Opening Concert

There are few composers and musicians who handle the fusion of jazz and classical music as playfully, creatively, and seamlessly as Marius Neset. His ability to merge elements from different genres in a way that elevates both has been compared to Gershwin, according to critic Guy Rickards in Klassisk Musikk.

"I don't think much about genre. Everything is music. In this concert, the audience will embark on a journey where older classical music meets new music. That journey can be quite spectacular, full of contrasts, colors, and lots of energy."

– Marius Neset

Marius Neset has performed with, among others, the London Sinfonietta, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, and the Danish Radio Big Band. He has composed commissioned works that have been performed at the Molde Jazz Festival, Kongsberg Jazz Festival, and the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall. So far in his career, he has received over 20 awards and nominations for his work, including Spellemann Awards and German ECHO Awards.

The Opening Concert

The opening concert with the Arctic Philharmonic will feature a selection of Neset’s orchestral compositions, including MANMADE—commissioned by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and awarded a Spellemann Award in 2014.

MANMADE was commissioned by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and released on record in 2020. It is inspired by climate change and the challenges it poses in our time, something that can be heard in the structure and form of the piece. On the same release, we find A Day In The Sparrow’s Life, which is part of the evening’s concert program. Here, Marius is joined by his sister, Ingrid, on flute. Ingrid Søfteland Neset will also be a soloist after the intermission in the second movement, A Hand to Hold, from Marius Neset’s flute concerto.

The concert will also feature Sinfonietta by Francis Poulenc. The piece consists of four movements and is Poulenc’s only symphonic work. It was commissioned by the BBC in 1947 and premiered in celebration of the first anniversary of the BBC's radio station Third Program in 1948.

Together with the Arctic Philharmonic, we warmly welcome you to the concert on January 23rd and 24th 2025. Welcome!

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