— Sibelius, Grieg and Saariaho with the stars of tomorrow.
This afternoon we meet a group of performers who truly represent the future. Hanne Marit Mordal Iversen made a clean sweep of this year's major Sibelius Competition in Finland — and took home first prize together with her pianist. Cellist Sophie Kauer has already received international recognition as a soloist with, among others, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Dresdner Philharmonie, but also as an actress in the hit film TÁR starring Cate Blanchett. At the grand piano sits Eirik Haug Stømner , who is among the most sought-after pianists and chamber musicians of his generation.
“An extraordinary actor and consummate musician”
— Film composer John Williams about cellist Sophie Kauer
The title of the concert is no coincidence: We will experience Nordic music that puts us in a fresh summer mood, but also with a touch of European romanticism. From Norwegian national romanticism via Clara Schumann's beautiful cello pieces and Brahms' larksong , to Finnish Saariaho's butterflies — maybe we will also hear Ketil Bjørnstad's Summer Night by the Fjord? Welcome to another brilliant Sunday at Ramme !
Hanne Marit Mordal Iversen soprano
Sophie Kauer cello
Eirik Haug Stømner piano
Duration approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes including break.
NB: Our printed program booklet has the wrong date (21.7). The date is correct on our website (Sunday 20.7).
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Songs by Edvard Grieg , Jean Sibelius and Ketil Bjørnstad
Clara Schumann (1819—1896)
Three Romances, Op. 22Johannes Brahms (1833—1897)
Lark Song, Op. 70 No. 2Kaija Saariaho (1952—2023)
Papillons (2000) -
Hanne Marit Mordal Iversen will hold her master's concert at the Norwegian Academy of Music in the spring of 2024. Last fall, she and her pianist Revaz Abramia were semi-finalists in both the Wigmore Hall/Bollinger International Song Competition and the 14th International Hugo Wolf Competition in Stuttgart. In April of this year, she and Abramia won first prize in the Sibelius Singing Competition in Järvenpää. The duo plans to record a CD of works by Ragnar Söderlind in the fall in collaboration with the composer himself.
Mordal Iversen has already traveled extensively around Europe with the Norwegian Soloists' Choir and the Young Soloists' Choir. She has contributed to the Soloists' latest CD recordings of Veni: Songs of Christmas II , St Matthew Passion and Lise Davidsen's Christmas from Norway . In addition to the Soloists' Choir, she also sings regularly in the kehlkopfkollektiv, Margaretakyrkan's vocal ensemble and Margaretha Consort. She also often works with the BareBarokk ensemble, Lars Notto Birkeland and conductor Bernhardur Wilkinson and is a soloist in various church musical works in Oslo, around her home region of Møre og Romsdal and on the Faroe Islands.
Sophie Kauer is a German-British cellist, born in London in 2001. In addition to excelling as a cellist, she also had a prominent acting role in the film TÁR (2022) with Cate Blanchett, in which she was described by composer John Williams as "an extraordinary actress and outstanding musician."
Sophie made her debut with the EP Unsung in 2023 on Deutsche Grammophon, which led her to become the youngest artist to reach number one on the Classical On-Demand Audio Streaming Chart . She has been named a Classic FM Rising Star and has been nominated for the Opus Klassik Awards. Kauer has performed as a soloist with a number of renowned orchestras including the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Gewandhaus Orchester.
Kauer has studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music with Torleif Thedeén and at the Junior Royal Academy of Music in London, where she is now an Associate (ARAM) . Sophie is supported by Podium — Talent Norway's talent program for young soloists, which was established in collaboration with Aulaseriene Sophie currently plays a Thomas Meuwissen cello, on generous loan from Dextra Musica.
Eirik Haug Stømner is a Norwegian pianist from Halden. He completed his diploma studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music in the spring of 2018, with professors Einar Henning-Smebye and Marianna Shirinyan as supervisors.
Stømner received the Robert Levin Pianist Award in 2019, and has since established himself as a sought-after musician on the Norwegian concert scene. He has guested at festivals such as the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, the Bergen International Festival and Fjord Classics several times, and has performed as a soloist with several professional orchestras both at home and abroad. He has also participated in several TV and record recordings.
Welcome to a unique musical experience!
Photo: Sveinung Hoel Bjorå (Kauer) / Margit Rønning Omholt (Mordal Iversen) / Lluis Calm Vidal (Stømner)