No one better than conductor Bjarte Engeset to teach our students the subtleties of Scandinavian music. As one of the prominent figures of the Norwegian musical landscape, Engeset performs all over the world and is no stranger to Belgium: for many years he was guest conductor of Brussels Philharmonic.
Together with the students, he performs Nielsen's atmospheric Helios Overture, a work the Danish composer wrote in Athens, depicting the rising and setting of the sun over the Aegean Sea, as well as the finnish Sibelius' grand Second Symphony. Similar to Nielsen's overture, this masterpiece has its inspiration not in its own country but in the Italian town of Rapallo, which makes for an impressive "combination of Italian warmth and Scandinavian intensity", according to Sibelius expert Robert Layton. Lastly, beware of Englishman Edward Elgar's famous and moving Cello Concerto, one of the finest works ever written for cello and orchestra.
Conductor
Bjarte Engeset
Soloist
João Gonçalves
Ensemble
KCB students - Strings, Woodwind, Brass & Percussion players of the Music Department - Classical
Orchestral preparation
Bart Bouckaert
Programme
- Carl Nielsen
- Edward Elgar
- Concerto in E minor for cello and orchestra, op. 85
- Jean Sibelius
