Nordic Spring Norwegian Chamber Orchestra

• Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907): Holberg Suite, Op. 40:
• 1 Holberg Suite, Op. 40: I Prelude 02:36
• 2 Holberg Suite, Op. 40: II Sarabande 03:48
• 3 Holberg Suite, Op. 40: III Gavotte. Musette 03:15
• 4 Holberg Suite, Op. 40: IV Air 05:47
• 5 Holberg Suite, Op. 40: V Rigaudon 03:06
• Kurt Atterberg (1887 - 1974): Suite No. 3 for Violin, Viola and String Orchestra, Op. 19:
• 6 Suite No. 3 for Violin, Viola and String Orchestra, Op. 19: I Prelude 02:35
• 7 Suite No. 3 for Violin, Viola and String Orchestra, Op. 19: II Pantomim 03:30
• 8 Suite No. 3 for Violin, Viola and String Orchestra, Op. 19: III Vision 04:59
• Johan Svendsen (1840 - 1911):
• 9 Romance for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 26 08:28
• Carl Nielsen (1865 - 1931): Little Suite, Op. 1:
• 10 Little Suite, Op. 1: I Präludium 02:53
• 11 Little Suite, Op. 1: II Intermezzo 05:22
• 12 Little Suite, Op. 1: III Finale 06:29
• Edvard Bræin (1924 - 1976):
• 13 Serenade for Viola and Orchestra 04:16
• Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957):
• 14 Valse Triste, Op. 44 04:46
• Total Runtime 01:01:50

Info for Nordic Spring

The album 'Nordic Spring' is a collection of some of the finest works for string orchestra by composers from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. The music includes popular pieces by Grieg, Nielsen, Svendsen, Sibelius and Atterberg, as well as Edvard Bræin's highly melodic Serenade for viola and orchestra, here receiving its world premiere recording. Violinist Terje Tønnesen directs the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and is also a soloist in two pieces, as is the distinguished viola player, Lars Anders Tomter.

Since its formation in 1977 the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra has established itself as one of the foremost chamber orchestras on the international scene. The NCO is comprised of Norway's finest instrumentalists and its artistic directors and leaders throughout its history have included Iona Brown, Leif Ove Andsnes, Isabelle van Keulen and, more recently, Terje Tønnesen.

'Nordic Spring' features some of the best examples of string music from the Scandinavian region. One of the most famous works in the genre, Grieg's Holberg Suite, is followed by Kurt Atterberg's Suite for violin, viola and string orchestra, a piece notable for its transcendent beauty and passion. The soloists here are Lars Anders Tomter and Terje Tønnesen, who also performs the violin part in Svendsen's charming Romance, Op 26. The set also includes Nielsen's first published work the Little Suite in A minor and Sibelius´ Valse triste, as well as the world premiere recording of Serenade for viola and orchestra by the Norwegian composer Edvard Bræin (1887-1957) with Lars Anders Tomter as soloist.

Lars Anders Tomter, viola
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
Terje Tønnesen, violin, conductor

Lars Anders Tomter
international solo career started in 1987/88 when he toured extensively in the United States and Germany with the prestigious Norwegian Chamber Orchestra under its director Iona Brown. Since then his appearances as a viola soloist has been greeted with the highest public and critical acclaim throughout Europe and the United States, from the Vienna Musikverein to major venues in Scandinavia, Madrid, Budapest, Berlin, Bonn, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Paris, Prague, Rome, London, New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

Lars Anders Tomter has performed with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, City of Birmingham Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Dutch Radio Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Hungarian State Philharmonic, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, KBS Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Danish National Radio and Swedish Radio Symphonies.

Conductors with whom he has worked together include among others Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sylvain Cambreling, Dennis Russell Davies, Daniele Gatti, Manfred Honeck, Arvid Jansons, Okko Kamu, Dmitri Kitaenko, Ken Ichiro Kobayashi, Krzysztof Penderecki, Ulf Schirmer, John Storgårds, Muhai Tang, Yan Pascal Tortelier and Hans Vonk. Lars Anders Tomter is a regular guest at important festivals such as Schleswig-Holstein, Lockenhaus, Kissingen Summer, BBC Proms, Mondseetage, Styriarte as well as at a number of festivals in Scandinavia. In addition, he is artistic director of the Norwegian Risør Chamber Music Festival. He has a large repertoire including all major contemporary works, and he has recorded for Simax, Naxos, Virgin Classics, NMC, Somm and Chandos.

Lars Anders Tomter is a Professor at the State Academy in Oslo, supervising a number of Norway's most talented string players. He plays a Gasparo da Salo viola dated from 1590.

Engagements during the past seasons have seen Lars Anders Tomter among others at festivals such as Schubertiade, styriarte, Moritzburg, Delft, Verbier, and Schwetzingen. He appeared with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall, with the Trio Jean Paul at the Konzerthaus Berlin, with the Oslo Philharmonic, conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and he performed in Amsterdam, London, Montréal, Rotterdam, Seoul, Taipei and Sao Paulo.

With beginning of the season 2008/09 Lars Anders Tomter will play the new viola concerto "Illuminati" which Erkki-Sven Tüür has written for him. The world premiere will take place with the Sønderjyllands Symphony Orchestra, one of the concerto's co-commissioner'S. The other co-commissioners are the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra ERSO, the NDR Radio Philharmonic Hannover, the Orchestre National de Lille, and Norsk Kulturråd. In July 2008 Lars Anders Tomter has premiered the viola concerto of Ragnar Söderlind within the Elverum Festival. Also this concerto has been written especially for Lars Anders Tomter.

Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
Since its formation in 1977 the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra has secured a reputation for itself for its innovative programming and creativity. The artistic directors and guest leaders of the orchestra have included Iona Brown, Leif Ove Andsnes, Martin Fröst, François Leleux and Steven Isserlis together with the current artistic director Terje Tønnesen, who has held this rôle since the orchestra’s formation. The orchestra’s international tours to Europe, Asia and North America have received outstanding reviews at many of the world’s prestigious concert halls and festivals. With nearly forty recordings to date, the NCO has recorded comprehensive chamber orchestra repertoire with distinguished soloists, including Leif Ove Andsnes, Terje Tønnesen, Iona Brown, Truls Mørk, Lars Anders Tomter and Tine Thing Helseth. Highlights include Spellemannpris winning recordings of Grieg/Nielsen works and Haydn piano concertos with Leif Ove Andsnes. The orchestra draws on an enviable roster of Norwegian and international soloists and has always been dedicated to presenting contemporary music as part of its concert repertoire. The NCO currently presents its own concert series at the University Aula in Oslo and performs in major concert venues in Norway. Since 2011, the NCO has been in close collaboration with the Risør Chamber Music Festival and is now orchestra-in-residence at the festival.

This album contains no booklet.