Halvorsen Orchestral Works, Vol. 2 Marianne Thorsen, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra & Neeme Järvi

• Johan Halvorsen (1864 - 1935): Suite ancienne, Op. 31a:
• 1 Halvorsen: Suite ancienne, Op. 31a: I. Intrata. Allegretto moderato 04:51
• 2 Halvorsen: Suite ancienne, Op. 31a: II. Air con variazioni. Andantino 09:17
• 3 Halvorsen: Suite ancienne, Op. 31a: III. Gigue. Allegro - Allegro molto 04:18
• 4 Halvorsen: Suite ancienne, Op. 31a: IV. Sarabande. Andante sostenuto 03:06
• 5 Halvorsen: Suite ancienne, Op. 31a: V. Bourrée. Allegro con spirito 03:57
• Three Norwegian Dances:
• 6 Halvorsen: Three Norwegian Dances: I. Allegro con brio - Molto tranquillo 03:00
• 7 Halvorsen: Three Norwegian Dances: II. Allegretto - Allegro con fuoco 03:03
• 8 Halvorsen: Three Norwegian Dances: III. Allegro, non troppo - Tranquillo 04:41
• Air norvégien, Op. 7:
• 9 Halvorsen: Air norvégien, Op. 7 07:53
• Chant de la Veslemoy:
• 10 Halvorsen: Chant de la Veslemoy 03:39
• Symphony No. 2, "Fatum":
• 11 Halvorsen: Symphony No. 2, "Fatum": I. Allegro moderato - Più mosso sempre 08:42
• 12 Halvorsen: Symphony No. 2, "Fatum": II. Romance. Andante con sentimento 06:22
• 13 Halvorsen: Symphony No. 2, "Fatum": III. Intermezzo. Allegretto amabile 04:42
• 14 Halvorsen: Symphony No. 2, "Fatum": IV. Finale. Allegro - Energico 08:09
• Total Runtime 01:15:40

Info for Halvorsen Orchestral Works, Vol. 2

Neeme Järvi is back conducting the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, with the violinist Marianne Thorsen, in this second volume of Chandos’ series devoted to the orchestral works of Johan Halvorsen. This Norwegian composer, conductor, and violinist was a highly prominent figure in his country’s musical life during the first decades of the twentieth century. The works on this CD are all performed by the orchestra that Halvorsen himself conducted in the 1890s. As in the first volume of the series, they represent Nordic folk-based music at its very best: light and airy compositions with the strings firmly at centre stage. Air norvégien was described by Halvorsen’s contemporary, Edvard Grieg, as ‘a folk-tune medley, but so well done that the result is a piece of art’.

Because Halvorsen spent more than thirty-six years working at the theatres in Bergen and Oslo, a large proportion of his compositional output is music for the stage. The movements of Suite ancienne were originally composed for the play The Lying-in Room by Ludvig Holberg in 1911. The first two movements, Intrata and Air con variazioni, are in the style of late-eighteenth-century serenades, whereas the Gigue, Sarabande, and Bourrée were modelled after baroque dances. Halvorsen himself counted Suite ancienne as one of his finest compositions.

Halvorsen also composed in more prestigious genres and his Second Symphony is commonly regarded as the best of his three symphonies. Nicknamed Fatum, the Second Symphony is inspired by the work’s opening motif which, in the manner of the ‘fate’ symphonies of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, is heard in all four movements. In the second movement, Romance, a beautiful oboe cantilena is followed by a dramatic development that draws on the ‘fate’ motif, and the brisk main motif of the cheerful third movement, Intermezzo – the fate motif cleverly altered in rhythm – belongs among the most successful, and at the same time most personal, that Halvorsen ever wrote.

"This is music that in less sensitive hands could easily pall, yet here every phrase pulsates with charm and energy, making even the simplest of gestures feel like musical gold. To hear the way Järvi magically shapes the theme and variations in the second movement of the Suite Ancienne is worth the price of the disc alone." (Classic FM)

Marianne Thorsen, violin
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor

Marianne Thorsen
has a varied musical life as a performer and is one of Norway's leading violinists. A keen chamber musician, Marianne has performed with such eminent artists as Håvard Gimse, Lawrence Power, Marc-André Hamelin, Truls Mørk, Paul Lewis, Pascal Rogé, Paul Watkins, Lars Anders Tomter and Leif Ove Andsnes at the Norwegian festivals in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger; and with the Nash Ensemble and Leopold String Trio at the BBC Proms in London and the Edinburgh, Bath and Cheltenham Festivals in the UK (live broadcasts for BBC Radio 3).

As a soloist, Marianne has performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, all the Norwegian orchestras and many of the major orchestras in Scandinavia.

Marianne enjoys a regular collaboration with the Trondheim Soloists with whom she recorded Mozart's Violin Concertos 3, 4 and 5 for 2L to great critical acclaim, winning the Norwegian Spellemann prize in 2006. Her recording with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra of Ståle Kleiberg's Violin Concerto no. 1, dedicated to her, received an American Grammy nomination in 2010; and Marianne gave the world premiere of Ketil Hvoslef's Violin Concerto, also dedicated to her, broadcast live on Norwegian national television (NRK) with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra / Vassily Sinaisky. 2011-2014 saw the release of five CDs of music by Halvorsen and Svendsen on the Chandos label, with Thorsen as soloist alongside the Bergen Philharmonic / Neeme Järvi, including Svendsen's Violin Concerto.

Marianne Thorsen was leader of the internationally renowned Nash Ensemble of London from 2000-2015 and a founder member of the Leopold String Trio from 1991-2006 with extensive tours throughout Europe, Australia and the USA and numerous recordings for Hyperion Records in London.

Recent highlights include Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto with the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra (KORK); recitals with the Norwegian pianist Håvard Gimse at the Bergen International Festival; the Oslo International Chamber Music Festival (with Radovan Vlatkovic, Liv Glaser and Håvard Gimse) and at the Edinburgh International Festival with the Nash Ensemble for BBC Radio 3 in August 2019. Marianne has just recorded Violin Concerto no. 2 by Ståle Kleiberg with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Peter Szilvay – to be released on 2L in April 2021.

Marianne was Artistic Director of the Vinterfestspill festival in Røros, Norway from 2009-2013. Since 2006 she has been professor of violin at the Department of Music at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.

Marianne plays on a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini from 1745, kindly on loan from the Dextra Musica Foundation.

This album contains no booklet.