NORWAY IN NOTES

Benedicte Maurseth and Kristine Tjøgersen are part of a new generation of Norwegian composers whose work deeply engages with ecology, place, and our perception of the natural world. Their joint composition Elja is rooted in the landscape of Hardangervidda, Europe’s largest mountain plateau. Among the featured “performers”: the rock ptarmigan, snowy owl, wolverine, Eurasian whimbrel, and Lapland longspur. The tireless Kronos Quartet performs on newly developed and adapted traditional instruments such as the Hardanger fiddle, Hardanger viola, and Hardanger cello. Benedicte Maurseth herself appears as soloist on the Hardanger fiddle.

Following its European premiere in Oslo, the work will be performed again at Festival Musica in Strasbourg. There, the quartet will present an additional program specially conceived to confront the pressing issues of our time.

18 September 2025, Ultima Festival, Oslo / 20 September 2025, Festival Musica, Strasbourg
ELJA
David Harrington, violin / Gabriela Díaz, violin / Ayane Kozasa, viola / Paul Wiancko, cello / Benedicte Maurseth, Hardanger fiddle
B. Maurseth & K. Tjøgersen: Elja

21 September 2025, Festival Musica, Straßburg
A WORLD WE LIVE IN
David Harrington, violin / Gabriela Díaz, violin / Ayane Kozasa, viola / Paul Wiancko, cello
N. Lizée: Death to Kosmische / N. Young Ohio (arr. by Paul Wiancko) / M. Kouyoumdjian: Bombs of Beirut / N. Simone: For all we know / Consumation (arr. Jacob Garchik) / T. Riley: One Earth One People One Love / H. Guõnadóttir: Fólk fær andlit / S. Reich: Different Trains