LIFE Mari Samuelsen

• Jóhann Jóhannsson (1969 - 2018): Cambridge 1963 (Arr. Knoth for Solo Violin & Ensemble) (From “The Theory of Everything“):
• 1Jóhannsson: Cambridge 1963 (Arr. Knoth for Solo Violin & Ensemble) (From “The Theory of Everything“)01:50
• Olivia Belli: Sapias:
• 2Belli: Sapias03:02
• Nils Frahm (b.1982): Hammers (Arr. Knoth for Solo Violin, Piano, Strings & Electronics):
• 3Frahm: Hammers (Arr. Knoth for Solo Violin, Piano, Strings & Electronics)03:35
• Ludovico Einaudi (b.1955): DNA (Arr. Knoth for Piano Quintet):
• 4Einaudi: DNA (Arr. Knoth for Piano Quintet)04:06
• Mário Laginha (b.1960): Coisas Da Terra:
• 5Laginha: Coisas Da Terra02:12
• Bryce Dessner (b.1976):
• 6Dessner: Aheym09:45
• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828): Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 "Trout Quintet":
• 7Schubert: Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 "Trout Quintet": IV. Theme – Andantino – Vars. 1-5 – Allegretto08:10
• Hania Rani (b.1990): Glass (Arr. Knoth for Solo Violin, Piano & Strings):
• 8Rani: Glass (Arr. Knoth for Solo Violin, Piano & Strings)04:14
• Max Richter (b.1966): She Remembers (From “The Leftovers”):
• 9Richter: She Remembers (From “The Leftovers”)03:44
• Steve Reich (b.1936): Duet:
• 10Reich: Duet05:12
• Bryce Dessner (b.1976): Song for Octave (Arr. Badzura for Solo Violin, Piano & Electronics):
• 11Dessner: Song for Octave (Arr. Badzura for Solo Violin, Piano & Electronics)03:23
• Total Runtime49:13

Info for LIFE

Rich in contemporary colour and contrast, LIFE – Mari Samuelsen’s third album for Deutsche Grammophon – is inspired by her experience of becoming a mother. Known for her vibrant and imaginative programming as well as her passionate and virtuosic playing, the Norwegian violinist has created a kaleidoscopic musical reflection of some of the emotional discoveries that come with parenthood. The album presents music by Olivia Belli, Bryce Dessner, Ludovico Einaudi, Nils Frahm, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Mário Laginha, Hania Rani, Max Richter and Steve Reich, with a dash of Schubert also thrown into the mix. Samuelsen was joined at Teldex Studios in Berlin last autumn by a small group of fellow musicians, including the string players of Scoring Berlin, conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer. LIFE comes out digitally and on vinyl on 30 August 2024. Three singles will be issued in the run-up to the album release: Olivia Belli’s Sapias on 24 May, Nils Frahm’s Hammers on 21 June and Bryce Dessner’s Song for Octave on 2 August.

The initial idea for LIFE came to Mari Samuelsen around the time her first child was born, and she recorded the album while pregnant with her second. Welcoming new life into the world has inevitably brought an additional dimension to her own existence. “Having a child takes away layers of artifice,” she explains. “Getting to know a tiny new human being is fantastic; seeing their reactions to everything: how they start to communicate, how they react to surprises, to light, to smiles – for the very first time in their life. I wanted to put a sound to that: love, happiness, curiosity…”

The album begins with Cambridge, 1963 from Jóhann Jóhannsson’s soundtrack to The Theory of Everything (arranged for solo violin and ensemble by Max Knoth). Having children, Samuelsen says, has been an eye-opening experience: “it’s like seeing the light for the first time, and that’s what Jóhannsson’s piece is to me”.

Olivia Belli’s similarly uplifting Sapias was written specifically for LIFE, the result of long discussions between violinist and composer. “I wanted to create the sound of an embrace, and I think Olivia captured that beautifully,” notes Samuelsen. She will give the world premiere of Sapias (and perform other works from the new album) with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra at the National Concert Hall in Dublin on 16 August 2024.

The sole exception to LIFE’s contemporary programme is the fourth movement of Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet. Samuelsen chose to include it because it evokes happy memories of her own childhood – including those of making music: “I can’t remember a life without the violin”.

She was keen to represent both the light and the shade of new parenthood. “What becomes apparent is the hard contrasts that a day can have: extreme happiness and positivity can break into brutality, tantrums and rebellion – and then in the next moment, go back to purity and beauty.” Speaking about Nils Frahm’s Hammers (arr. Knoth), she says “It was important for me to have restless pieces, where you don’t feel any peace and quiet”.

There are contrasting musical dialogues in Mário Laginha’s Coisas da Terra (with pianist Julien Quentin) and Steve Reich’s Duet (with fellow violinist Soyoung Yoon) – the former harmonious, the latter less so, at least to begin with: “you never know which side is actually right, but they are together in the end”. The powerful melodic violin line of Max Richter’s She Remembers (from HBO series The Leftovers), meanwhile, suggests to Samuelsen a certain loneliness, “having this pure melodic violin line shining above everyone else”. Peace reigns again, however, by the end of the album, which concludes with a new arrangement of Bryce Dessner’s lullaby for his own young son, Song for Octave.

The sheer beauty of Mari Samuelsen’s playing is the thread that runs through all eleven tracks. She hopes LIFE will speak to many listeners, whether by stirring childhood memories or by chiming with emotions they have experienced as new parents, watching a child discover the world. “I play music because I want to tell stories,” she says. “While these stories are personal, I want them to be relatable for as many people as possible.”

Mari Samuelsen

Mari Samuelsen
Norwegian violinist Mari Samuelsen has enjoyed a remarkable rise on the international concert stage through a characteristic mixture of artistry and enterprise. Her concerts combine a breathtaking musical finesse and virtuosity and an imaginative and innovative approach to presentation.

Mari has appeared as soloist at some of the world’s most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, New York; Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris; Konzerthaus, Berlin; Smetana Hall, Prague; Kremlin Hall, Moscow and the Victoria Hall, Geneva. Recent performances have included a return to the Barbican, London; debuts at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and with Kristjan Järvi and the MDR Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig and performances in Munich and Luzern.

She works regularly with composer Max Richter, as soloist in concert performances of his works ‘Recomposed’ (most recently in Leipzig and Paris) and ‘Memoryhouse’.

Future highlights include opening this year’s Montreux Jazz Festival, Philip Glass’s double concerto in Istanbul, performances at the Bremen Musikfest and the release of her solo album, ‘Nordic Noir’ (Universal) featuring new works from contemporary Nordic composers.

For the past two years, alongside her brother, Håkon, Mari has been artistic director of the Yellow Lounge in Norway, bringing the Berlin-born clubnight to Oslo and collaborating with partners such as the pre-eminent video artist, Philipp Geist. Their debut album, Pas de Deux, on Mercury Classics (Universal), included a new work written for them by the Oscar-winning composer, the late James Horner. It went straight to no. 1 in the Norwegian pop charts, the first classical album to do so in more than 20 years.

Mari Samuelsen plays the ‘Duke of Edinburgh’ Stradivarius 1724, generously on loan from Florian Leonhard Fine Violins, London.

This album contains no booklet.