Beppe Norwegian Radio Orchestra

In 'Songs from the Planet of Life,' composer Helge Iberg uses poems of the taoist tradition to shed light on the ecological situation. An impressive handful of soloists come together with The Norwegian Radio Orchestra for this touching musical reflection on the present state of the planet and humankind. Norway's biggest newspaper Aftenposten, describes the work as "Heavenly! Iberg's concept gave us a night we will never forget!" An all-night Concerto Grosso for five soloists, narrator and symphony orchestra; extensive, grand-scale and correspondingly powerful a new Das Lied von der Erde inspired by Gustav Mahler's iconic art piece. The piece consists of 9 movements. Vocal artist Sidsel Endresen narrates the poems together with LiuTiegang, actor and leader of The National Theater of China in Beijing. Elise Batnes's interpretation of Tale of Sorrowful Song is outstanding. Christian Ihle Hadland's piano-playing is equally poignant in Lotus Dance, while Marianne Beate Kielland and Frank Havroy spellbind us in Long Autumn Night contrasted by Tom Ottar Andreassen's alto flute, all safely guided by conductor Kai Grinde Myrann.

"The Caminos del Inca, or Inca Trails, is a road network that traverses South America connecting lands and peoples. The area's musical traditions are ancient and varied, taking in indigenous sounds as well as European influences, and the composers represented on this album have all been inspired by this musical legacy, the people of their homeland, and the land itself. The interconnections include late-Romanticism, folkloric dances, reinterpretation of popular music, mestizo ('hybrid') elements, Stravinsky-like primitivism, and music of simplicity and beauty that both captures and celebrates village life."

Trace of Lament features 5 new compositions for Cello and Orchestra by Gaute Storaas, Henrik Skram and Ginge Anvik. The album from Lawo Classics features cellist Audun Sandvik, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra conducted by Thomas Klug and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Per Kristian Skalstad.

Mozart composed his last three symphonies (Nos. 39-41) in the space of six weeks during the summer of 1788, at a time when he had sunk into poverty, regularly borrowing money from his friend Michael Puchberg and pawning household items. In recent years he had been organising many concerts in Vienna and was equally in demand as a teacher. Then, in Prague, he had enjoyed the tremendous acclaim of his Marriage of Figaro (1786) and Don Giovanni (1787). Now, however, he struggled to find subscribers for the publication of three string quintets and faced what seemed to be the end of his Viennese concerts.

The Norwegian Marius Neset has split his career between cool Scandi jazz and adventurous composition for symphony orchestras, gaining considerable acclaim for both. Here he combines the two, putting his quartet in the centre of a complex soundscape played by the versatile Norwegian Radio Orchestra under the British conductor Geoffrey Paterson. Mostly a series of musical portraits, it is an ear-opening, often beautiful listen. Complex work is drawn from the simplest of themes. A Day in the Sparrow’s Life imitates the jerky, carefree behaviour of the bird with a folk dance that expands into a skirmish of contrapuntal melodies. The two-part It Looks Like Glass is a brilliant evocation of the material’s occasionally sinister sheen.

Mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland is famous for her strong stage presence and musical integrity. Gramophone Magazine writes about her: The mezzo-soprano is quite outstanding: strong, firm, sensitive in modulations, imaginative in her treatment of words, with a voice pure in quality, wide in range and unfalteringly true in intonation.

Out on 6 October, the music for Certainty of Tides was initially recorded with the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra with Nils Petter Molvaer as a soloist in 2020. He had asked several wonderful Norwegian composers to arrange a set of music from his back catalogue. “Have a listen to the recordings I did with the orchestra and tell me what you think” he told Norwegian composer, musician, and producer Jan Bang. Since the original recording was close mic’ed for broadcasting purposes, Bang saw an unfulfilled potential in the material due to lack of space in the initial recordings. Bang came up with the idea of re-amping the mixes playing the music through speakers in a concert house followed by re-recording of the result through distant microphones. With 76 speakers (one per instrument) carefully placed exactly like the orchestra would have been seated onstage, Certainty of Tides was recorded from microphones strategically placed in the large hall of Kilden Concert House with phenomenal acoustics.