Konsert: All That Glistens and Grooves

Moonshot Series: All That Glistens and Grooves

Kveldens program er inspirert av Ravels vakre Strykekvartett. Musikken veksler mellom myke, glitrende klanger og sterke, rytmiske partier. Denne dualismen, evnen til både å glitre og groove, binder sammen alle de fem verkene på kveldens program, enten det er Normans rytmiske energi, Finnis’ klanglige skimring, Shaws folkemusikkinspirerte mønstre eller Montgomerys jazzbaserte arkitektur. Disse komponistene forstår alle at den mest gripende musikken rommer både jordnærhet og en opphøyd skjønnhet som tar pusten fra oss.

Dato: 24. november 2026
Dørene åpner: 19.30
Konsertstart: 20.00
Varighet: 1 time

Billetter:
Voksen: kr 300
Ung voksen (18–30 år): kr 150
Honnør: kr 200

Medvirkende:
Daniel Goldin (fiolin), Valerie Gahl (fiolin), Inger Thommesen (bratsj), Sophie Kauer (cello)

(ENGLISH)

Tonight's programme draws inspiration from Ravel's distinctive String Quartet. One moment it shimmers with ethereal beauty, the next it grooves with irresistible rhythmic drive. This duality, the capacity to both glisten and groove, connects all five works on tonight's programme - whether it is Norman's rhythmic bop, Finnis’ sonic shimmer, Shaw's folk-inspired patterns, or Montgomery's jazz-based architecture. These composers all understood that the most compelling music contains both earthiness and transcendent beauty that catches our breath

Performers: Daniel Goldin (violin), Valerie Gahl (violin), Inger Thommesen (viola), Sophie Kauer (cello)

Date: 24th November 2026
Doors opens: 19.30
Concert start: 20.00,  (Duration: 1 hour)

Tickets:
Adult: kr 300
Young Adult (18-30): kr 150
Honnør: kr 200

Line up:

ANDREW NORMAN (b. 1979) 
The Companion's Guide to Rome : Benedetto (2010) (1.40 mins) 

Andrew Norman is a contemporary American composer known for works that buzz with energy and are bursting with colour. The Companion's Guide to Rome is a suite of miniatures, each named after a Roman neighbourhood or landmark, creating a sonic tourist map of the Eternal City. 

"Benedetto" (named after the Via di San Benedetto) starts us off with a burst of exuberance - two minutes of compressed musical joy exploding out of its confines. The music swings back and forth between bouncy and wafty (almost evoking the sound of distant voices), creating grooves that both feel ancient and modern. This is music that refuses to sit still, music that glistens and grooves from the first note, setting the tone for everything that will follow. 

EDMUND FINNIS (b. 1984) 
Excerpts from String Quartet No. 1 (2018) (12 mins)

British composer Edmund Finnis creates music of striking originality, sensitivity and beauty. The excerpts we hear tonight from Finnis' String Quartet No.1 demonstrate his remarkable ear for colour and his ability to create otherworldly atmospheres with just four instruments.

Finnis occupied the "glisten" side of tonight's equation. Where Ravel creates ethereal beauty through muted strings and shimmering harmonics, Finnis pushes further into the sonic spectrum - sul ponticello passages that whisper and glow, harmonics that chime like distant bells, textures that make you feel like you are floating. Yet bit by bit, there's often a subtle pulse, a hidden groove that slowly emerges. 

CAROLINE SHAW (b. 1982)
Limestone and Felt (2012) (5.30 mins) 

Caroline Shaw became the youngest ever recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013, and her music has captivated audiences worldwide with its genre-defying vitality and freshness. 

Limestone and Felt perfectly embodies tonight's theme of music that both glistens and grooves. Shaw, like Ravel, draws on folk-like simplicity - there are moments that sound almost like hymns or lullabies - but she also creates propulsive patterns that build up to very groovy passages. 

Shaw’s influences range from Baroque music to Appalachian folk to minimalism, but what emerges sounds utterly unique. Like Ravel's, Shaw’s music feels both ancient and completely contemporary, both intimate and yet expansive. 

MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937) 
Excerpts from String Quartet in F major (1903) (15.30 mins) 

Ravel wrote his only string quartet when he was just 28 years old, yet it is regarded as one of the best string quartets to have been written. It is a true “banger” - just wait for the second movement! 

The music glistens - the veiled, shimmering colours and the way light seems to refract through the textures - and it grooves with those sassy, bluesy pizzicato passages and the propulsive energy that drives the outer movements.

Ravel creates a sound world that feels both utterly French and somehow universal, both rooted in classical tradition and pointing toward jazz, film music, and everything that would follow. The work caused a stir at its premiere for its daring harmonic language and its shimmering textures, but his teacher, Fauré, apparently told him to change nothing after the premiere. History has proven Fauré right. 

JESSIE MONTGOMERY (b. 1981)
"Smoke" from Break Away (2012) (3.30 mins) 

Jessie Montgomery is a violinist and composer whose music channels her experience of growing up on Manhattan's Lower East Side surrounded by a rich mix of musical cultures. Her works are full of the energy of urban life whilst also drawing on traditions from classical to jazz to folk. 

"Smoke" comes from her string quartet Break Away , which explores themes of departure and transformation. This movement captures something elusive - the cigarette smoke of jazz clubs or perhaps the haze of memory. 

Montgomery’s jazz influences are most prominent here. The harmonic language has a bluesy richness, but at the same time, has many similarities to that of Ravel. The rhythms swing and there's an improvisatory freedom in how the musical lines interweave. The result glistens while maintaining an earthiness that speaks to everyone.

Supported by Oslo Kommune