Jubilee concert

The 1953 Festival reimagined in the 2027 opening concert.

In the jubilee year of 2027, it's time to look towards history and towards the new with a concert inspired by the very first Bergen International Festival, combined with newly composed music.

On Monday 1 June 1953, it was finally happening. The city of Bergen trembled with anticipation. The newspaper Dagbladet reported that a "festival buzz was sweeping through the city", describing how all of Bergen prepared for celebration: the England ferry was greeted by several choirs, trains from Oslo were met with brass bands and singing, there were processions in the streets, and concerts were held in every open square. At Torgallmenningen, flags from 30 nations were raised. 100 new flagpoles adorned the city, and every shop window was decorated in a Festival theme and with portraits of Edvard Grieg. In the evening, with King Haakon VII in attendance at Konsertpaleet, everything was ready for the Opening concert.

The great sensation of 1953 was the world premiere of Klokkeklang in orchestral version, a "lost" piece by Edvard Grieg discovered among his posthumous papers. In this 2027 concert, Klokkeklang will be performed in three versions. The second sensation of 1953 was the arrival of the world-famous conductor Leopold Stokowski, who was persuaded to come to Bergen for the occasion. Under his direction, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra performed Bach chorales and Harald Sæverud’s Kjempeviseslåtten.

Beethoven’s Piano concerto no. 4 was originally on the programme for the 1953 opening concert but was never performed due to a last-minute cancellation by the pianist. Seventy-five years later, Artist in Residence Leif Ove Andsnes will perform the concerto's second and third movements.

The concert also features a new commissioned work by composer Anna Aardalen, known for the music in Fantus Musikantus, a children’s favourite. In this way, historical repertoire is placed in dialogue with a new generation. The concert concludes with Maurice Ravel’s Boléro. Ravel met Grieg in person in Paris in 1894 and later visited Norway. He once said that "apart from Debussy, there is no composer I feel more closely related to than Grieg." In this way, the curtain rises for the 75th Bergen International Festival, which since its inception has been a meeting place between the local and the international, and between established traditions and new artistic expressions.

Collage: Leif Ove Andsnes (photo: Thor Brødreskift), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (photo: Lars Svenkerud), Edvard Grieg (portrait from 1897), background (archival photo from 1949-1951, photo: Millet & Co), figure at Mount Ulriken's peak from the Festival programme in 1953