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Henning Kraggerud takes over as the new Artistic Director of the Tromsø Chamber Orchestra in 2012.

- We are very satisfied with the appointment of Henning Kraggerud as new artistic director of Tromsø Chamber Orchestra TCO, says Hennings  Norwegian manager Kjell Wernøe,Director  of Pro Arte International Management who negotiated and will service the agreement. Kraggerud has previously guested the orchestra as leader, and enjoys an excellent relationship with the Tromsø musicians: 

-The Tromsø Chamber Orchestra was one of the first orchestras to invite me to lead in addition to being a soloist. Ever since then, I have loved working with them, he comment  in a press release from TCO.

-The reason why I enjoy it so much is that the orchestra really likes to work. As a result, I was very happy when I received this enquiry, says Kraggerud.

-I especially remember the tour we did together with Vivaldi, where they showed at each concert that they wanted to come further, and it was always ok to demand more, and the result was spectacular on an international scale. Naturally, I want to work more with an orchestra like this. I’m therefore very pleased and proud and for my part some time has already passed since I rolled up my sleeves and got started.”

-North Norwegian Opera and Symphony Orchestra  (NOSO) Chief Executive and Artistic Director Rolf-Cato Raade is extremely pleased with this appointment. 

-We are extremely satisfied with securing the services of Henning Kraggerud as the new Artistic Director of the Tromsø Chamber Orchestra. He is well established on the international music scene and it is a great honour that he has accepted this offer.

Conductor Bjarte Engeset performed a Scandinavian program (Tveitt,Grieg and Sibelius) with the Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra, NRPO, at their subscription concert in Moscow International Music Center on February 12/2010. His next concert  with RNPO will be on January 12 in Moscow Tsjaikovsky Hall (Kodaly, Bartok, Grieg, Enescu) Maestro Engeset has previously successfully conducted major Russian orchestras like St.Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, the latter at the Austrian Woerthersee Festival.

In the Light of the Midnight Sun – Bjarte Engeset talks to Jeremy Siepmann
Naxos News / October 1, 2011
http://www.naxos.com/news/default.asp?op=931&displayMenu=Naxos_News&type=2

"This is the most beautiful played recording of Grieg’s music for string orchestra that I have yet encountered." 
David Denton Da vid's Review Corner, October 2011

Full review: http://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.572403&languageid=EN

Ludvig Irgens-Jensen: Orchestra Music
..a disc conducted by Bjarte Engeset and performed as if the music was in the Bournemouth orchestra’s regular repertoire. If mainstream symphonies at the close of the 19th century appeal to you, do try this one. Excellent sound quality.  
David Denton David's Review Corner, September 2011

Ludvig Irgens-Jensen's Passacaglia of 1928, music of unaffected grandeur and nobility, is one of the monuments of the Scandinavian orchestral repertoire. It receives a powerful performance from Bjarte Engeset and the Bournemouth Symphony,particularly when the brass weigh in with the concluding chorale. The work has been recorded before, and quite well too (there's a fine version on Simax coupled to the same composer's lovely song cycle Japanese Spring), but certainly this performance ranks with the best available.The real significance of this release, though, lies in the premiere recording of the Symphony in its original, three-movement form.
David Hurwitz http://www.classicstoday.com
Full review: http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=13528

http://http://media.sikorski.de/media/files/1/12/190/236/300/1329/gubaidulina_biography.pdf

The dedicatee of the bayan concerto "Fachwerk" composed in 2009 is Geir Draugsvoll, (http://www.draugsvoll.dk), world acclaimed Norwegian bayanist living in Copenhagen. Draugsvoll presented the world premieres in 2009 in Gent (Belgium) and Concertgebouw Amsterdam (Netherland) with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. Recent national premieres 2011 performerd by Draugsvoll include Portuguese Chamber Orchestra (Lisbon), Kammerakademie Potsdam (Germany) TrondheimSoloists (Alicante), Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (Norway), Camerata Nordica (Tour of Sweden) and upcoming 21-24.November with London Symphony Orchestra (Luxembourg, Frankfurt & London).

NAXOS celebrate Sofia Gubaidulina’s distinguished career and her 80th anniversary with a world premiere CD recording of "Fachwerk".

(http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.572772) by Draugsvoll, joined by Anders Loguin (percussion),Trondheim Symphony Orchestra Strings, conducted by Øyvind Gimse and in the presence of the composer. Pro Arte director Kjell Wernøe has been executive producer of the recording and may be contacted for more info on: proarte@online.no

"This dramatic but also magical work is inpired by a fascination with architectual styles of timber framing. For Sofia Gubaidulina, the term "fachwerk", the sound of which fascinates her no end, contains two components. On the one hand, there is the craftsmanship necessary to make the composition into a performable musical work in its structure, form and architecture. On the other hand, the term also has aesthetic components. The "fachwerk" method of construction serves the buildings of the late Middle Ages and Early Modern Age not only from the point of view of statics, but also lends the buildings an especially charming, picturesque appearance. In the instrument bayan, too, the “fachwerk” principle is perfectly manifest, in the composer’s view, due to its method of construction and specific sound possibilities. Thus, beauty and construction are combined to form an artistic whole in Sofia Gubaidulina’s latest instrument concerto, as in her previous works." (Sikorski Music Publishers)

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The Russian-born composer, Sofia Gubaidulina, celebrated her 80th birthday with the final revision of a major symphonic work, Fachwerk.

"Recorded in the composer’s presence, one can take these performances as setting the benchmark. The recording engineers have produced an immaculately balanced sound. Highly commended."
David Denton, David's Review Corner, October 2011)
Full review: www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.572772&languageid=EN

Sep.17: Geir Draugsvoll (bayan) Potsdam / Kammerakademie Potsdam
Sep 21: Geir Draugsvoll  / Alicante / TrondheimSolistene
Oct.8: Geir Draugsvoll / Trondheim / Trondheim Symphony
Oct .12-17: Geir Draugsvoll / Tour of Sweden / Camerata Nordica
Nov. 21-24: Geir Draugsvoll / Luxemourg, Frankfurt, London / London Symphony Orchestra  (All concerts  Gubaidulina: Fachwerk)
Feb 3: Orchester van den Osten / Enschede NL/ Åm: Concerto for Accordeon
Oct  6-8: Leif Ove Andsnes / Bergen Phil. Orchestra  / Rachmaninov: Pianoconcerto 3
Nov 4-6 : Leif Ove Andsnes / Oslo & Gothenburg/ Norwegian Chamber Orch./ Beethoven Cto 1 & 3
Dec. 11-16: Leif Ove Andsnes / Recitals / Longyearbyen,Skien,Nordfjordeid
Feb. 2: Leif Ove Andsnes / Recital / Kristiansand
Mar.25:Leif Ove Andsnes /  25 Years Jubilee Recital / Norw.Opera  Oslo
Oct 21: Bjarte Engeset / DalaSinfonietta&Choir / Brahms:Requiem
Jan 1-5: Bjarte Engeset / DalaSinfonietta/ New Year Concerts
Jan 17: Bjarte Engeset / Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra /Moscow / Bartok,Janacek,Kodaly
Feb 15-19: Bjarte Engeset / Vinterfest in Dalarne
Mar 3: Bjarte Engeset / South Jutland  Symphony / Orff: «Carmina Burana»