— Official opening in Håkonshallen.

It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the opening of our new summer series in Bergen's perhaps most important national cultural heritage: Håkonshallen .

On stage will be the Norwegian Navy Band, along with Bergen's own Ole Christian Haagenrud at the grand piano — in what will be a very eventful, varied and summery opening evening at Bergenhus.

(Introduction continues below image)

Aulaseriene is overtaking the baton from Grieg in Bergen, who, through the enthusiastic Michael Süssmann, has devoted many decades of honourable efforts to the service of chamber music for the entire Bergen region. We look forward to further developing the concerts in Håkonshallen — which will now be in addition to our regular concerts in the Bergen University Aula throughout the year.

At this gala concert we will experience, among other things, the rarely performed piano concerto by Leroy Anderson, one of America's leading composers of the 1950s. Here we can look forward to a work full of melodic inventiveness, charm and virtuosity - with clear references to Rachmaninoff, Gershwin and Copland. Among the other programs, which have been put together in collaboration with the Norwegian Navy Band and Grieg in Bergen, is the world premiere of the Krokeidemarsjen composed by the evening's guest of honor: Michael Süssmann. Welcome!

Andreas Hanson conductor
Ole Christian Haagenrud piano

Duration approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes including interval.

• Programme

  Camille Saint-Saëns (1835—1921)
  Marche militaire française from Suite algérienne, op. 60, scar. Dan Godfrey

  Igor Stravinsky (1882—1971)
  Two Dances from Petrushka (1911/1947), arr. Petrov

  Frederick Delius (1862—1934)
  The Walk to the Paradise Garden (1906), arr. Jos van de Braak

  Leroy Anderson (1908—1975)
  Piano concerto in C major (1953), arr. Jörg Murschinski

  — Pause

  Michael Süssmann (b. 1952)
  The Crooked March, arr. Svein Henrik Giske. First performance

  Edvard Grieg (1843—1907)
  Lyrical Pieces, Op. 54, scar. Dan Godrey

  George Enescu (1881—1955)
  Romanian Rhapsody, Op. 11

  Hector Berlioz (1803—1869)
  Hungarian March (1846), arr: Clark McAlister

• About the performers

  Ole Christian Haagenrud is considered one of the most sought-after young pianists in Norway. He holds an Artist Diploma from the Norwegian Academy of Music and was one of the first participants in Talent Norway's prestigious initiative ArtEx . In 2014 he made his debut in University Aula in Oslo, and in the same year he was awarded the renowned Robert Levin Festival Prize.

  Haagenrud has been a soloist with symphony orchestras such as the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra, the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and the Belarus Chamber Orchestra. He has collaborated with conductors such as Georg Mark and Lawrence Foster and performed on internationally renowned stages such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Brahms Saal in the Musikverein in Vienna, the Shanghai Concert Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and the Casa da Música in Porto. He is also a highly sought-after chamber musician and accompanist and regularly plays at festivals in Norway and internationally. Together with his international piano trio, the Vilos Trio, he participated for several years in the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA) program in Vienna.

  The Norwegian Navy Band (SFMK) is one of Norway's five professional military orchestras and consists of 27 permanent, full-time musicians of the highest level. The band constitutes a unique and versatile ensemble. SFMK performs in a number of different and very varied contexts, for both military and civilian audiences.

  The ensemble is proficient in most genres, band music, classical, jazz, pop and not least, contemporary music. The band has distinguished itself in contemporary classical music, with several critically acclaimed releases, concerts and festival appearances.

  Both the ensemble and two of the band's former artistic directors, Peter Szilvay and Ingar Bergby, have been named Performer of the Year by the Norwegian Composers' Association.

We wish you an enjoyable, unique concert experience with us. Welcome!

Photo: Eivind Senneset / Sissel Grønlund (Naval Band) / Sveinung Hoel Bjorå (Haagenrud)