21 February 2025
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The Rosendal Chamber Music Festival celebrates its final edition this August, returning to Norwegian roots and the local region of Hardanger, which inspired many artists, including, Edvard Grieg
'It is with mixed emotions that I share with you that this year’s festival will be my last,' says founder and artistic director Leif Ove Andsnes. 'I look back with immense gratitude on a wonderful 10-year period, in which we have explored a wealth of repertoire and musical ideas in Rosendal.
'It seems fitting that for our final festival, we take inspiration from the surrounding region of Hardanger, and celebrate three composers who have all had a close connection with this incredible landscape and its community.'
With Vikingur Olafsson in 2022
The starting point is Lofthus where Edvard Grieg spent many of his holidays. Here he composed various works including the Holberg Suite and his only complete String Quartet, both of which will be performed at this year’s festival. Special focus will be given to his songs which are arguably some of Grieg’s most important works.
Hardanger's relative isolation allowed for the development of a rich local music tradition, and for Geirr Tveitt (1908-81) collecting and re-writing folk-songs became a passion. Leif Ove Andsnes has long been a champion of his music and this year’s festival features some of Tveitt’s own songs, as well as his only surviving piano sontata.
Festival composer Knut Vaage (b.1961) was born up the road from Rosendal in Sunde. Amongst several of his works to be performed this summer are two pieces inspired by Grieg’s Lyric Pieces and Haugtussa song-cycle, and three world premieres written for counter-tenor Daniel Sæther and ensemble.
With Bertrand Chamayou in 2024
From west coast Norway to Leipzig, for a programme exploring Mendelssohn and Schumann’s influence on the young Grieg, who arrived in the city aged 15 to study at the famous conservatoire. This year’s festival also pays homage to Ravel in the 150th anniversary of his birth and to Shostakovich 50 years after his death.
Joining Leif Ove Andsnes this August are numerous guest artists, including Yulianna Avdeeva, James Baillieu and Knut ChristianJansson (piano), Johan Dalene (violin), Timothy Ridout (viola), Julia Hagen (cello), Opus 13 String Quartet, Cecilie Løken (flute), Björn Nyman (clarinet), Caroline E.Dahl (recorder), Jadran Duncumb (lute), Andre Lislevand (gamba), Christian Kjos, (harpsichord/organ), Mari Eriksmoen (soprano), Eirik Grøtvedt (tenor), Daniel Sæther (counter-tenor) and Ragnhild Gudbrandsen (actress).
With Marc-André Hamelin in 2019
All images © Liv Øvland