Risør Kammermusikkfest offers a multitude of concerts in beautiful Risør on the coast of Norway.
30 years of chamber music On the south-eastern coast of Norway, amongst the idyllic surroundings of the Norwegian archipelago, you’ll find the town of Risør. Once a year, the town known as ‘the white town by the Skagerrak’, due to its white wooden houses and its location by the Skagerrak Sea, plays host to acclaimed Norwegian chamber music festival, Risør Kammermusikkfest. By Alyssa Nilsen | Photos: Liv Øvland
Risør Kammermusikkfest, founded in 1991, has grown from a small festival for local classical and chamber music fans, to a beacon amongst its kind, drawing classical music fans from all over the world. 2020 will see its 30th anniversary, and big celebrations are in order! “The festival started as a bit of a crazy idea,” laughs general manager Eirik Raude. “Risør is a tiny town, which isn’t exactly full of fitting concert venues, but the initial organisers had a vision of 54 | Issue 132 | January 2020
making the best festival in Norway, and potentially one of the best in the world. They really felt like they’d made it in 2002 when The New York Times named it one of the most exciting festivals of Europe.” The intimate vibe of the festival is something the arrangers, visitors and performing musicians treasure. Raude explains that the combination of Risør’s stunning surroundings, with its quaint, white wooden buildings, along with its short distances, makes it the
perfect place for a festival like Risør Kammermusikkfest. With locations scattered around town, all within walking distance of each other, the visitors and musicians get a chance to mingle, get to know each other and make friends on the way to their next concert.
International artists for international crowds The result has become a festival sought after by acclaimed international musicians, who often request an invitation to come and play. The festival also attracts an international audience, with last year’s festival seeing visitors from several European countries as well as from the US and Japan. The beautiful Baroque church in the town centre is the festival’s main venue, offer-