Volt22 (2015)
"Ensamble Allegria is an outstanding chamber orchestra of young musicians from Norway. They display their remarkable skills and maturity facing two great masterpieces of the XXth Centry repertoire by Bartok and Shostakovich."
Challenge Classics - Allegro Media adv_LWC1082_Listen_usa.pdf
VOLTAGE x AMPERAGE = POWER!
The talented young string players in Ensemble Allegria have recently released their second album on the LAWO Classics label, “VOLT22”. Here they present a viscerally elegant repertoire, with music rich in contrast and excitement.
The featured soloist is the young Norwegian cellist, Frida Fredrikke Waaler Wærvågen, who has won a number of prizes, both in Norway and abroad.
Each of the three works on this recording is in its own way extreme in its contrastive display of energy, and Ensemble Allegria has garnered favourable reviews precisely for its refreshingly energetic approach:
There are passages in the music of Shostakovich that are among the loveliest and purest in classical music literature, with a special quality of sound the ensemble has mastered completely. (…) His Chamber Symphony demands virtuoso playing, and Ensemble Allegria combines the unadulterated Shostakovich sound with exuberant energy and directness, drawing out a rawness in the music in the best sense of the word. The contrasts highlight a dramatic tension that one hears all too seldom in the composer’s music. (Morgenbladet, Bergen International Festival 2011).
Ensemble Allegria is a young up-and-coming chamber orchestra based in Oslo. Since its founding in 2007, the ensemble has developed a solid reputation performing at Norway’s largest music festivals together with national and international stars. Ensemble Allegria has received glowing reviews for its debut album “Allegria” (LWC1044), and in 2012 it was the only ensemble to be awarded the Statoil Talent Award for classical music.
Reviews
Superb in the kick-off
«They are Norway's supremely most resilient chamber orchestra among the younger generation. And with their latest release on Lawo, "Volt22", they keep up, yes, occasionally add a few cubits to their musically already mature size. It is not in any way self-evident, when we talk about musicianship at this level..»
Ståle Wikshåland – Dagbladet anmeldelse_LWC1082_Dagbladet.pdf
Bursting vitality
«Bartók's frighteningly gloomy middle movement "adagio molto", with long, tense phrases, reflects the political situation in which the piece was composed in the summer of 1939. The last movement "allegro assai" is a more cheerful listen, bursting as he does with rustic vitality. Ensemble Allegria Kling is at its best in such ventures.»
Sjur Haga Bringeland – Dag og tid anmeldelse_LWC1082_Dagogtid.pdf
Oh, what a haunting musicalisation!
«What characterizes Ensemble Allegria's musicalisation is a crazy energy, which does not drown out the whole, but which only adds an extra dimension to the performances. They are always in full control of the many tempo changes. The interaction is close, but they do not lose their playfulness.»
Kjell Hillveg – Dagsavisen anmeldelse_LWC1082_dagsavisen.pdf
Bråmodne strykere innfrir
«"Ensemble Allegria has in a short time established itself as a string orchestra that demands attention. And they deserve it.»
Lars O. Flydal – Vårt Land anmeldelse_LWC1082_VartLand.pdf
Ensemble Allegria: Emotions and games!
«Sometimes a record comes along that works 100 percent. This time it is the young Ensemble Allegria who are waiters in music by Bartok, Haydn and Shostakovich. The recording has its dose of rawness, its delicacies and its authenticity. It will be tasty listening to this! [...] Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) gives the ears a playful respite. Here it is the cellist Frida Fredrikke Waaler Wærvågen who gives her Cello Concerto no.1 in C major from 1765. Her playing in this concerto is incredibly beautiful, distinct and sensitive. Note her precise and springy play in the final»
Trond Erikson – Den klassiske CD-bloggen http://klassiskcd.blogspot.no/2015/08/ensemble-allegria-flelser-og-spill.html
BÉLA BARTÓK (1881–1945) DIVERTIMENTO FOR STRYKERE
1) I. Allegro non troppo /// 08:44
2) II. Molto adagio ///08:37
3) III. Allegro assai /// 06:42
JOSEPH HAYDN (1732–1809) CELLOKONSERT NR. 1 I C-DUR
4) I. Moderato /// 09:34
5) II. Adagio /// 07:55
6) III. Allegro molto /// 06:17
DMITRIJ SJOSTAKOVITSJ (1906–1975) KAMMERSYMFONI, OP. 110A
7) I. Largo /// 05:35
8) II. Allegro molto /// 02:44
9) III. Allegretto /// 04:34
10) IV. Largo /// 05:56
11) V. Largo /// 04:31