Ståle Kleiburg Violin Concerto No. 2*; DOPO for Violoncello and String Orchestra**; Viola Concerto† *Marianne Thorsen (violin), †Eivind Ringstad (viola), **Fredrik Sjölin (cello); Trondheim Symphony Orchestra/Peter Szilvay 2L 2L-166 (SACD/Audio Blu-ray) 58:01 mins
For Ståle Kleiberg (b1958), composing ‘is all about forming an emotional response to my experience of life, of what it means to live.’ A Norwegian who cleaves strongly to European classical traditions, his cleanly crafted neo-romantic music has won him many listeners internationally.
This is the second album of string concertos to be issued on 2L with the excellent Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (conducted here by Peter Szilvay): the sumptuous recording – whether heard on Blu-ray audio, or as Hi-Res FLAC download – maximises Kleiberg’s rich tonal palette in optional surround sound.
Both the Violin Concerto No. 2 (2017) and the Viola Concerto (2019) have three contrasting movements and feature highly sympathetic soloists. Violinist Marianne Thorsen proves supply sweet through the melodic turns of the former work, composed for the painter Kjell Pahr-Iverson whose vibrant colours inform a gentle journey to a final, unexpected ascent in fourths.
Motifs based on specific intervals provide structural glue for the dramatic later work, which viola soloist Eivind Ringstad invigorates with his own rich tonal contrasts. The writing traverses a wider expressive range than does the violin concerto without ever being less than direct and comfortably familiar, the third movement’s jaunty woodwind and brass proving welcome aural refreshment.
Far meatier is the 1993 one-movement DOPO for cello and string orchestra, the first work of a Holocaust trilogy and prompted by the then unfolding Balkan War. From the yearning major-minor of its opening solo cello – commandingly played by Fredrik Sjölin – to the driving yet suspended orchestral textures, it’s at once eloquent and understated.
Steph Power
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