EingeBacht, the grandiose
sE Det VAR Det (meaning ‘Look, that’s it’, but note
what the capitals spell), built over Grieg’s Ballade,
and his fabulous Mendelssohn-inspired Piano Trio
Scherzofonia/Scherzofrenia, which has been
performed only once before, at the 1982 Bergen
International Festival.’
Many of this year’s Festival concerts at Lysøen,
Valestrand, Siljustøl and Troldhaugen are
curated by professor Peter Herresthal at the
Norwegian Academy of Music.
Supported by the Anders Sveaas
Charitable Foundation
050
W W W.FIB.N O
Christopher has been the Norwegian
contestant in some of the world's
greatest violin competitions, and he
performs virtuoso repertoire with an
exuberance rarely heard in Norway.
He arrives in Bergen direct from a solo
performance in Berlin of Sinding's
virtuoso A minor suite, which is also
on the Lysøen programme, along with
an Olav Anton Thommessen world
premiere and works by Brahms and
Wienawski.
Elise & Henninge
Båtnes
LYSØ E N
DAT E / T IME
Sunday 31 May at 11:30 & 14:30
DU RAT ION
1 :00
The Båtnes sisters invade Lysøen
with Bull, Thommessen, Nordheim
and Mozart on the programme.
'I am really looking forward to giving a
concert with my sister; it's always particularly enjoyable,' says Elise Båtnes.
Christopher Tun Andersen violin
Gunnar Flagstad piano
Elise and Henninge are respectively
concert master and principal viola
in the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.
They have played together in the
award-winning Vertavo Quartet and
their CD of duos received high critical
acclaim. They have long experience
as chamber musicians and soloists,
and both have toured internationally.
In association with the
Norwegian Academy of Music
with regard to period and character. Even though the instruments
themselves are relatively small, the
combination has unfathomed power
and expressivity in store. The programme ranges from Mozart to the
present day, which will hopefully give
the audience a rounded experience,'
says the violinist.
'Repertoire is of course limited for
violin and viola as a duo, but it is
great fun to play such varied music
W W W.F IB.N O
Elise Båtnes violin
Henninge Båtnes Landaas viola
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