With an acclaimed local orchestra, music is everywhere in this city – and its most famous composer is never far away, finds Jeremy Pound
MUSICAL DESTINATIONS
Before he raises his baton for Verdi’s Requiem, Edward Gardner, chief conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, is keen to point out the number of gifted schoolchildren who are performing at the Grieghallen this evening, not just in the vast chorus at the back of the stage, but also playing alongside the professionals in the orchestral seats, no less. ‘Not bad for a city with a population smaller than Northampton!’ he enthuses. Half of me is impressed that so many of this Norwegian audience seem to know where Northampton is; another part wants to leap to the East Midlands town’s defence – with composers such as Malcolm Arnold and Edmund Rubbra among its famous sons, it is no musical desert.
But then, Bergen can see Northampton’s Arnold and Rubbra and raise it Edvard Grieg. Norway’s most famous composer was born here in 1843, died here in 1907 and spent the majority of his life and career here, including two years as music director of the Bergen Philharmonic in the early 1880s. You’ll find cultural references to him everywhere you go, including Gunnar Torvund’s sculpture in the university district and two life-size statues by Ingebrigt Vik: one in the central Byparken; another outside Troldhaugen (Troll Hill), Grieg’s home for the last 22 years of his life and today a museum dedicated to him. And yes, they are life-size: Grieg stood at just under five foot (1.52m) tall.
Home to Grieg’s Steinway grand among various other artefacts, Troldhaugen, located on a hillside a few minutes’ drive from the city centre, is not just a museum – since its centenary in 1985, it has also been home to the adjacent Troldsalen concert hall. Performers and listeners alike enthuse about this chamber venue’s excellent acoustic, but it is the location that really sets it apart. Directly behind the stage are large windows that provide the 200-or-so seats with a view of Grieg’s composing hut further down the garden and, beyond that, Nordåsvannet bay. It is stunning.
Similarly exquisite is the mastery displayed on that stage by Nobuyuki Tsujii, who during my visit treats us to Beethoven, Liszt and, of course, Grieg. The Japanese pianist is here for two performances at the Bergen International Festival, of which the Bergen
