Ultima Festival New York closes with attention turned to the composer Arne Nordheim, a pioneer of electronics who stands beside Edvard Grieg as Norway’s most celebrated composer. Nordheim’s Flashing is performed by Frode Haltli, one of the most outstanding accordion soloists in contemporary music, alongside works by Magnar Åm, Aldo Clementi, and Hans Abrahamsen. The evening is headlined by Serena-Maneesh and Vocal Ensemble— a critically acclaimed Nordic alternative rock outfit synonymous with the composer, singer, musician and producer Emil Nikolaisen. The ensemble gives the US premiere of Somnambulism (2013), a tribute to Arne Nordheim's unusual and fascinating musical spirit.
Program
* Frode Haltli, solo accordion
Magnar Åm: On the Banks of the Eternal Second
Aldo Clementi: Ein kleines…
Hans Abrahamsen: Air
Arne Nordheim: Flashing
* Serena-Maneesh & Vocal Ensemble: Somnambulism
With Emil Nikolaisen, Ådne Meisfjord, Kristian Rangnes, and Brede Rørstad;
Ingrid Pop & Frode Fjerdingstad (visuals).
Serena-Maneesh has since 1999 been through numerous incarnations, but the project has become synonymous with the composer, singer, musician and producer Emil Nikolaisen. After a few releases, Serena-Maneesh has been established as a big name internationally. Nikolaisen spent four years on the album Abyss in B-Minor who came in 2010, and received excellent reception everywhere. The year before Serena-Maneesh participated in HOK´s To Be Heard Is To Be Seen exhibition and concert series, with a now legendary concert at the Art Center's outdoor stage, where the band took the concept literally and played behind a three meter high wall of amplifiers. HOK gave Emil Nikolaisen the commission to create a new work in Arne Nordheim's spirit. Nicolaisen himself was enthusiastic about this, and writes about a something special meeting he had with Nordheim while working as an usher in a church:
Nordberg Church, 2005: Head and hands down a wash bucket. Completely disconnected from the patchbay, bitter coffee and stale air. In exile to give the heart some air, getting my growing apathy to life. Some sneaking into the church door, outside the washing assistant´s viewpoint. The person is obviously the wrong address, the wrong church. I explain dazed directions, slightly, from the hereafter. Register a gentle voice and a friendly 'thank you'. . A beam of light reveals a weathered face on the way to the door and I'm going to exclaim .. "Arne Nordheim!" But I let it be. I'm just the cleaning lady. Teh Mexican. Subclass. The rat. Nordheim himself would probably think it was nice to have a chat. Now I´ve finally met him. Rats, Mash people, storm, tape players, oscillators.
Frode Haltli (b. 1975) is an acclaimed Norwegian accordion soloist specializing in contemporary music who has performed internationally. He established himself early on performing works by composers such as Pietr Fiala, Per Nørgård, Arne Nordheim as well as classical music, swiftly developing exceptional instrumental skills and a deep understanding of new music. In his early years he won numerous national contests, raising interest in and appreciation of the accordion to unprecedented heights. Haltli studied at the Norwegian State Academy of Music, then at the Royal Danish Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. In 2001 the Norwegian Concert Institute named him Young Soloist Of The Year, he was also placed second in the International Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition 1999 in the Netherlands. Haltli has established links with several composers, notably Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje who is one of several who have written especially for him; others include Bent Sørensen, Rolf Wallin, Atli Ingólfsson, Hans Abrahamsen, Jo Kondo and Sam Hayden. Haltli has a broad repertoire of contemporary classical works, including several concertos for the accordion, appearing with string orchestras such as the Trondheim Soloists, sinfoniettas and symphonic orchestras world wide. He has also worked with several string quartets, among them the Arditti String Quartet.
Magnar Åm’s “On the banks of eternal second” was written in 1995 after it was commissioned by Concerts Norway (Rikskonsertene). The work lasts 10 minutes and can be performed by solo accordion or ensemble.
Aldo Clementi was one of the great Italian post-war musical avant-gardists. His work “Ein Kleines” lasts between 10 – 40 minutes, and is written for solo accordion. The work is a regular in Frode Haltli’s solo repertoire.
Arne Nordheim’s “Flashing” was written in 1985 for solo accordion. The piece lasts seven minutes, and Nordheim is quoted to “draw greatly from his compositional experience” in writing the work.
