Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud isn’t one to insist a piece must be played exactly as written down by the composer.
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Sure, he’s a composer himself, and respects tradition, but the art of arranging – taking the original composition and from there, using emphases, light and shade, and drawing something new out of a piece – frees up a more creative interpretation. Improvisation, even. Why should jazz and blues players have all the fun?
On Monday night Kraggerud will lead the ACO in its Wollongong concert Grieg and Beyond. And while Kraggerud loves to improvise – even drawing a key from letters in a hat and playing from there – the ACO faithful should not fret. There’s too much music to get through to mess around.
The Town Hall concert will feature three pieces by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, including Richard Tognetti's arrangement of his string quartet, and music arranged by Kraggerud.
And like Wollongong boy Tognetti, the ACO’s artistic director, Kraggerud is the kind of classical musician who breaks the mold, finding freedom where others see constraint, and makes better music for it.
Kraggerud says arranging was the usual mode until “70 or 80 years ago”, when strict interpretations gained the ascendancy. This maestro wants to turn that on its head.
“I'm also trying to turn this tradition back again,” he said. “It's a way of getting good music known in different places.”
For instance, when he was unhappy Grieg wrote little for violin and orchestra, Kraggerud set about re-imagining Grieg’s violin sonatas as concertos – with a violin out front of the whole band.
In Wollongong, along with a world premiere of new work from Australian composer Ross Edwards, the guest director will also be performing his own work based on the work of the Finnish author Topelius.
“It is music with a Nordic sound to it - something to do with the tonality,” Kraggerud said. “We tend in the Nordic way to prioritise, in the romantic tradition, different chords.
“I used themes that can sound like they are folk themes - they are not ... but they are written in that tradition. Some people tell me they sound like folk tunes.
“It is also my goal to create some of the same background as Topelius's fairytales. It contains quite a lot of unusual rhythmic sequences. There are some parts that are in 19 time. It keeps the musicians awake ...” And the audience too.
There’s no doubt Scandinavian culture is going though a hot period worldwide – and Australia is right there in its thrall. From haute cuisine to design, visual arts and film, Scandinavian is loved even more than when Norsca was cool.
The Australian Chamber Orchestra has been collaborating with Scandinavian classical music stars for several years now, and Kraggerud is keen to keep that link flowing.
For more information see the Australian Chamber Orchestra or the Wollongong Town Hall websites.