— Musical fairy tales.

Lars Anders Tomter — proclaimed by The Strad as "the Giant of the Nordic Viola" — makes his debut at Havlystparken, together with pianist Christian Ihle Hadland and mezzo-soprano Cecilia Lund Tomter.

The programme opens with one of the beautiful viola da gamba sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed on Tomter's viola from 1590 — before Bach's own time. Hadland continues with a summery Haydn sonata from the mid-18th century, and from there, we transition into the Romantic era: Schumann's Märchenbilder — fairy-tale pictures for viola and piano — is paired with Brahms' heartfelt songs from Op. 91 and Dvořák's Gypsy Songs, featuring the highlight Songs my mother taught me.

True to tradition every summer, we conclude the concert back in our own time, in our own place — with Ketil Bjørnstad's Sommernatt ved fjorden. Welcome to what promises to be one of the summer's brightest concert programmes.

Cecilia Lund Plots mezzo
Lars Anders Tomter viola
Christian Ihle Hadland piano

Duration approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes including interval.

• Concert program

  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685—1750)
  Sonata for viola da gamba and piano in D major

  Joseph Haydn (1732—1809)
  Piano Sonata No. 26 in A major

  Antonín Dvořák (1841—1904)
  Gypsy Songs, Op. 55

  Johannes Brahms (1833—1897)
  Two Songs, Op. 91

  Robert Schumann (1810—1856)
  Fairytale Pictures, Op. 113

  Ketil Bjørnstad (b. 1952)
  Summer Night by the Fjord (1978)

• About the performers

  Lars Anders Tomter is internationally regarded as one of the foremost violists of his generation. His recording of Mozart's Sinfonia concertante with Iona Brown and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra was described by Gramophone as "the finest available", and he has performed in venues such as the Wiener Musikverein, Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall and Konzerthaus Berlin. He is a professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music and Artistic Director of Fjord Classics. He plays a Gasparo da Salò viola from 1590.

  Cecilia Lund Tomter is a mezzo-soprano/alto from Oslo, raised in a family of musicians, and began her musical journey on the violin. After studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music, in Vienna, and at the Opera Academy in Copenhagen, she made her opera debut at the Royal Danish Theatre in John Fulljames’ award-winning production of Wagner’s Die Walküre. In 2024, she debuted as Fricka in Das Rheingold as part of Bergen National Opera’s project Opera by the Fjord — an effort that earned her the Rieber Talent Award. Next season, she returns to the Royal Danish Theatre in The Marriage of Figaro, debuts as Magdalone in Carl Nielsen’s Maskarade at the Danish National Opera, and sings Mercedes in Carmen at Opera Nordfjord. She already has a finalist spot in the prestigious Belvedere Competition and a first prize in the Hjördis Schymberg Competition under her belt.

  Christian Ihle Hadland had his international breakthrough in 2011 as a BBC New Generation Artist, and two years later concluded his residency as soloist in Beethoven's Second Piano Concerto at the BBC Proms — where British critic David Nice summed him up thus: "There is absolutely no doubt: Another distinct personality among top pianists has conquered the podium." He made his debut at the age of fifteen with the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra and has since performed with all the leading Scandinavian orchestras, as well as the Hallé, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Seattle Symphony, to name a few. Since 2013 he has been a regular guest at Wigmore Hall, and since 2010 he has been artistic director of the Stavanger Chamber Music Festival. His recording of Mozart's piano concertos with the Oslo Philharmonic was nominated for a Spellemann, and the Holberg Variations with Ensemble 1B1 won the award in 2015. He has collaborated closely with Lars Anders Tomter for many years, including on the festival stage in Risør and Stavanger.

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

Photo: Nikolaj Lund (Lars Anders Tomter / Hadland)