— An unknown masterpiece is resurrected.
When Sibelius was 24 and a student in Berlin, he wrote his only piano quintet — a five-movement work with almost orchestral power. At the premiere in Helsinki in 1890, Ferruccio Busoni himself sat at the piano, with Norwegian Johan Halvorsen on violin — he who a few years later would lead the Harmonien here in Bergen. Sibelius himself never got to hear the work complete: It was first performed in its entirety on the centenary of his birth in 1965.
Mozart's Divertimento in F major for string quartet is also a work of youth: the composer was only 16 years old when he wrote his three so-called Salzburg Divertimentos in the winter of 1772. In Håkonshallen, these two youthful works are framed by Sibelius's beautiful and subtle piano cycle The Trees, Op. 75, and the melancholic but very popular Valse triste .
In other words, this evening will be a celebration of young creativity — with a group of the Nordic region's leading young musicians on stage. The award-winning Saphir Quartet meets the Finnish pianist Ossi Tanner , proclaimed a "romantic virtuoso" by Helsingin Sanomat. Read more about the performers and programme below. Welcome!
Amanda Noor Vatn violin
Philippe Jayer violin
Torje Råbu viola
Iris Kalliovirta cello
Ossi Tanner piano
Duration approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes including interval.
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Saphir Quartet consists of Amanda Noor Vatn, Philippe Jayer, Torje Råbu and Iris Kalliovirta. The quartet was established in 2018 at the Barratt Due Music Institute in Oslo, where they were supervised by Kari Ravnan until 2024. Their big international breakthrough came in 2024, when they won first prize in the junior class at the prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in the USA. The quartet has performed at the Royal Palace, Nidaros Cathedral and in University Aula , and participated in the 2024/25 season in Voksenåsen's mentor program with the Danish String Quartet. "Saphir is in a class of her own, and elevates the evening with her repertoire choice, her joy of playing and her desire to communicate," wrote Aftenposten's Maren Ørstavik.
Ossi Tanner has been almost unanimously hailed by critics as a "piano poet". Since winning the Tampere Competition in 2017, he has played as a soloist with virtually all of Finland's orchestras, including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, working with conductors such as Klaus Mäkelä, Susanna Mälkki and Sakari Oramo. Until recently, he was the artistic director of the Kamarikesä chamber music festival in Helsinki and is now the director of the KAIKU concert series at the Finnish Institute in Paris.
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Jean Sibelius (1865—1957)
The Trees, Op. 75
Waltz Triste, Op. 44Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756—1791)
Divertimento for string quartet in F major, K. 138— Pause
Jean Sibelius
Piano Quintet in G minor (1890)
We wish you an enjoyable, unique concert experience with us. Welcome!
Photo: Peter Ringenberg (Saphir) / Maarit Kytöharju (Tanner)