Plugged in to the spirit of the composers

The new concerto disc from cellist Clemens Hagen features the very fine 1B1 ensemble, made up of the best instrumentalists from University of Stavanger and the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, led by violinist Jan Bjøranger. Haydn's 1st Cello Concerto is from Haydn's early 30s (the early 1760s), when he wrote the superb Symphonies 6, 7 and 8. Hagen and 1B1 are completely in tune with each other. These fine musicians communicate both the high spirits and the more thoughtful moments of a young composer discovering and presenting his own genius.


In the profound Sinfonia Concertante by Mozart Jan Bjøranger takes a solo role as well as continuing to lead the orchestra, and his playing is exceptional. Violist Lars Anders Tomter, who shone in the 2013 DaCapo recording of Vagn Holmboe's Viola Concerto, is up to his high standard. This is a performance that doesn't suffer by comparison with any of the classic recordings of the past. All in all, this Simax release is a real winner.

Exciting world premiere recordings

From June 20, 2013:

Vagn Holmboe's 2nd Violin Concerto deserves to be included in the same group of 20th Century violin concertos as those by Sibelius, Nielsen, Prokofiev, Walton, Berg, Stravinsky and Bartok. The Viola Concerto has much less company, but this is an impressive work as well. The soloists on this exciting new DaCapo release are truly excellent. Violinist Erik Heide and violist Lars Anders Tomter both shine, and they're given superb support by the Norrkoping Symphony under conductor Dima Slobodeniouk.

The orchestra has its own moment to shine in Holmboe's Concerto for Orchestra, a work by the 20-year old composer that has never been performed before now. This brass-heavy neo-classical work has a sound of its own that I really like, though it's much less technically assured than the violin and viola concertos which show the mastery of orchestration Holmboe attained after fifty more years of composition.

All the works on this splendid CD are world premiere recordings. DaCapo gives the entire project the highest level of production values, from engineering to packaging design. The solid slipcase, the liner notes by Jens Cornelius, the artwork, the recording and production, the performances and the album concept: everything is deluxe, and all in support of some of the most exciting new music I've heard in years.