NJORD Biennale Opening Concert: La Passion de Simone
January 28th 2016, 20.00
The opening concert of NJORD Biennale presents Avanti! Chamber Orchestra and La Chambre aux échos who will perform the Danish premiere of La Passion de Simone – a modern oratorium by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho.
La Passion de Simone [The Passion of Simone] is about a woman’s meditations on the life of French philosopher Simone Weil. Weil (1909-1943) drew her inspiration from all Western and Eastern spiritual traditions. She truly committed herself to an ideal of sanctity, by putting ascetically her principles into practice, from the experience of working in a factory to the Spanish Civil War, until her untimely death, following the fast she observed out of solidarity for the starving people of occupied France.
This matchless oratorium finds a universal scope through an individual’s destiny.
Late Night Event: Jakob Kullberg & Aliisa Neige
January 28th 2016, 21.45
The evening continues with a late night concert with Jakob Kullberg, cello and Aliisa Neige, violin. The programme features works by various Nordic composers including the world premiere of the brand new piece Concordia by Kaija Saariaho.
About Avanti! Chamber Orchestra
Finnish Avanti! Chamber Orchestra is a quite extraordinary artistic powerhouse! The ensemble was founded in 1983 on the initiative of Esa-Pekka Salonen, Olli Pohjola and Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and since 1998 clarinettist Kari Kriikku has been artistic director.
Today Avanti! is renowned as one of the best ensembles for new music in the world. The ensemble specializes in no particular genre; rather, it is proud to be a specialist in all styles with a strong sense of responsibility for the music of today.
Avanti! works in close partnership with front-line international conductors, soloists and composers, and has won many prizes and widespread acclaim from audiences and critics all over the world.
The concerts at NJORD Biennale 2016 are the first time ever Avanti! Chamber Orchestra will perform in Denmark.
About La Chambre aux échos
Paris based La Chambre aux échos is a cross-media collaborative structure, meant to produce new forms of performances, concerts, readings, exhibitions and conferences. The ensemble was founded by Clément Mao-Takacs and Aleksi Barrière in order to work in the field of music theatre with a new vision.
La Chambre aux échos attempts to give the audience as wide as possible access to important works from past and present times (20th and 21st centuries), often linked in various ways. It attempts to make fertile interaction possible between various arts and crafts, creating the best possible conditions for theatrical and musical performances both coherent in form and ambitious in scope.