— Grieg in our time.
Bringing works from historical greats into our own time, and at the same time transforming them into something unique, is not done without a certain amount of risk. When Ørjan Matre was nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2020 for his orchestral work Lyrical Pieces — in which he drew on Edvard Grieg's rich collection of evocative piano pieces — he showed why he can be counted among our most exciting and unique composers today.
“Matre relates to Grieg as a peripheral memory — something abstract, yet close and dear. (…) Lyrical pieces are a melodious and beautiful universe that, via associative detours to both Hollywood, Disney and the contemporary, makes both modern orchestral music and the classical heritage relevant to more listeners.”
— Nordic Council's jury justification (2020)
Now Ørjan Matre has reopened Grieg's treasure chest. We can look forward to experiencing a combination of the known and the unknown — as if in an impulse-rich time capsule that enters and exits history. Welcome!
Bergen String Quartet:
Alexander Kagan violin
Lars Magnus Steinum violin
Liene Klava viola
Pierre Doumenge cello
Ellena Armelius piano
Ørjan Matre electronics
Duration approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.
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“In 2019, I composed Lyric Pieces , an orchestral work commissioned by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Or perhaps more accurately: I recomposed it. The work is based on six of Edvard Grieg’s Lyric Pieces , and moves somewhere between arrangement and new composition — a kind of dialogue between Grieg’s music and my own material.
Four years later, I was invited to be the house composer at KODE Art Museums and Composers' Home, which, among other things, manages Grieg's home at Troldhaugen. It therefore felt natural to return to Grieg's music. The result was Lyric Pieces II for piano quintet and electronics. But where the orchestral pieces from 2019 were delicate recompositions where Grieg's material was never far below the surface, in Lyric Pieces II I take a more drastic approach. Divided into 14 movements, the music alternates between Grieg's originals, completely newly composed material inspired by his music, and abstract sound collages.
"I have, among other things, processed a number of Grieg's own gramophone recordings from 1903 and 1906 — recordings where noise and disturbances at times almost drown out the actual piano playing. In addition, I have included my own field recordings from my own everyday life. Together, all these elements form a musical space where fragments, memories and contemporary sounds are woven together in a sonorous echo chamber."
— Ørjan Matre (2025)
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Ørjan Matre (b. 1979) was born and raised in Bergen. He studied composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music under Bjørn Kruse, Lasse Thoresen, Olav Anton Thommessen and Henrik Hellstenius. He has distinguished himself as a central figure in Norwegian contemporary music, and received early commissions from leading musicians, ensembles and orchestras. Matre has been house composer for a number of institutions: Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra (2006–2008), Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (2013–2014) and KODE Art Museums and Composers' House (2023). In 2025 he began a two-year residency with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. He has received several prestigious awards, including being nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize for his orchestral work Lyric Pieces .
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Bergen String Quartet was established in 2022 and consists of Alexander Kagan, Lars Magnus Steinum, Liene Klava and Pierre Doumenge. After several years of collaboration in the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, they decided to form a string quartet together. They all have a great passion for the quartet repertoire and had a strong desire to explore new material together. With backgrounds from Norway, France and Eastern Europe, they want to represent the culture of their respective home countries in addition to playing well-known repertoire within the genre.
With their home base in Bergen, they aim to present well-known Norwegian composers, in addition to collaborating with composers of our own time through commissioned works and recordings. Since their inception, the quartet has already had an extensive concert activity and collaborated with local composers such as Ørjan Matre and Jostein Stalheim.
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"Lyric Pieces for Symphony Orchestra is a musical reflection on Grieg's beloved piano pieces. The work was premiered in November 2019 by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Edward Gardner.
The work is a creative play with Grieg's simple melody lines and constantly offers surprising and fresh twists. The orchestral sound is rich and brilliant, and fragments of the old pieces trickle through and insist on their durability. Yet this is in no way an orchestration of Grieg. Matre relates to Grieg as a peripheral memory – somewhat abstract, but still close and dear. Respectfully and treated with love.
Lyrical pieces are a melodious and beautiful universe that, through associative detours to both Hollywood, Disney and the contemporary, makes both modern orchestral music and the classical heritage relevant to more listeners. The music is elegant and stylish, with a clear Matre touch, even though Grieg is visiting.
From Ørjan Matre's nomination for the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2020.
We wish you an enjoyable, unique concert experience with us. Welcome!
Photo: Ingvild Festervoll Melien (Matre) / Magnus Skrede (Bergen String Quartet)