The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra with principal guest director Leif Ove Andsnes will play in the Royal Albert Hall as part of BBC Proms, the world's largest classical music festival, as well as a unique performance at the 100 Club in London's Oxford Street.
The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra visits London and the Royal Albert Hall on 25 August with joint Artistic Director Isabelle van Keulen and Principal Guest Director Leif Ove Andsnes. They will perform two works by Mozart, Edward Grieg's beloved string-orchestra classic and Danish Bent Sørensen's new piano concerto, 'La Mattina', which the composer regards as containing both his 'darkest and most profound' music. The concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 as part of BBC Proms, a classic musical festival held every summer in London to present the widest possible range of music, performed to the highest standards, to large audiences. This year’s Proms is the 115th festival and will run from 16th July to 11th September.
Additionally, on 24 August the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and Andsnes, will perform at the 100 Club as part of the Limelight series which presents classical performances in a rock n roll setting. The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra will perform a repertoire that you normally won't find in the classical concert hall series; their acclaimed version of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with sampled sounds are refreshing vital and different whilst still remaining same music that Vivaldi wrote. The performance is an attempt to try to connect the past with the present and bring the music even closer to Vivaldi's own description of his music. The orchestra also presents other new mixes of classical music put into a contemporary frame of expression.
The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra is one of Norway´s cultural mainstays and encompasses a large area of activity, also internationally. The orchestra earned spontaneous artistic recognition after the debut in 1977, but the international breakthrough came with the 1979 release of Grieg´s complete works for string orchestra. Terje Tønnessen is the artistic director, and the award-winning pianist Leif Ove Andsnes has been the orchestra's first guest leader since 2002.
In addition to the Prom 53 concert, there will a Proms Intro where the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra Artistic Directors Isabelle van Keulen and Terje Tønnesen join composer Bent Sørensen for a discussion about the concert programme and the work of the orchestra. This will be presented at 5.45pm on 25 August by BBC 3’s Fiona Talkington.
Programme at BBC Proms:
• Mozart Symphony No. 35 in D major, K385 'Haffner' (18 mins)
• Bent Sørensen La mattina* (UK premiere) (23 mins)
• interval
• Grieg Holberg Suite (20 mins)
• Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K491 (31 mins)
Prom 53: Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
BBC Proms
25 August, 7.30 - 9.45pm
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore
London SW7 2AP
Tickets: £7–£35
Book online
Broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, available on demand for 7 days.
The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra at The 100 Club
Tuesday 24 August, 7.30pm
100 Oxford Street
London W1D 1LL
Tickets: £10 / £8 online or £12 / £10 on the night. To buy online, click here.