UKARIA 24

CONCERT ONE | NORTHERN LIGHTS

Soft ribbons of light swish and flicker over the frosty landscapes of Norway and Finland – two neighbouring countries offering front-row seats to nature's most spectacular celestial ballet. A little closer to home, distinguished musicians from across the globe come together inside an intimate chamber, sharing tales of northern lights and Nordic noir.

The conversation begins in unison with the four-voice orchestra of Grieg's only completed string quartet, containing within it echoes of Hardanger fiddling and the melody of Spillemænd ('Minstrels', Op. 25 No. 1) – a Norwegian tale of happiness surrendered to a water sprite. According to the composer, the Vøringsfossen waterfall inspired the 'hair-raising' chromaticism of his Nineteen Norwegian Folksongs, Op. 66 – a rarely heard cycle of pianistic vignettes encompassing everything from cattle calls to lullabies.

Olli Mustonen's Four Songs on Poems follow in the footsteps of his compatriots Einojuhani Rautavaara and Jean Sibelius by paying homage to the great Finnish writer Aleksis Kivi, who summed up his existence with the immortal epithet 'Minä elän!' ('I am alive!')

First performed in Amsterdam's Muziekgebouw by Ian Bostridge and Steven Isserlis with the composer at the piano, Mustonen's Taivaanvalot (Heavenly Lights) evokes the cosmic and shamanistic elements of the Finnish national epic Kalevala (which inspired both Sibelius and Kivi). It chronicles the ancient legend of musician-poet Väinämöinen (who plays the kantele – Finland's national folk instrument) and the blacksmith Ilmarinen, who rescue the sun and moon from the witch queen Louhi, restoring light and life in a veritable aurora borealis in sound. 

Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)
String Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 27

I. Un poco andante – Allegro molto ed agitato (12')

Kristian Winther | Violin
Cosima Soulez Larivière | Violin
Sào Soulez Larivière | Viola
Timo-Veikko Valve | Cello


Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)
Nineteen Norwegian Folk Tunes, Op. 66 (31')

I. Kulok (Cattle Call)
II. Det er den störste Dårlighed (It is the Greatest Folly)
III. En Konge hersked I Österland (A King Ruled in the East)
IV. Siri Dale Visen (The Song of Siri Dale)
V. Det var i min Ungdom (It was in my Youth)
VI. Lok og Bådnlåt (Call and Cradle Song)
VII. Bådnlåt (Lullaby)
VIII. Lok (Cattle Call)
IX. Liten va Guten (A Little Friend)
X. Morgo ska du få gifte deg (Tomorrow You Will Marry Her)
XI. Der stander to Piger (There Stands Two Girls)
XII. Ranveig
XIII. En liten grå Man (A Little Gray Man)
XIV. I Ola-Dalom, i Ola-Kiönn (In Ola Valley, In Ola Lake)
XV. Bådnlåt (Lullaby)
XVI. Ho vesle Astrid vor (Our Little Astrid)
XVII. Bådnlåt (Lullaby)
XVIII. Jeg gaar I tusind Tanker (I Wander Deep in Thought)
XIX. Giendines Bådnlåt (Giendine's Lullaby)

Olli Mustonen | Piano


INTERVAL


Olli Mustonen (b. 1967)
Minä elän (I am alive): Four Songs on Poems by Aleksis Kivi for Flute and Guitar (12')

Janne Thomsen | Flute
Ismo Eskelinen | Guitar


Olli Mustonen (b. 1967)
Taivaanvalot (Heavenly Lights): A Symphony for Tenor, Cello and Piano (30')

Robin Tritschler | Tenor
Timo-Veikko Valve | Cello
Olli Mustonen | Piano