SOUVENIR - Trondheimsolistene, Øyvind Gimse, Geir Inge Lotsberg

How do we listen to music? Indeed, how do we listen to anything? What we as listeners encounter here is sheer auditory bliss. TrondheimSolistene take a new step towards bridging the gap between themselves and their audience. It is not the gap between the live performance and the recording which they attempt to close. It is the gap between the recording and the living, ever open human ear. 

Best Engineered Album, Classical 55th GRAMMY Nominee 

Erik Fosnes Hansen's essay Auditory bliss (EN) / Ørenspryd (NO) / Ohrenschmaus (DE) 

"Through its dynamic co-operation TrondheimSolistene (the Trondheim Soloists) and 2L has always sort to stretch the boundaries of what is possible to convey to the listener, aiming for the ultimate recorded listening experience. With the Serenade the team has taken things one step further with the TrondheimSolistene truly justifying their name. By placing each individual next to someone from a different voice rather than sitting in conventional sections we are working at the very outer limits of what is possible and creating chamber music at the highest level" - Øyvind Gimse, 2012. 

We allocated two weeks in 2011 to record this new album. Artistic director Øyvind Gimse and his associate Geir Inge Lotsberg initially chose two pieces that represent, in their estimation, "the most beautiful music ever composer for the string orchestra": Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence and his Serenade for Strings. Aiming for a 90 minutes program left 30 more minutes to record. So the orchestra and 2L logged on to Facebook and asked the listeners worldwide what they'd like to hear. And the audience responded: Nielsen's Suite Opus 1. A little gem that would exploit the Trondheim Soloists' singular way with Nordic repertoire. 

Inspired by Morten Lindberg's extensive work with choral music, the Tchaikovsky's SERENADE was recorded with the ensemble placed in mixed voices, meaning no one is sitting beside anyone playing the same part, creating a totally new soundscape to the music. Carl Nielsen's SUITE opus 1 is recorded in a more "traditional" way in these sessions. 

Facebook Photo Album - Recording Sessions Part I 
Facebook Photo Album - Recording Sessions Part II 

What we recorded in May 2011 was published exclusively as high resolution audio files, by streaming and on vinyl. Then our recordings from October added up to a full release on Pure Audio Blu-ray in August 2012. 

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: SOUVENIR de Florence 
Carl Nielsen: Ved en Ung Kunstners Baare 
Carl Nielsen: SUITE for String Orchestra 
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: SERENADE for Strings 

Trondheimsolistene (The Trondheim Soloists) are regarded as one of the top chamber orchestras in the world. Their DIVERTIMENTI and FOLK STYLE were both nominated for a total of five American GRAMMY Awards in categories "Best Small Ensemble", "Best Engineered Album" and "Best Surround Sound Album". 

Click here for booklet Blu-ray 

Click here for vinyl LP sleve (part I) 

Click here for vinyl LP sleve (part II) 

Listen in digital services, part I 

Listen in digital services, part II