Description
It is with great pleasure that we present a hidden treasure - an over 30-year-old live recording with the musician couple Hilde Torgersen and Kenneth Karlsson. The background for this recording was an invitation they received to hold a concert in Bremen in 1992. The initiator was the Norwegian pianist Darlén Bakke, who had moved to Germany after finishing his studies at the Academy of Music. Her desire to present Norwegian music in Germany resulted in the festival "Bremen meets Oslo", where several Norwegian musicians and composers were invited to participate.
Torgersen and Karlsson - who met during their studies at the Academy of Music - were at this time very active on the concert front, and regularly commissioned new music from a number of composers to expand their repertoire. They particularly wanted to push the boundaries of music written for voice and piano and contribute to the creation of works for the ensemble that felt modern and current. This resulted in, among other things, in the music you will hear on the CD: Asbjørn Schaathun's "Dualis...", Jon Balke's "Virr", Bjørn Kruse's "Altra risposta" and Rolf Wallin's "...though what made it has gone...". With the exception of Antonio Bibalo's "Cantico", all the works were written for the artists. The concert was recorded by Radio Bremen's eminent producer Renate Wolter-Seevers, and the rest is – as they say – history, which can finally be presented to the listeners.
Kenneth Karlsson has been artistic director and pianist in Cikada since 1989. He has also played in a number of improvisational groups over the years, most recently in the quartet Point 4 with Jon Balke, Ingar Zach and Bjørn Rabben. He has toured all over the world, both as a solo musician and with various ensembles.
Mezzo-soprano Hilde Torgersen has been a soloist with a number of Scandinavian orchestras and has toured all over the world with major works such as "Circles" by Berio, "Indianerlieder" by Stockhausen, Schönberg's "Pierrot Lunaire" and Scelsi's vocal music. She has had a close collaboration with several composers and is behind a number of first performances.
