Concert Night

This Sunday, we had the fortune of being invited to a CD release/concert in the Culture House. It was Erik Westbergs Vokalensemble releasing "Dreamlike", with pieces from composers like Emil Råberg, Henk Badings, and (perhaps more well known) Johannes Brahms. Also performing, both on stage and on the recording, was pianist Helge Kjekshus.

The concert was not in one of the concert halls, but in the art exhibition hall, currently showing Swedish artist Karin Mamma Andersson (and I am soon posting about that). I really like concerts in that space, I think it´s how chamber music in particular should be heard, but the down side is that noise leaks in from outside, since it´s not really made for music performances. This evening, the bass line from a show on the next floor was a bit disturbing. Not that anyone pretended to notice.

I got really excited about a piano piece Kjekshus did on his own, Per Aspera ad Astra by Maj Sönstevold, and as happy as I was to get a free CD (thanks!) I was disappointed that that particular piece was not on it. Wish I could say anything more intelligent about it, but I know so little about music. Can´t find it anywhere on Spotify to point you to either, but you could follow this link and get a 30 second taste of the piece. That´s the best I can do. The vocal ensemble is on Spotify if you are curious. 

Update: Better link, thanks to Divers and Sundry. Unfortunately, I couldn´t upload the film and put it up here. 

Erik Westberg is a professor at the university and a collegue of my husband, which is how we came to be there. I have been searching youtube and other places to find something of theirs to present to you, but all I can find is a church opera from 2010, about Jesus´suffering on the cross, and that just felt so depressing right now.