Oslo String Quartet
Encyclopedia
Oslo String Quartet was formed in 1991 by Geir Inge Lotsberg and Per Kristian Skalstad (violins), Are Sandbakken (viola), and Øystein Sonstad (cello). It was among the 1994 prize winners of the London International String Competition, which is among the most prestigious string quartet competitions internationally. In 2007 Skalstad left the quartet in order to pursue a conducting career. Liv Hilde Klokk replaced him from the start of 2008. The quartet regularly at music festivals in Scandinavia and elsewhere, including Wigmore Hall
in London and Carnegie Hall
in New York. The quartet was awarded Komponistforeningens pris (the Prize of the Norwegian Association of Composers) in 1998 and the Kritikerprisen (the Norwegian Critics Prize for Music) for 1999–2000. Their CD recordings of Carl Nielsen's
quartets won them a 1999 "Editor's Choice" nomination in the international journal The Gramophone
, which stated "Artistically it is the finest at any price point ... totally dedicated, idiomatic performance ... full of vitality and spirit and refreshingly straightforward".
Their CD recordings include music by Edvard Grieg
, David Monrad Johansen
, Knut Nystedt
, Klaus Egge
, Fartein Valen
, Johan Kvandal, Alfred Janson, Carl Nielsen
, Magnar Åm, Lasse Thoresen
, Ragnar Søderlind
, Johan Svendsen
, Jean Sibelius
, Hugo Wolf
, Ketil Stokkan
, and Alban Berg
.
To mark their 15 years anniversary, the quartet staged a two-week The Beethoven Code project during November 2006, where all of Beethoven's string quartets were performed over eight concerts, in the library building at the University of Oslo
. An integral part of these series of concerts was a string of lectures by prominent scholars on various aspects of Beethoven's life and the impact of his music. The Beethoven Code project also included the making and screening of the film Brødrene Gahl og jakten på Beethovenkoden, conceived, librettoed and directed by Sonstad, and featuring the four musicians as actors. The film depicts the spiritual and existential fight and plight of Beethoven's four illegitimate children, who use the power of Große Fuge against the dark stamitzian
forces of bratsjismen (violism).
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
in London and Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York. The quartet was awarded Komponistforeningens pris (the Prize of the Norwegian Association of Composers) in 1998 and the Kritikerprisen (the Norwegian Critics Prize for Music) for 1999–2000. Their CD recordings of Carl Nielsen's
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen , , widely recognised as Denmark's greatest composer, was also a conductor and a violinist. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age...
quartets won them a 1999 "Editor's Choice" nomination in the international journal The Gramophone
The Gramophone
Gramophone is a magazine published monthly in London by Haymarket devoted to classical music and jazz, particularly recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie...
, which stated "Artistically it is the finest at any price point ... totally dedicated, idiomatic performance ... full of vitality and spirit and refreshingly straightforward".
Their CD recordings include music by Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
, David Monrad Johansen
David Monrad Johansen
David Monrad Johansen was a Norwegian composer.He was born in Vefsn and grew up near Mosjøen, where he received his first piano lessons. He came to Christiania in 1904 to study at the conservatory there, and he continued taking lessons with Catharinus Elling, Iver Holter and others until he went...
, Knut Nystedt
Knut Nystedt
Knut Nystedt is an orchestral and choral composer.Nystedt was born in Kristiania , Norway, and grew up in a Christian home where hymns and classical music were an important part of everyday life. His major compositions for choir and vocal soloists are mainly based on texts from the Bible or sacred...
, Klaus Egge
Klaus Egge
Klaus Egge was a Norwegian composer and music critic. His music, often called a stream of will, is characterized by polyphony and a strong rhythmical energy.-Music:...
, Fartein Valen
Fartein Valen
Olav Fartein Valen was a Norwegian composer and musical theorist, notable for his work within atonal polyphonic music.-Background:...
, Johan Kvandal, Alfred Janson, Carl Nielsen
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen , , widely recognised as Denmark's greatest composer, was also a conductor and a violinist. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age...
, Magnar Åm, Lasse Thoresen
Lasse Thoresen
Lasse Thoresen is a Norwegian composer whose works concentrate on a contemporary transformation of the folk-music traditions of many peoples, especially those of Scandinavia.-Biography:...
, Ragnar Søderlind
Ragnar Søderlind
Ragnar Søderlind is a Norwegian composer. He has written ballets and operas, and for the concert hall, programmatic works based on poems.-Biography:...
, Johan Svendsen
Johan Svendsen
Johan Severin Svendsen was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Born in Christiania , Norway, he lived most his life in Copenhagen, Denmark....
, Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
, Hugo Wolf
Hugo Wolf
Hugo Wolf was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Romantic music, somewhat related to that of the Second Viennese School in concision but utterly unrelated in...
, Ketil Stokkan
Ketil Stokkan
Ketil Stokkan is a Norwegian pop artist who has performed as solo artist as well as the singer in the Norwegian band Zoo. 1983 saw him participate in the Norwegian qualifying heat for Eurovision with the song "Samme charmeur" which was placed second...
, and Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
.
To mark their 15 years anniversary, the quartet staged a two-week The Beethoven Code project during November 2006, where all of Beethoven's string quartets were performed over eight concerts, in the library building at the University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
. An integral part of these series of concerts was a string of lectures by prominent scholars on various aspects of Beethoven's life and the impact of his music. The Beethoven Code project also included the making and screening of the film Brødrene Gahl og jakten på Beethovenkoden, conceived, librettoed and directed by Sonstad, and featuring the four musicians as actors. The film depicts the spiritual and existential fight and plight of Beethoven's four illegitimate children, who use the power of Große Fuge against the dark stamitzian
Carl Stamitz
Karl Philipp Stamitz , who later changed his given name to Carl, was a German composer of partial Czech ancestry , and a violin, viola and viola d'amore virtuoso...
forces of bratsjismen (violism).