8.573738
Listen to an excerpt from Halvorsen’s
Violin Concertos
Johan HALVORSEN (1864–1935)
Violin Concerto, Op. 28†
Carl NIELSEN (1865–1931)
Violin Concerto, Op. 33
Johan SVENDSEN (1840–1911)
Romance
Henning Kraggerud, Violin
Malmö Symphony Orchestra
Bjarte Engeset
†WORLD PREMIÈRE COMMERCIAL RECORDING
In his day, Johan Halvorsen was one of Norway’s most talented violinists and an internationally renowned conductor and composer. With its beautifully lyrical themes and Norwegian character including Hardanger fiddle effects, his Violin Concerto was described by contemporary critics as ‘an outstanding work’ and performed to great acclaim in 1909. It was considered lost, only to be rediscovered in 2015 in the archive of its original soloist. With its equally confident opening and symphonic proportions, Nielsen’s Violin Concerto combines emotive power with a delightfully pastoral character, while Johan Svendsen’s spontaneously inventive and melodic Romance has become one of his best-loved works.
Henning Kraggerud| Malmö Symphony Orchestra| Bjarte Engeset
© Kaupo Kikkas
   About Henning Kraggerud
An artist of exquisite musicianship, Henning Kraggerud is invited time and again to join many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Philharmonia, Hallé, Danish National Symphony, the Cincinnati, Baltimore, Toronto and Vancouver symphony orchestras and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. He has performed with the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and twice at the BBC Proms in London. In his native Norway, he is Artistic Director of Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. He is a Professor at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo, and since September 2015 has been International Chair in Violin at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
© Christiaan Dirksen
   About the Malmö Symphony Orchestra
The Malmö Symphony Orchestra (MSO) gives concerts every week, demonstrating its skill in broad and multifaceted programmes. Several recordings have gained international accolades, including first prize at the Cannes Classical Award and the annual Diapason d’Or awards. Releases on Naxos of music by the American composer Charles Ives have won great acclaim and were named Editor’s Choice/Recording of the Month by Gramophone. The MSO and Marc Soustrot, who has been the orchestra’s principal conductor since the 2011-12 season, began recording the complete orchestral works of Camille Saint-Saëns for Naxos.
© Ulf Palm
   About Bjarte Engeset
Norwegian conductor Bjarte Engeset has been music director of the Tromsø Symphony Orchestra, the Norwegian Wind Ensemble, artistic director of Northern Norway’s Northern Lights Festival and Opera Nord, and permanent guest conductor of the Flemish Radio Orchestra. Since 2007 he has served as chief conductor of Sweden’s DalaSinfonietta. His acclaimed recordings for Naxos include works by Svendsen, Tveitt, Grieg, Sibelius and Sinding.
2.110368 (DVD) • 8.573513 (CD)
“[Kraggerud] has an extraordinarily beautiful, silken tone that repeatedly calls Nathan Milstein to mind, although a shade lighter.”
– Fanfare
8.572827
“Kraggerud is a major talent, with a rich, beautiful sound, and he deserves to be more widely known.”
– Fanfare
8.573137
“Violinist Henning Kraggerud is more than just an able transcriber. He is the excellent soloist and leader of the very fine Tromsø Chamber Orchestra. The result couldn’t be more natural.”
– ClassicsToday.com
8.557266
“Henning Kraggerud gives a masterly performance of both concertos, warm and powerful, with a confident, wide vibrato and immaculate intonation.”
– Gramophone