06/06/2024
Thomas Dunne from "Brass Band World Magazine" has written a review of Bente Illevold as soloist on Stig Nordhagen's Baut - musikk for Eufonium.
In "Baut", Bente Illevold showcases Stig Nordhagen`s four major works for euphonium to great effect, accompanied by piano, percussion, and string quartet.
First composed in 1997, Nordhagen`s Euphonium Concerto was revised in 2022 for euphonium, piano and percussion. Split in two movements, the first begins with a dark, moody feel, before gliding between styles and tonal colours, from the smooth and luscious to the agitaded and abstarct. Illevold brings this to life with consierable skill, the euphonium sound blending effortlessly with the piano and the vibrant percussion effects. The second movement forms a wild dance, the musical fireworks from the euphonium and accompanied leaving the listener breathless before a reflective coda. To follow is Nordhagen`s 2002 Divetimento for euphonium and piano. Spread across four movements, the work is bursting with energy and provides a considerable challenge in terms of flexibility, legato playing, and showcases the full range of the instrument. That saidd, the composer is less concernes with showing off the instrument, than the form of the work, as well as the joy of music`. Illevold is superb, demonstrating her remarkable technical abilities to the full througout the clever musical parodies presented by the composer. We then turn to a more recent work in the form of Nordhagen`s 2019 Sonata for euphonium and piano. For the composer, this is almost a love letter to this instrument that is of great joy to me. There are less of the extremes found in the Divertimento, instead placing the Euphonium in the sonata tradition as `if it were one of the chosen ones`. This muscal intent of the four movements certainly flourishes in the hands of Illevold, who thougfully interprets the contrasting styles with authority, form the bold, to the playful and the lyrical. Lastly, Baut for Euphonium, pecussion, and string wuartet was commissioned in 2020 by Illevold. Meaning to sail against the wind direction, the piece utilises small quatotions of folk music, which hits the `boat`at different angles, the music being constantly forced in new directions. Illevold skilfully interweaves with the colours and texture of the strings and percussion, creating intriguing new sound worlds, further enhanced by additional multi-phonic effects. Shifting between darkness and light to form a mesmerising musical picture, Baut is an outstand addition to the Euphonium repertoire. Superbly recorded and performed, `Baut`will prove a fascinating listen for all the euphonium aficionados and followers of Stig Nordhagen`s work. Thomas Dunne
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