Per Nørgård wrote his piece Isternia originally for cimbalom back in 1979. Since there were no cimbalists to play it, he transcribed it later for other instruments. On Hans-Kristians initiative, it is now premiered, 30 years after it was written, in the original version for cimbalom, and Per Nørgård could finally hear it for the first time at this occasion, february 2010 in Oslo. He has now dedicated the piece Isternia to Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen.
2010-03-02 New CD; Per Nørgårds Der göttliche Tivoli
Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen is percussion-soloist on Per Nørgårds new CD of the opera "Der göttliche Tivoli". This is a live-recording from Stadtteater Bern in Swizzerland and the CD is released on DaCapo (Denmark). This opera is written in the same period as the solo-percussion work "I Ching", and therefore the overture in the opera is the whole last movement of this virtuoso work, here performed live by the soloist HKKS.
2009-12-10 HKKS is soloist with The Norwegian Soloistschoir
Tonight HKKS is soloist with The Norwegian Soloistschoir in Frogner Kirke in Oslo. They have played together on several occasions and HKKS arranged and played marimba on their cd "Telling what is told" 3 years ago. Hans-Kristian will play the last movement "Towards Completion" from Per Nørgårds big percussionpiece "I Ching",as well as arrangements for percussion with the repertoire of the choir. They will also repeat the concert in Asker Culturehouse next wednesday the 16th.
Anne Hytta - Hardingfiddles Gro Løvdahl - Viola, viola d´amore
HK Kjos Sørensen Cimbalom, pecussion, sampler
SPECIAL GUEST:
Daniel Hope - Violin – glad to be joining in
KRIGRAN is a new trio with a unique sound, created by the different string-instruments being used; Violin, hardingfiddle, viola,
viola d´amore, cimbalom, sampler & small percussion. The music has clear preferences to classic and folk music, also with elements of improvisation. KRIGRAN plays music composed by themselves as well as Ligeti, Corea, Nørgård, Norberg / Knuttson, Bartok and trad. folkmusic from Norway, Sweden and France.
Special guest is violinist Daniel Hope. Hope released earlier this autumn the cd “Air - a baroque Journey” on Deutsche Grammophon, where also HKKS plays percussion. He is Grammy-nominated several times, writes books, and is also violinist on the latest Sting-cd.
2009-09-17 HKKS composes baroque-percussion on Daniel Hope´s new cd
The cd tells the story of four unique composers Falconiero, Matteis, Geminiani and Westhoff. Their compositions are of course lacking parts for percussion. HKKS has therefore composed and improvised percussion-parts for the different tracks. By using baroque drum, frame-drums, bells and tambourines, HKKS is making an emphasis on the rhytmical sides of these musical dances.
The record also features the harpsichordist Kristian Bezuidehout, violinist Lorenza Borrani, baroque-cellist Jonathan Cohen, the baroque-guitarists/luteists Stefan Maass and Stephan Rath, as well as soloists from the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
2009-09-17 Morten Schakenda releases book from his Bakery in Lom!
Something on the side of everything else on this page, yes. But the fact that my good friend Morten Schakenda today releases his new book about baking and life from Bakeriet i Lom, just got to be presented here!
I was so (un)fortunate to meet Morten in a party hosted by the cellist and common friend Øystein Birkeland on the 17th of may-party many years ago. I did not know who he was, but soon found out that he was more than average interested in food. So as a perfect victim, I enthusiastically monologued him out totally with a story about this cheese-cake recipe that had saved so many family-gatherings at our place. After having emptied myself (10 minutes) how fantastic tasty this cake was and at the same time having modified the recipe quite a bit (!), the man said: "That´s my recipe..." Since then we have become very good friends, and I am also on the board of his Bakery in Lom, Norway.
Follow the links in black and enjoy!
2009-06-19 The summer 2009!
This summer involves many great concerts for Hans-Kristian:
Cd-recording
HKKS is again joining up with the violinist Daniel Hope. This time together with cembalist Kris Bezuidenhout, The Chamberorchestra of Europes concertmaster Lorenza Borrani, baroque-cellist Jonathan Cohen a.o., to record a baroque-cd for Deutsche Grammophon. Hans-Kristian will improvise all his parts for the recording.
International Belgian Percussionfestival
In july, HKKS will quest The Basillica Music Festival in Belgium, that will make a percussionfestival this year. Kjos Sørensen will perform a recital with both of the solo-pieces by Iannis Xenakis; Rebonds and Psappha on the program, as well as 2 pieces by Dave Maric, where trumpeter Ole Edvard Antonsen is guesting in Lucid Intervals.
Aurora Chambermusicfestival
Then Hans-Kristian is visiting The Aurora Chambermusicfestival in Trollhättan, Sweden, where he will perfom several solo-program, at the opening concert and 2 performances of Vivaldis 4 Seasons with violinist Terje Tønnesen, where HKKS is surrounding the piece with percussion ostinati and effects! Vivaldi on cimbalom
Later Hans-Kristian will also perform a Vivaldi-concerto. It is his concerto in C-major for cimbalom, strings and continium. This is originally the mandolin-concerto that HKKS now performs on his István Jancsó Cimbalom.
2009-04-22 Ragtime in Stavanger
On triday the 24th I play cimbalom solo in the chambermusicseries of Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Stravinskys Ragtime. The concert takes place at the Tou Scene (the old brewery!).
2009-03-30 Toys in Bremen
Tanja Tetzlaff and HKKS with Thomas Hengelbrock at the earlier Feldkirch Festival.
This week HKKS is i Bremen playing the concert TOYS with the percussionist Stofl Rapp and cellist Tanja Tetzlaff, performing music by Dave Maric a.o. The concert is curated by Stofl Rapp and produced by Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.
2009-03-05 Back from Sweden & USA with great reviews
HKKS, Mr. John Stravinsky (Igor Stravinsky´s grandson) & his wife Dava after the concert at the Lincoln Centre, NYC. (Photo: Gro Løvdahl)
February was filled with 5 concerts at the "Vinterfest" in Mora (Sweden), where the last concert also was the premiere of Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensens new piece "Snow, Wind, Wood", written for the woodwinds in the Dala Sinfonietta, with HKKS as conductor and soloist. The Dala Demokraten wrote:
"When not conducting, he was a percussion-soloist, in his own new work, where repeating phrases and samples drove the music from almost Indian landscapes til something so Arabian-influenced that in the end, I thought I found myself at the markedplace in Marrakech".
Also the concert War and Pieces, with Stravinskys "Soldiers Tale on the program, at the Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Centre, NYC, was acclaimed by the critics. The New York Times wrote "...flamboyant work by the percussionist Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen" and further
"the ensemble played with dazzling virtuosity and bite",
whereas ConcertoNet wrote "Astonishing percussion-solos by Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen" and "violinist Daniel Hope and percussionist Kjos Sørensen played the longish tango together like born for the rhythms".
2009-02-22 HKKS joins Klaus Maria Brandauer & Daniel Hope a.o. in Alice Tully Hall i i New York
Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Centre, New York has been rebuilt and a 2-week festival is arranged in connection with the re-opening. The Lincoln Centre arranges a performance of "War & Pieces" the 27th of February with HKKS, the actor & Oscar™-winner Klaus Maria Brandauer, bassist Annika Pigorsch, the violinist Daniel Hope (Deutsche Grammophon) together with musicians from The Lincoln Centre Chambermusic Society.
War & Pieces discusses the influence/impact that warfare has had on music and musicians during our history and it presents Stravinsky´s Soldiers Tale, an arrangement of Beethovens Egmont-overture for the the same instruments as in the Stravinsky piece by Jan Müller-Wieland, in addition to HKKS´s percussion-improvisations under Goethe´s famous monolog from Egmont, ”Long Live War”.
2009-02-02 Vinterfest in Mora, Sweden
Next week I will visit Martin Frøst´s festival Vinterfest in Mora in Sweden. I will play 5 concerts, which also include a duo-concert with the finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto. Among other pieces, we will perform Kurtag´s 8 duets for violin and cimbalom. Late night concerts with improvisation will spice it up (and perhaps cool it down) in the end of the days. At the final-concert on sunday, I will conduct the Dala Sinfonietta in my new piece "Snow, Wind, Wood", written for this ensemble and the festival, instrumented for woodwind septet, 2 horns, trumpet and double-bass.
2008-10-01 Stravinsky in Malmø
Thursday the 9t of october I will play the solo-cimbalom part in Stravinsky´s Les Noces with Malmø Symphoniorchestra and conductor Mario Venzago.
2008-09-18 Opera premiere in Bern, Schweiz
Tomorrow I am playing the Swizz premiere of Per Nørgaards opera "Die Göttliche Tivoli" at the Stadtteater Bern. I am the percussion-soloist in the opera, which also includes the 4th movement of his solo-piece "I Ching" as the ouverture. The performance will be recorded live and will be released on cd by the danish recordcompany Da Capo. See live dates for more performances.
2008-08-07 1st time performance of Isternia by Per Nørgård on Cimbalom
At The Stavanger Chambermusic Festival next week, HKKS will do a 1st-time performance of the work Isternia by the great Danish composer Per Nørgård.. Isternia, which was written as early as in 1979 for the legendary percussionist Suzanne Ibstrup, is sensationally enough never been performed on the original version for cimbalom.
Professor Per Nørgård is today recognized as the greatest composer in Scandinavia and has received numerous prizes amongst The Sonning Prize.
Nørgård has worked with HKKS when he was percussion-soloist in his opera "The Guddommelige Tivoli" at the Stadtteater Lübeck last year. This opera will be set up again in Bern, Schweiz, in september 2008.
2008-07-30 Summerfestivals!
This summer I will play at festivals in Stavanger and Oslo. As guest at The Stavanger International Chambermusic Festival I will make a 1st time performance of an organ-percussion duo by Nils Henrik Asheim. Later that night I will also curate the festivals Pub-concert! Lots of guests and a lot of fun! During the festival I will also do a solo-recital, the Galla-concert and last (but not least) an improvisation-concert with The Hilliard Ensemble and the cellist Øystein Birkeland.
2008-04-15 Premiere of Johannes Harneit´s Double-concerto for cello & percussion
Sunday the 20th HKKS will premiere the new-written double-concerto for cello and percussion by the german composer Johannes Harneit in Bremen, Germany. Co-soloist on cello is one of Hans-Kristians long-time musical partners Tanja Tetzlaff and the orchestra consists of members from Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and other invited musicians.
2008-03-22 Savannah Music Festival 2008
Left:Stewart Copeland & HKKS. Right: Patrick Messina
This week an old dream will become a reality: I will be playing with the Police-drummer Stewart Copeland! We met each other at a Police-concert in Hamburg last year and now we play together; Awesome!
This is the 3rd time I am visiting The Savannah Music Festival, and this time the festival will present an evening with the famous Police-drummer and guests. This is percussion-based music, so I also invited my old friend Kirk Brundage (1st prize ARD, München) to join me along with the Atlanta-based percussion-professor Stuart Gerber.
But before that I will play Fredrik Högberg clarinet-percussion duets with the french renowned clarinetplayer Patrick Messina, who I also work with in the War & Pieces project. Artistic director at the festival, Daniel Hope, is curating the project, as always with his immense energy!
2008-03-05 HKKS soloist in Per Nørgårds "Die Göttliche Tivoli", Bern/Swizzerland
HKKS is contracted as a soloist at the Stadtteater Bern/Swizzerland as percussion-soloist in Per Nørgårds opera "Die Göttliche Tivoli". Performances are scheduled in september, october and november (see LIVE DATES).
2008-02-28 CD-release today; percussionconcerto
Today the premier recording of the percussionconcerto "Readings of Mr.G" is released on a cd by the same name!
"Readings of Mr.G" is written for Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen by The composer Henrik Hellstenius on a commission by The Norwegian Chamberorchestra. Hellstenius’ close collaboration with Sørensen in “Readings of Mr G”, resulted in a piece with instrumental and theatrical elements being combined. The percussionist is not only a musician, but speaker also; an actor in the widest sense. On the cd it is The Ensemble BIT-20 under the baton of the conductor Pierre-André Valade who is playing with HKKS. Also on the cd the bassist Dan Styffe (principal-bass in Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra) joins HKKS in the duo "Ombra della Sera", based on various musical fragments of the Italian composer Luigi Nono.
The cd is a portrait of Henrik Hellstenius and is released on Aurora.
It´s been a while since the last update. Last week I played a recital at the opening of The European Capital of Culture Stavanger 2008 with Maki Ishii "13 Drums", John Cage "In a Landscape" & Gordon Sumner "Message in a Bottle" on the programme. The Grieg Trio and Ensemble Bjergsted also participated. The production was done by ICMF Stavanger Chambermusicfestival where I am guesting in august.
MySpace
facebook
