Stein-Erik Olsen, Academy of St Martin in the Fields & Terje Mikkelsen
Description
Stein-Erik Olsen has released many highly acclaimed albums throughout his career. For his first guitar concerto recording he teams up with the internationally-renowned Academy of St Martin in the Fields to perform works by Villa-Lobos, Leo Brouwer, and Nikita Koshkin.
The music of these three composers covers much of the expressive range of 20th century music, with each representing a different musical sensibility and cultural background. The disc opens with the Cuban composer Leo Brouwer's exciting and inventive third Guitar Concerto known as the 'Concerto Elegiaco'. This is followed by a performance of Heitor Villa-Lobos's well-known Guitar Concerto. Stein-Erik Olsen has previously played this work on many occasions, but on this recording he uses a copy of the original manuscript sent to him by the Villa-Lobos Museum in Rio de Janerio as a starting point. This has resulted in a number of new ideas for interpretation and has inspired a new reading of the whole piece. The last work is by the Russian composer Nikita Koshkin, a virtuoso guitarist with an international reputation established on the back of several of his own high-quality compositions. Koshkin's 'Bergen Concerto' was written for Stein-Erik Olsen in 2007.
Stein-Erik Olsen made his international debut at the Wigmore Hall in London in 1986 and since then has performed at concert halls all over Europe. The main focus of his work has always been to explore and record non-traditional music, often developed in collaboration with contemporary composers. In one of his recent releases Olsen reconstructed compositions for two guitars by Ida Presti. This recording received considerable international attention and generated very positive reviews in the music press. The Academy of St Martin in the Fields gained international recognition under the leadership of Sir Neville Marriner. The current musical director is the virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell. On this recording the orchestra is led by the distinguished Norwegian conductor Terje Mikkelsen.
Personnel: Stein-Erik Olsen (guitar), Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Terje Mikkelsen (conductor)
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
Soloists; Les Traversees Baroques; Meyer
Richard Casey, Annabelle Lawson, Joanna Lam, Peter Lawson, Stephen Plews, Jean Hasse, David Owen Norris, John McCabe, Aleksander Szram
Duncan Honeybourne, Helen Cawthorne
Maria Callas
Mayke Rademakers
Katharina Konradi, Catriona Morison, Ammiel Bushakevitz
Lisa Illean, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, GBSR Duo, Juliet Fraser, Explore Ensemble
Narratio Quartet
