Torleif Torgersen, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra & Rinaldo Alessandrini
Release Date: 01 May 2020
Label: Simax
Packaging Type: Digipak
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 7033662013449
Genres: Classical Orchestral
Description
The German composer Carl Arnold (1794–1873) brought the spirit of Beethoven with him when he established himself in Oslo, building the foundations of professional music life in Norway. Fortepianist Torleif Torgersen has previously released a critically acclaimed album with Arnold's solo piano music. Now he presents a recording with the grand piano concerto and sextet by the composer, together with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini.
Arnold himself was somewhat of a fiend at the keyboard, and both the concerto and the sextet are grand works demanding everything of the soloist. This is the first time this music can be heard in a recording with the instrument it was written for – the fortepiano – making it a truly special occasion. At the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815, the young virtuoso Carl Arnold could tour the concert venues of the highest nobility, while composing new works along the way – dedicated to countesses and other female members of the aristocracy who had invited him to play. The piano concerto was premiered in Warsaw August 1819, dedicated "to her highness the princess Aleksandra Zajaczek". The piano sextet was written in 1825, at a time when Arnold was living in Berlin. Stylistically the music is clearly founded in the Beethoven tradition.
Carl Arnold was born in Neunkirchen in Germany and became central in the construction of the professional music life in Kristiania (Oslo) from day one after he arrived in the city as a travelling virtuoso in 1848. He remains in the Norwegian capital as conductor of the Philharmonic Society, and organist in Trefoldighetskirken. He founded the first organist- and composer academy in Kristiania, and among his students are Halfdan Kjerulf, Otto Winter-Hjelm and Johan Svendsen.
Torgersen is Professor at the Grieg Academy in Bergen. His focus is performance practice on the fortepiano, with Malcolm Bilson and Bart van Oort among others. When releasing the world premiere of Arnolds piano works in 2011, also recorded on the 1830 Hafner used for this album, it was received by Fanfare as "A fascinating and stimulating release, which I highly recommend to anyone with an interest in wrongly neglected composers.". The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra dates back to 1765 and is one of the oldest orchestras in the world. Edvard Grieg had a close relationship with the orchestra and was its artistic director during the years 1880-82.
Tracklisting
The Norwegian National Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Terje Boye Hansen
Bjorn Sagstad & Ila Brass Band
Yngve Slettholm
Various Composers
Vaage/Stalheim/Am/Rebne
Trygve Madsen
Trygve Madsen
Stenhammar/Rangstrom/Heise
Johanna Domotor; Meesun Hong Coleman; Stuttgarter Kammerorchester
Josef Krips; Various Orchestras
Josef Krips
Atalanta Fugiens Orchestra; Vanni Moretto
The Orchestra Now; Leon Botstein
Yannick Nezet-Seguin; Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal
Brussels Philharmonic, Kazushi Ono
Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonie, Friedrich Kleinhapl, Robert Kruzik
