Per Nørgård: Orchestral Works Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra & John Storgårds

• Per Nørgård (b. 1932): Three Nocturnal Movements:
• 1 Nørgård: Three Nocturnal Movements: I. Allegro 07:18
• 2 Nørgård: Three Nocturnal Movements: II. Andante 06:46
• 3 Nørgård: Three Nocturnal Movements: III. 09:39
• Symphony No. 8:
• 4 Nørgård: Symphony No. 8: I. Tempo giusto 11:32
• 5 Nørgård: Symphony No. 8: II. Adagio molto 06:52
• 6 Nørgård: Symphony No. 8: III. Crotchet = 90 06:58
• Lysning:
• 7 Nørgård: Lysning 04:53
• Total Runtime 53:58

Info for Per Nørgård: Orchestral Works

Celebrating his 90th birthday in 2022, Per Nørgård is undoubtedly one of the most important Danish composers since Nielsen. His important production that covers all genres is a highly personal travel document based on his endless incursions through the sonic labyrinths of this world.

Based on material from Nørgård’s viola concerto from 1986, Three Nocturnal Movements for violin, cello and orchestra came about on the initiative of the violinist Peter Herresthal and the cellist Jakob Kullberg, two of his long-term collaborators. The work was creatively developed for two soloists by Kullberg, who decided on the form of the movement after making a selection of musical fragments described as ‘nocturnal’.

Dedicated to the conductor John Storgårds, Symphony No. 8 appears bright, transparent while its atmosphere is somewhat mysterious and filled with tension. This symphony, his most recent work in this genre, can be compared to latter works from other Nordic composers like Sibelius and Nielsen. Finally, Lysning, a short piece for string orchestra, has been described by Nørgård as a ‘glade’ and is made of an alternance of darker and brighter variations of the same musical ideas heard in different instrumental colourings and nuances.

Peter Herresthal, violin
Jakob Kullberg, cello
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgårds, conductor

Peter Herresthal
Award-winning violinist Peter Herresthal has appeared with orchestras and en sem bles worldwide, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta, as well as giving numerous performances with the leading Scandinavian orchestras such as the Oslo, Copenhagen and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestras.

Herresthal has to date recorded over 20 violin concertos, earning numerous nominations for Spellemannprisen (the ‘Norwegian Grammy’), and winning the award five times. Released by BIS, his

disc of the concertos by Per Nørgård was short listed for a Gramophone Award and singled out in The Strad (‘The Strad Recom mends’) and International Record Review (‘IRR Outstanding’). He has toured Europe and the USA with Kaija Saariaho’s violin concerto Graal Théâtre, giving more than twenty performances and also filming a performance for the BBC. His recording of the concerto was nominated for a US Grammy Award and an Inter national Classical Music Award and named Concerto Choice of the Month in BBC Music Magazine.

Peter Herresthal is a professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music and a visiting professor at the Royal College of Music, London and the NYU Steinhardt School in New York.

Jakob Kullberg
Praised in The Strad magazine for a ‘staggering control of tone – sometimes elegant or glassy, at other times angry or pleadingly reedy’, the cellist Jakob Kullberg is a prizewinner at international solo and chamber music competitions, and his recordings have been awarded P2 Prisen (the ‘Danish Grammy’) twice as well as a shortlisting for the Gramophone Awards.

Kullberg has been artist-in-residence with, among others, the International Carl Nielsen Competition, Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen and the New Music Orchestra (Poland). Currently collaborating with the BBC Philharmonic on a large-scale concerto recording project, he appears with leading orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Avanti Ensemble and Ensemble Intercontemporain. He is also a recurring guest at festivals such as the Aldeburgh Festival, Warsaw Autumn Festival, Bergen International Festival and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

Jakob Kullberg enjoys a uniquely close collaboration with the Danish composer Per Nørgård whose entire cello output of the last 20 years has been composed specifically for him. The paradigm example of their dialogic collaboration is manifested in Kullberg’s composition Nocturnal Cadenza based on fragments by Nørgård. He is also a notable interpreter and collaborator of Bent Sørensen and Kaija Saariaho, both of whom have composed works for him.

Artistic director of the Open Strings Cello Masterclass since 2004, Jakob Kullberg has been professor of cello at the Royal College of Music, London since 2016. He has been a juror at the Schoenfeld International String Competition (China) as well as the Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition.

Booklet for Per Nørgård: Orchestral Works