Oslo Chamber Music Festival off to a lukewarm start

By Aksel Tollåli, 18 August 2014

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Reviewed at Oslo University: Aula, Oslo on 16 August 2014

Brahms, F-A-E Sonata: Scherzo in C minor

Beethoven, Piano Sonata no. 32 in C minor, Op.111

Bach, St Matthew Passion, BWV244: Erbarme dich mein Gott

Bartók, String Quartet no. 6, Sz.114

Christian Hundsnes Grøvlen, Piano

Sonoko Miriam Welde, Violin

Paul Lewis, Piano

Vertavo Quartet

Bjørg Lewis, Cello

Joyful Haydn from the Vertavo Quartet

Sebastian Scotney, 25th April

Violist Berit Cardas' smiles seemed to sum up the lightness, the exuberance of the Vertavo quartet as they tripped with grace and astonishing technical assurance through four Haydn quartets.

****1

Paul Lewis balances delicacy with power in understated RLPO Beethoven

Glyn Mon Hughes, 12th March

Understatement is key in Paul Lewis' interpretation of Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Adam Hickox.

***11

Sprechstimme and yodelling: Schubert’s birthday bash at Wigmore Hall

Mark Pullinger, 31st January

A double-header celebrates Schubert featuring Allan Clayton and Paul Lewis in Winterreise and the Austrian folk/rock band The Erllkings.

****1

Denève, Lewis and the Netherlands Radio Phil in Utrecht

Laurence Vittes, 23rd January

At TivoliVredenburg’s Grote Zaal: a program of Beethoven, Liszt, and Schumann that, intentionally or not, invited reflection on long-range musical continuity.

***11

Concerto Budapest delivers Beethoven with high-octane fire in Dublin

Andrew Larkin, 29th November

András Keller’s orchestra offers intensity, finesse and sheer dramatic sweep, from Tchaikovsky’s infernal tragedy to a Beethoven Fifth Symphony driven with exhilarating momentum.

****1

Magnificent Beethoven and Sibelius, intriguing Nørgård in Manchester

Peter Connors, 22nd March

Per Nørgård’s Eighth Symphony is the unusual opener in a programme of magnificent Beethoven and Sibelius from the BBC Philharmonic, Paul Lewis and John Storgårds at the Bridgewater Hall.

****1

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Aksel Tollåli

Aksel is currently studying towards a degree in musicology at the University of Oslo. At the moment he is an exchange student at Goldsmiths College in London. He is also a choral singer and a trombonist. His musical interests include 20th-cenury French music, Baroque opera and the music of Richard Strauss.

Oslo Chamber Music Festival gets off to a lukewarm start