Birdcall and seasons in Sæverud’s living room.
The composer Harald Sæverud was a towering figure in Norwegian music. In the 1930s, Sæverud and his wife Marie Hvoslef built Siljustøl, a mansion on the outskirts of the city that now stands as a museum.
In this intimate recital which is the Bergen International Festival debut for pianist Thormod Rønning Kvam, Sæverud’s music is brought to life alongside music by another musical figure inseparable from Bergen, Edvard Grieg.
“Birdcall variations has many interesting similarities with Grieg's Ballad in G minor; here we can hear a reflective Sæverud with a melancholic main theme, and he explores both lively and more introspective motifs, incorporating nature in the same way that Grieg does in the ballad. This is a rather seldom-performed, but very cohesive work”, says the pianist.
Grieg completed his Ballade in G minor for piano in 1876 following the deaths of his parents. This poignant work moves through stages of grief, from sadness to resignation to new hope.
“In the years 1875–76, Grieg and Tchaikovsky were composing some of their undisputed masterpieces for solo piano. Grieg’s Ballade was created in Lofthus during a difficult period, but out of that depression came great art – a work that is not performed as often as one might expect, perhaps due to its technical challenges. Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons is similarly seldom perfomed, yet it consists of twelve finely crafted musical gems, each depicting a month of the year; from hope, joy, and springtime exuberance to the autumn harvest, melancholy, and cool, misty landscapes. The essence of the work is unbeatable – Tchaikovsky’s romantic and emotional brilliance runs like a silver thread throughout it all, says Rønning Kvam.
Tchaikovsky intended his seasons for private performance in a domestic setting – precisely what the work will get here in Sæverud’s living room. With highest honours from the Royal Academy of Music in London, pianist Thormod Rønning Kvam has a passion for rejuvenating the way artists and audiences explore classical music.
Image: Thormod Rønning Kvam (photo: Per Sollerman)
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