Concerts
For concert reservations, call 212.847.9740 or email event_reservation@amscan.org.
Concert Series
An ASF Centennial Concert Series:
Per Tengstrand presents Musical Evenings
with Nordic Stars
Thursday, February 23, 2012, 8 pm
Each $20 ($15 ASF Members) – Dinner & a Concert rates do not apply
Swedish pianist Per Tengstrand performs a series of concerts with distinguished guest musicians in honor of the ASF’s centennial year. The series highlights the repertoire of Scandinavian chamber music and its composers.
Edvard Grieg & Franz Liszt
February 23, 2012
Considered by many the pianist of all pianists, Liszt was 32 years Edvard Grieg's senior – Grieg was still a student in Leipzig when he first heard the composer play. At first rather cool in his impressions of the piano master, Grieg came to admire Liszt greatly. Over time Liszt became a mentor to Grieg, giving the young Norwegian recognition, encouragement, and support.
In the year that marks the 200th anniversary of Franz Liszt’s birth, Per Tengstrand will play two masterpieces by each composer: Grieg's most serious piano work, Ballade in G minor, Op. 24, and Liszt's Sonata in B-minor, one of the greatest solo works of the Romantic era.
This series is made possible in part by a generous grant from The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.
Keyboard Conversations® with Pianist Jeffrey Siegel:
Concerts with Lively Commentary
Thursdays @ 8 pm, March 8, & April 12, 2012
Each $15 ($10 ASF Members)
Internationally-acclaimed pianist Jeffrey Siegel returns to Scandinavia House for his fifth season at Victor Borge Hall. Beginning each evening with informal commentary on the music and its composers, Keyboard Conversations® offers a full performance of each work, and concludes with a brisk, upbeat question and answer session. The accessible, inviting format enriches audience understanding of classical music for the newcomer and the seasoned listener alike.
From Art to Heart: The Romantic Music of Franz Liszt
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The seductive virtuosity and lyricism of the 19th century's rock star of the piano. From the melodic Liebesträume to the exuberant Hungarian Rhapsodies, with excerpts from Liszt's musical travelogue, Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage).
A Love Triangle: Music of Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, & Johannes Brahms
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Love-inspired music by three romantic composers! Clara Schumann’s Romance Op. 11, No. 2 (dedicated to Robert), her Romance Op. 21, No. 2 (dedicated to Brahms), Robert Schumann's Novelettes for Clara, and Brahms’ Variations, Op. 18 and Paganini Variations, Op. 35, a gift to Clara.
Upcoming Concerts
New York Scandia Symphony presents
Scandinavian Masterworks
Thursday, March 22, 8 pm
$15 ($10 ASF Members)
Dorrit Matson, Music Director and Conductor, leads the New York Scandia Symphony in a concert of masterpieces by Danish composer Anders Koppel, Swedish Baroque composer Johan Helmrich Roman, Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, and Finnish composer Bernhardt Crusell. Featured soloists include Mayuki Fukuhara, violin and Steven D. Hartman, clarinet.
For over twenty years the New York Scandia Symphony has delighted New York City listeners with its warm and vibrant tone, a lovely clarity of expressive detail as well as interesting and exciting programs. It has a valuable mission to present imaginative and creative programs of music by Classical, Romantic and Contemporary Scandinavian composers, introducing previously unknown and seldom performed compositions to American audiences. With up to 90% of its repertoire presented as U.S. premieres, the orchestra revives and preserves the works of Scandinavian composers that might not otherwise have been brought to the attention of the public.
Triinu Taul
Saturday, April 14, 7 pm
Free
Estonian musician, singer, and songwriter Triinu Taul performs a concert comprised of works by Estonian composers, traditional folk music, Finno-Ugric songs, in addition to pieces from her own repertory. Taul will play the Estonian bagpipes, Jew’s harp, and Scandinavian overtone flute, with accompaniment by Estonian musicians Peeter Rebane, guitar; Henno Kelp, bassist; and Roland Puusepp, drums.
Triinu Taul was born in Mulgimaa, Southern Estonia. She is a very versatile Estonian musician and songwriter who plays different folk instruments and uses various interesting musical voice techniques. Taul thinks of music as a universal language and believes the musical sounds and messages influence us more than we assume.
Taul spent her childhood in the Estonian countryside; therefore values from her rustic upbringing are reflected in her work, as well as in her being. Taul’s family has been involved with music for several generations and she started to sing and play instruments with her father in the family ensemble at a very early age. Taul went on to study classical music at the H. Eller Music School in Tartu and in 2011 she graduated from Tartu University Viljandi Cultural Academy with a Bachelor’s Degree in Folk Music. The singer has worked with different Estonian musicians and performed in several music, theater and television projects. She has also performed around the world with different folk music groups.
Co-presented with the Consulate General of Estonia in New York.
Accordionist Veli Kujala
Thursday, April 26, 8 pm
$15 ($10 ASF Members)
Internationally-acclaimed Finnish concert accordionist, composer, and inventor of the quartertone accordion Veli Kujala makes his New York debut in this concert with works of his own composition, including Hyperchromatic Counterpoint for quarter tone accordion, pieces by contemporary Finnish composers Sampo Haapamäki and Olli Virtaperko, and transcriptions for concert accordion of music by Jean Sibelius, Niccolo Paganini, and J.S. Bach.
Veli Kujala is an international prize-winning concert accordionist and composer. In fall 2010 he completed his PhD in Music from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, which focused on Finnish contemporary music for accordion. Kujala has appeared as a soloist with many orchestras in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and Finland, with conductors such as Stefan Asbury, Hannu Koivula, Dmitri Slobodeniouk, and John Storgårds. He has premiered numerous solo and chamber music works by composers such as Kalevi Aho, Juhani Nuorvala, and Einojuhani Rautavaara, as well as concertos by Pekka Pohjola, Markus Fagerudd, Sampo Haapamäki, Olli Virtaperko, and Joachim F.W. Schneider. Since 2005 Kujala has been teaching concert accordion and improvisation at the Sibelius Academy.
In 2006 Kujala developed the quartertone accordion with composer Sampo Happamäki, who wrote Velinikka, the first work for the instrument. The concerto premiered in 2008 at Gaudamus Music Week in Amsterdam.
Co-presented with the Finlandia Foundation, New York Metropolitan Chapter.
The Raven’s Kiss
An Operatic Tale of Iceland
Tuesday, May 15, 8 pm
$15 ($10 ASF Members)
Music by Evan Fein; libretto by Evan Fein and Þorvaldur Davíð Kristjánsson (2011). When a ravishing woman with a mysterious past arrives one misty morning, the inhabitants of a small Icelandic town learn that change can be both painful and joyful. Set against a land of austere beauty, this tragic love tale challenges us to examine our motivations carefully and to deal with ourselves honestly.
Featuring John Brancy, baritone; Catherine Hancock, soprano; Kjirsten Johnson, mezzo-soprano; Andy McCullogh, tenor; and Drew Santini, baritone, with pianists Evan Fein and Ryan Jackson.
Co-presented with The American Scandinavian Society of New York.
Allusions to Seasons and Weather: Music from a Year in Norway
with Former ASF Fellow Michael Straus
Thursday, May 31, 7 pm
$10 ($7 ASF Members)
Composer Peter V. Swendsen presents a full program of new and recent compositions for instruments, electronics, video, and dance, performed by some of the finest young performers in contemporary music, including former ASF Fellow Michael Straus, saxophone; Sigrun Eng and Sarah Biber, cello; Dana Jessen, bassoon; Terri Hron, recorders; and Jennifer Torrence, percussion.
Allusions to Seasons and Weather: Music from a Year in Norway is a set of four pieces based on Swendsen’s experience of seasonal transitions in Norway, where he lived from 2006-2007 as a Fulbright Fellow in residence at the NoTAM Computer Music Studios in Oslo. Each composition uses acoustic instruments, electronics processing, and field recordings to evoke a sense of time and place. The first full performance of this entire set of works premiered at the Sound of Mu in Oslo, Norway in May 2011.
The core of the concert is the first full U.S. performance of Allusions to Seasons and Weather, as well as featuring NYC premieres of new works for cello and dance, as well as a collaboration with saxophonist and former ASF Fellow Michael Straus.
Following the concert, Swendsen will discuss the locations and experiences that served as inspiration and material for these pieces, as well as his process of working closely with the performers during the composition process.
Dinner & a Concert
Smörgås Chef’s Dinner & a Concert
Ongoing, 5 – 10 pm (Last seating 9 pm)
$34 per person ($29 ASF Members)
Pairing top-notch Scandinavian cinema and music with fine Nordic cuisine, Smörgås Chef @ Scandinavia House continues its popular Dinner & a Movie and Dinner & a Concert three-course prix fixe dinner menus. Available from 5 to10 pm, these ongoing offers feature a selection of favorite dishes including herb-roasted chicken, cured gravlaks and Swedish meatballs, and include one admission to that evening’s film screening or concert.
For more information, please call Smörgås Chef Restaurant @ Scandinavia House at 212.847.9745 or visit www.smorgas.com.
Concerts held in Victor Borge Hall – named in honor of the legendary Danish entertainer and in recognition of his generosity to Scandinavia House – are supported in part by The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, The Louise and Karl Andrén Fund for Musical Performance, The Victor Borge Hall Endowment Fund, and The Dunard Fund.