2_9_ScanMag_72_Jan_2015_Text_Q10_Scan Magazine 1 09/01/2015 22:44 Page 36
Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Festivals in Norway
The sound of Lofoten Cellolyd is Norway's first cello festival: a small musical event that has attracted the likes of Sondre Lerche and Marit Larsen. Every August you can hear the warm, dark tones of what cellist and festival director Lisa Isabel Holstad calls the world's most beautiful instrument. By Maya Acharya | Photos: Cellolyd i Lofoten
It's no surprise that Holstad wanted to share her passion with her local community. After years away Holstad moved back to Northern Norway, where she established the country's only cello festival. The festival takes place in Moskenes municipality in Lofoten, and has its base in the fishing village Reine. Holstad is the driving force behind the event, helped by a team of fellow musicians and several local partners, including festival host Reine Rorbuer. “It is said that the cello is the instrument most similar to the human voice in terms of timbre, which is perhaps why so many people feel a special connection to it,” says Holstad. “I also think people associate it visually and symbolically with something very sensual.” Maybe this is why so many musicians, including famous Norwegian pop artists and a cellist from the Berlin Philharmonic, have felt
compelled to partake in this small, yet magical festival. These artists play in intimate settings such as cinema stages and local restaurants. “The cello is also very versatile. We showcase many genres: folksongs, contemporary music, music for children, sing-alongs and classic concerts. It's amazing to see interactions between people from hugely different musical worlds,” says Holstad. The cello goes hand in hand with Lofoten's beautiful nature; a notion most aptly summarised by festival-goer Christina Oden: “Lofoten is music itself, wonderfully transported through the cello's resonance. It slams and sighs, it darts and swoons, it bawls and whispers. Lofoten itself puts the strings in motion.”
Cellolyd beach concert with dancer Silje Michaela. Photo: Sigurd Haug
Cellists on the mountains of Sørvågen. Photo: Jana Julian
This year's festival takes place on 6 – 8 August For more information, please visit: www.cellolyd.com
A festival for adventurous listening Borealis is not your average music festival. Borealis – a festival of experimental music – celebrates musical culture in ways new to a lot of people. Pushing the boundaries of general perceptions of music, this Bergen-based festival is an event packed with new experiences for young and old. By Astrid Eriksson | Photos: Borealis Festival
For five days in March Bergen is taken over by contemporary and experimental music. The city comes to life with enthusiastic crowds and energetic performances. Describing it as the perfect event for “adventurous listening”, Peter Meanwell, Artistic Director of Borealis, explains what the music festival is all about. “Think about refurnishing a room,” he says, “you use the same furniture as before but place it differently and all of a sudden you have a new room. That’s essentially what we do. We reshape people’s general perception of what music can be.” Borealis is all about opening people’s minds and finding musical culture that has fallen between the traditional realms and boxes. From exciting young composers writing for local contemporary classical ensemble BIT20, to improvisers using mechanical typewriters from as
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far afield as South Korea, the festival celebrates those pushing the boundaries locally and globally. The 2015 festival includes visits from legendary American composer Christian Wolff, new work from Lithuanian experimentalist Lina Lapelyte and genre-defying jazz group Sons of Kemet, as well as the world premiere of an opera by British composer Emily Hall. Although contemporary and experimental culture may sometimes seem daunting and excluding for the broader masses, this experience is open for everyone – no matter background knowledge or previous experience. “No one’s going to quiz you afterwards,” Meanwell laughs. “Everything is created for people to come together and enjoy music in new and exciting ways.”
Borealis is all about opening people’s minds and finding musical culture that has fallen between the traditional realms and boxes.
For more information, please visit: www.borealisfestival.no