This year’s Bergen Festival features Norwegian violinists Peter Herresthal and Sonoko Miriam Welde, who both make their returns to the Festival to perform for live audiences at Griegshallen and Håkonshallen.
On the 2nd June, Peter Herresthal gives the world premiere of a violin concerto arrangement of Bergen Festival Composer-in-Residence Missy Mazzoli’s Dark with Excessive Bright, alongside the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by James Gaffigan.
This new version of the work was commissioned especially for Peter by the Arctic Philharmonic, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and Timothy Weiss. Peter also performs the piece in the 2021-2022 season with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for the US premiere, both conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann.
The programme for the concert also features a performance of Mazzoli's Grammy-nominated Vespers for Violin by Peter alongside the composer herself.
Peter has made his mark as a brilliant and inspired interpreter of contemporary violin music, recording 16 violin concertos and earning 9 nominations, five Spellemann Awards (Norwegian Grammys) and in 2021, a Grammy nomination. He has worked closely with composers such as Kaija Saariaho, Per Nørgård, Ørjan Matre, Henri Dutilleux, Thomas Adès, and Harrison Birtwistle, and has a longstanding relationship with the Festival, most recently performing works by Unsuk Chin and Eivind Buene with the Arctic Sinfonietta.
Sonoko Miriam Welde also gives two concerts in Bergen this year, of Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons with Camerata Bergen, and Dvorak’s Piano Quintet alongside Leif Ove Andsnes and fellow Crescendo artists. Sonoko is a regular guest at Bergen Festival, most recently performing chamber music by Franck, Bartok, Jörg Widmann and Schumann at last year's special online edition of the Festival.
All performances can be watched online at the Bergen Festival website here.
