Strokes of Imagination

Children encountering the piano for the first time, observed composer György Kurtág, often fearlessly experiment, attack and caress it. Begun in 1973, his Játékok (Games) captures these spontaneous encounters, here arranged for ensemble by Oliver Cuendet.

Mischievous instrumental explorations also characterise the brand-new works for Oslo Sinfonietta by Anna Berg and Øyvind Mæland. In The Grammar of Ornament, Berg creates a rich tapestry of sound, where threads from ancient tradition are woven into the work. The piece for solo violin and ensemble is inspired by the đàn bầu, a stringed instrument considered to be one of the few ancient Vietnamese folk music instruments. Berg transposes the đànbầu’s intricate ornamentation to the delicate strings of Guro Kleven Hagen’s violin.

In Strokes of Imagination, Øyvind Mæland is interested in the shifts between breaths and bow strokes, and other hindering transitions which musicians usually try to cover up. Rejecting classical performance ideasl, he delves into minuscule instrumental holes, cracks and glitches, letting the poetry of imperfection shape the music.