Rolf Wallin: Under City Skin & Appearances Peter Herresthal, Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra & Øyvind Bjorå

• Rolf Wallin (1957- ): Under City Skin:
• 1 I. High-heeled Shoes 05:58
• 2 II. The Park at Night 07:13
• 3 III. Locomotive 10:08
• 4 IV. Pastorale 05:24
• 5 Appearances (Version for 15 Instruments) 23:37
• Total Runtime 52:20

Info for Rolf Wallin: Under City Skin & Appearances

Following his 2001 album of works by Arne Nordheim, Norwegian violinist Peter Herresthal and BIS have collaborated on the project ’A String of Releases’ – recordings of contemporary violin concertos, in several cases written especially for Herresthal. Featured composers so far have been Olav Anton Thommessen, Henrik Hellstenius and Ørjan Matre – all from Norway – as well as Thomas Adès and Per Nørgård. Utterly fearless in his approach to these complex works, Herresthal has received recognition for his recordings, earning a Spellemannprisen (the ‘Norwegian Grammy’) as well as being shortlisted for a Gramophone Award.

The latest additions to Herresthal’s ‘string’ are two digital-only albums, featuring the composers Eivind Buene (BIS-8020) and Rolf Wallin (b. 1957). Especially for Herresthal, Wallin – one of Scandinavia’s leading composers – has made a version of Under City Skin, his 2009 concerto for viola and ensemble. The work is a poetic and sonic journey through an imaginary cityscape, with the solo violin and the string orchestra playing off and with a pre-recorded soundtrack. Herresthal is partnered by the conductor Øyvind Bjorå and the chamber orchestra of the Arctic Philharmonic, and it is musicians from the same orchestra who make up the Sinfonietta in the work that closes this digital album. Like the concerto, Wallin’s Appearances also exists in another version – performed here by fifteen musicians, it originated as a work for orchestra.

Peter Herresthal, violin
Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
Arctic Philharmonic Sinfonietta
Øyvind Bjorå, conductor

Peter Herresthal
is recognised as a brilliant and inspired interpreter of contemporary violin music, strongly associated both in concert and recordings with concertos by composers including Per Nørgård, Arne Nordheim, Henri Dutilleux, Thomas Adès, Olav Anton Thommessen, Henrik Hellstenius and Jon Øivind Ness. Peter has appeared with orchestras and ensembles including the Vienna Radio Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Stockholm Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Remix Ensemble, Tapiola Chamber Orchestra,Stavanger Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica de Navarra, Helsingborg Symphony, Oslo Sinfonietta, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony, and Bit20, with conductors including Andrew Manze, Thomas Adès, Anu Tali and Sakari Oramo.

Peter has given the Austrian, Norwegian, Spanish and Australian premieres of the Thomas Adès violin concerto 'Concentric Paths', the latter conducted by the composer at the 2010 Melbourne Festival. Festival appearances have included the Bergen Festival (where Peter currently curates an annual series), Risor Chamber Music Festival, MAGMA2002 Berlin; Schleswig-Holstein and Mechelburg-Vorpommern.

Peter has recorded a number of CDs for BIS and Simax/Aurora including prize-winning discs of Nordheim and Ness. His 2012 Nørgård CD was nominated for a Gramophone Award and Editors Choice in The Strad and International Record Review. In 2013/14 Peter will record the violin concerto by Thomas Adès and premiere Ades new cadenza for the Ligeti concerto with conductor Andrew Manze.

Peter is a Professor at the Oslo Academy and visiting Professor at Royal College of Music in London.

Arctic Philharmonic
Based well north of the Arctic Circle, the Arctic Philharmonic is the world’s youngest and northernmost orchestra, located in the two Norwegian arctic cities, Bodø and Tromsø – and with the whole northern region as its home.

1: The structure of the orchestra is unique and innovative - both in Norway and in the rest of the world. It has been established as a brand new and flexible concept, with an entire region joining forces to develop this new orchestra organization in the arctic region.

2: Since it was founded in 2009, the orchestra has become one of Northern Norway’s largest and most active cultural institutions, giving app. 150 concerts- and opera performances each year, throughout the region, the nation and abroad.

3: The Arctic Philharmonics home base is Northern Norway and the High North. This local foundation is important for the orchestra, but the orchestra is also looking beyond Norway, and want to be an ambassador, representing the nation and the High North, also on international venues.

4: The high north with its nature and history is a strategic fundament for the Arctic Philharmonic – in the programming work, the marketing and communications, and all the way to the concert experience. The arctic is the core in both the visual and artistic profile.

We produce full-scale opera performances and alternate between different ensemble formats on a regular basis. That means that in the course of a year you can meet us in everything from small chamber groups via the sinfonietta and chamber orchestra to a full philharmonic orchestra. We have regular concerts in our two cities, Bodø and Tromsø, but our home base comprises all of Northern Norway and the High North.

Øyvind Bjorå
held from 2014 to 2016 the postion of Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of one of the ensembles of the Arctic Philharmonic – the Sinfonietta in Bodø. He conducted an extensive repertoire with this flexible ensemble, ranging from new music with the sinfonietta to opera and ballet performances with the symphony orchestra. In May 2015 and October 2016 he conducted a highly successful production of the opera “Mozart and Salieri” by Rimsky-Korsakov.

After he finished conducting studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music with professor Ole Kristian Ruud, he has had a rising career as a conductor. He has conducted Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the symphony orchestras in Trondheim, Stavanger and Kristiansand, the Arctic Philharmonic, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and the Military Bands in Oslo and Trondheim.

In December 2015 Bjorå made his debut at the Norwegian National Opera, conducting three performances of Mozart’s Magic Flute, and in September 2017 he was asked to conduct five performances of this opera.

Bjorå is a well-known Concertmaster (see Violinist). After a concert in Carnegie Hall where he led Bartok’s Divertimento for strings with Risør Festival Strings, the New York Times wrote: “…I cannot recall a more persuasive account, conducted or otherwise.”

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