Tuesday, May 10th 7pm

This is an evening celebrating the leading Norwegian label for classical music, with two leading instrumentalists and a young, progressive sting orchestra.

Estonian bassoonist Martin Kuuskmann, Norwegian violist Lars Anders Tomter, and National Sawdust artist-in-residence 1B1 bring you a Bach you’ve never heard before. While Bach himself often adapted and rewrote his music for whichever instruments was at hand, the general idea in classical music is to not touch the musical score, at least not change the instrumentation of a solo instrument. Which is exactly what Kuuskmann and Tomter has done; taking a harpsichord concerto and rewriting as a viola concerto, brushing the dust of some cantata fragments and magically transform them into a bassoon concerto. The result is strikingly original, but also authentic, like listening to Bach in parallell universe.

Works by:
BACH · TELEMANN · GRIEG · SHOSTAKOVICH · DAUGHERTY (DEAD ELVIS)

MARTIN KUUSKMANN
Grammy nominated Estonian-born bassoon virtuoso, Martin Kuuskmann’s charismatic and commanding performances throughout the world have earned him repute as one of the leading solo instrumentalists today. Constantly pushing the boundaries for new artistic and technical possibilities, Kuuskmann has premiered eight bassoon concertos, all written and dedicated to him by some of the foremost composers of our time. Kuuskmann’s collaboration with composers including Daniel Schnyder, Helena Tulve and jazz icon John Patitucci have lead to numerous new solo works from bassoon and string quartet to amplified bassoon and electronics.

LARS ANDERS TOMTER
Norwegian viola player Lars Anders Tomter is one of the most outstanding musicians on his instruments today. He took up both the viola and the violin as a child, and was giving his debut performance on both instruments at the tender age of 17. Tomter has a tone of his own, large, with a strong attack and a pronounced vibrato. He has been performing with great orchestras like the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Czech Philharmonic to name a few. Tomter is the artistic director of Risør Chamber Music Festival, and he plays a Gasparo da Salo viola dated from 1590.

1B1
Discover the direction classical music is taking with Norwegian Grammy-winning string ensemble, 1B1. As an NS group-in-residence, their collaboration with the most innovative soloists and composers of today will explore a fresh take on classical music. Hosting 10 concerts featuring Gity Razaz, David Lang, Glenn Kotche, Benjamin Schmidt, Erlend Skomsvoll and Simone Dinnerstein, 1B1 blends together genres in unexpected ways. 1B1 records Simax Classic.

SIMAX CLASSICS
Since the first release in 1978, Norwegian classic music label Simax Classics has presented repertoire from classic and contemporary composers. The activity and quality of Norwegian musicians has seen a tremendous upswing during these years. Simax Classics is all about musical adventures on record, about creating the optimal arena for the work, the performance and the listener to meet – and make music happen. The Simax record Holberg Variations, with Sawdust artist-in-residence 1B1 and jazz pianist Erlend Skomsvoll, won them a Norwegian grammy in 2015.