Norway
Classical CDs Weekly: Nielsen, Tchaikovsky, Reiko Fujisawa, The Dublin Drag OrchestraSaturday, 21 July 2012
Bach, Beethoven, Schubert Reiko Fujisawa (piano) (Quartz)Each of these three composers makes very specific, particular demands on a pianist’s technique. Playing Bach as sharply and as delicately as this doesn’t suggest that Reiko Fujisawa will... Read more... |
Christian Wallumrød, Karl Seglem, Garth Knox, LSO St Luke’sWednesday, 11 July 2012
It could have been a cow lowing in the distance, the sound drifting across a barren landscape. Its tone transformed after echoing through hillsides and ravines. Actually, it was Karl Seglem blowing into the horn of a goat. Suddenly, he stopped and... Read more... |
King of Devil’s IslandThursday, 28 June 2012
Although tinged throughout with blue, the Norwegian drama King of Devil’s Island is so grim it might as well be grey. Basing it on real events pitches the film as a cautionary tale, but the message is hard to determine. Everything shies away from... Read more... |
Edvard Munch: The Modern Eye, Tate ModernWednesday, 27 June 2012
Edvard Munch strikes a heroic pose. Buck naked, he’s pointing a sword at the sky – or perhaps that’s just a stick he’s picked up in the garden, where he’s surrounded by dense greenery as he stands with his arm raised in a taut diagonal. Perhaps he... Read more... |
After Munch: Norway’s Edvard Munch-influenced artists in LondonMonday, 18 June 2012Tate Modern’s Edvard Munch exhibition, The Modern Eye, opens on 28 June. Complementing this, the new London gallery ArtEco’s inaugural exhibition After Munch showcases three contemporary Norwegian artists inspired by Munch. Next year, the 150th... Read more... |
Lars Horntveth, Jaga Jazzist, Britten Sinfonia, BarbicanSunday, 17 June 2012
“This is such fun”. Martin Horntveth, Jaga Jazzist’s drummer, can’t contain his excitement. Standing up behind his kit, he radiates joy. Considering that he and his band are Norwegian, typically not given to overstatement, what he describes as fun... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Bergen: Sunny Festival in the City of RainSunday, 03 June 2012
“Bergen is the most beautiful city in the world when it doesn’t rain,” said one Norwegian to me. There was a pause. “It always rains in Bergen.” Mention Norway’s second city to anyone and the first reaction is always the same. They don’t describe... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Medtner, Martin Shaw, StravinskySaturday, 28 April 2012
Medtner: Arabesques, Dithyrambs, Elegies and other short piano works Hamish Milne (Hyperion)The title is already intriguing; enough to send you running to the dictionary to find out what a dithyramb is. Nikolai Medtner’s three examples are fun... Read more... |
HeadhuntersTuesday, 03 April 2012
Despite being called Roger Brown, the protagonist of Morten Tyldum's wickedly stylish and knowing thriller (adapted from Jo Nesbø's bestseller) is Norwegian, and earns himself a comfortable living as a corporate headhunter. Prowling the coolly... Read more... |
Casiokids: Interview & Video ExclusiveTuesday, 27 March 2012
Norway’s bouncy electropoppers Casiokids release their new single “Kaskaden” next week. They’ve chosen to premier the video on theartsdesk. Directed by their long-term collaborator Blank Blank, the fantasia takes in Kung Fu films and the Hollywood... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Oslo: by:Larm Festival 2012 and the Nordic Music PrizeWednesday, 22 February 2012
Although the four days of Norway’s 15th by:Larm Festival were dominated by the presentation of the second annual Nordic Music Prize, there were plenty of other distractions: a sobering tour of Norwegian black metal’s infamous sites, a talk by... Read more... |
Casiokids, CargoWednesday, 25 January 2012
It’s about the bass and the drums. The choirboy high vocals and sugary melodies catch the ear first, but they’d be so much soufflé without the room-shaking, stomach-wobbling bass throb, the Chic-style disco drumming and its tsk-tsk-tsk hi-hat... Read more... |
