Fartein Valen string quartets Hansakvartetten & Hilde Haraldsen Sveen

• Fartein Valen (1887-1952): String Quartet no. 1 op. 10:
• 1 I. Moderato 08:43
• 2 II. Adagio 04:36
• 3 III. Scherzo 03:12
• 4 IV. Rondo 05:09
• String Quartet no. 2 op. 13:
• 5 I. Fuga 05:12
• 6 II. Tempo di Menuetto, grazioso 04:13
• 7 III. Finale (Allegro assai) 06:42
• String Quartet op. 0:
• 8 I. Andante piu tosto allegretto 06:05
• 9 II. Scherzo (Allegro molto vivace) 06:38
• Three poems by Goethe op. 6 (1925–27)
• 10 I. Sakontola 01:32
• 11 II. Weiss wie Lilien 01:41
• 12 III. Suleika 01:48
• Total Runtime 55:31

Info for Fartein Valen string quartets

'If Valen (1887-1952) had not been such a shy, self-effacing person, he would have won fame throughout Europe.' So said Issay Dobrowen, a prominent conductor in the inter-war period, and chief conductor from 1927 to 1931 of Oslo's Filharmonisk Selskaps Orkester (predecessor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra). The path to fame was indeed uphill for Norway's leading modernist. However, Valen's diffidence was not the only reason for this - another was his chosen musical language, which grew out of the twelve-tone method of composition associated with Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern. By writing this sort of music, albeit with his own highly personal stamp, he was asking for trouble in the conservative world of Norwegian music.

The beauty and profundity of Valen's subdued but expressive music is being discovered by more and more listeners. Valen's reputation as one of Norway's foremost composers and as a pioneer of new music in the 20th century is now secure. The legendary pianist Glenn Gould recognized the importance of Valen's music, saying 'For the first time in many years I have found a looming personality in the 20th century's music'

Hilde Haraldsen Sveen, soprano
Hansakvartetten (The Hansa Quartet):
Åsta Jørgensen, violin
Hilary Foster, violin
Helga Steen, viola
Walter Heim, cello

Recorded at Storetveit Church, Bergen, Norway, February 2011
Original source: DXD (352.8kHz/24bit)

The Hansa Quartet
was formed in 1987 by musicians from the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. The current members of the quartet are Åsta Jørgensen and Hilary Foster (violins), Helga Steen (viola), and Walter Heim (cello).

The Hansa Quartet plays most of the classical string quartet repertoire as well as all genres of contemporary music. Norwegian music has a central place in the quartet’s work. It has given a large number of concerts of Edvard Grieg’s music at Troldhaugen and of Harald Sæverud’s music at Siljustøl – often as part of the Bergen International Festival. In 1997 the Hansa Quartet released the first complete recording of Sæverud’s three string quartets (PSC1141).

The quartet has worked in close collaboration with several composers, and this has resulted in a CD with works by Kenneth Sivertsen, Sverre Bergh and Ketil Hvoslef (VNP2002-0057). The quartet has also performed Hvoslef ’s music for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation’s TV production of “Peer Gynt” (1994) and premiered his guitar quintet (2004).

During the first decade of the present century the Hansa Quartet has been closely involved with Fartein Valen’s works. Bjarne Kortsen, musicologist and biographer of Valen, has been a source of knowledge and inspiration to the members of the quartet in this project – a project which, while very demanding, has given them an everdeepening understanding of, and love for, Valen’s music. This is something they wish to share with their listeners.

Hilde Haraldsen Sveen - Soprano
graduated from the Berlin University of the Arts (Hochschule der Künste) in1994. Since then, she has held principal roles in a number of European opera houses. She debuted in 2001 as Gilda at The Norwegian Opera and has since then had several leading roles there. Her versatility has made her a popular singer for oratorios, concerts and romances. She has recorded several CD-albums with Norwegian music and currently teaches voice at the Grieg Academy, University of Bergen.

Booklet for Fartein Valen string quartets