And Fear of Loss Will Not Oppress Your Heart

Hellstenius, Lutosławski and Nemtsov with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra

Friday 19 September, at 19:30–21:00

300 kr

35 % off with ultiMATE

With you, against you—music of bonds, envy, vanished glory and fallen heights.

Some artistic collaborations are so significant that they open new spaces. For composer Henrik Hellstenius, his relationships with pianist Ellen Ugelvik and percussionist and performer Jennifer Torrence have been precisely that. Both have inspired Hellstenius’s new work for the two soloists and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.

...And Fear of Loss Will Not Oppress Your Heart grows from rhythmic, timbral and motivic seeds, allowing language and sound to dissolve into one another in a shifting interplay between the soloists, and between soloists and orchestra. At its centre is the tension between the individual and the collective, between self and other—and how the gaze toward the other can spark envy and unrest.

The piece is performed alongside Witold Lutosławski’s Mala Suita and Black Trees by Sarah Nemtsov—a work that approaches Beethoven through unfinished forms, musical quotation, and poetic atmospheres, inspired by Sylvia Plath’s poem Little Fugue, especially the line:

"He could hear Beethoven: Black yew, white cloud."

Programme

Sarah Nemtsov

Black trees (2020–2025)

Witold Lutoslawski

Mala Suita [Liten suite / Little Suite] (1951)

Henrik Hellstenius

... And Fear of Loss Will Not Oppress Your Heart (world premiere). Concerto for piano, percussion/voice and orchestra.

Facts

This concert presents three works inspired by literature, folk music, and other musical traditions.
The neoclassical Mala Suita was inspired by Stravinsky and Polish folk music.
Henrik Hellstenius'new work draws on literary references, including René Girard and Dante.
Sarah Nemtsov on Black Trees:
"I wanted to find a fresh approach to the historically charged symphony orchestra, starting from a place of quiet and layering colors in sound—thinking almost sculpturally."
The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK) is known as "the sound of Norway", with a wide-ranging repertoire and a strong commitment to contemporary music through premieres and commissioned works.