Ultima
Ilan Volkov Øyvind Torvund
Igor Stravinsky
Kristine Tjøgersen

In this concert, we encounter three composers who each explore the orchestral sound in new ways. Common to all three works is that they challenge what an orchestra can be: not merely an ensemble of acoustic instruments, but also a source of dreamlike soundscapes, electronic experiments, and imaginative transformations.

Torvund: Two Pieces for Orchestra and Electronics

Øyvind Torvund (b. 1976) has a background as an electric guitarist and often combines acoustic and electronic sound sources in his compositions. He is both an innovative and experimental composer who explores and plays with musical gestures and sonorities.

Two Pieces for Orchestra and Electronics is co-commissioned by the Oslo Philharmonic and the WDR Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with the research centre IRCAM. In the first piece, Torvund envisions a dreamlike scene in which wolves have taken over a Wagner opera. The second piece begins with a naive and sentimental character, with the electronics gradually taking over the soundscape. The electronic universe is inspired by 1970s science fiction music.

At tonight's concert, we will hear the Norwegian premiere of the work.

Stravinsky: Le chant du rossignol

In the symphonic poem The Song of the Nightingale, Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) draws on material from his first opera, The Nightingale. There is much to suggest that Stravinsky preferred the symphonic format, in which the music spoke for itself. It was precisely this scepticism towards ballet and opera that motivated him to rework The Nightingale into a symphonic poem.

The Song of the Nightingale premiered in Geneva in 1919 and was met with scepticism and criticism. The work contains many of the typical features associated with Stravinsky's music, such as the unconventional use of dissonance and instruments.

Tjøgersen: Wolpertinger

Kristine Tjøgersen (b. 1982) often draws inspiration from nature in her compositions and seeks to convey an experience of nature and the senses through music.

The Wolpertinger is a mythical creature that inhabits the Alpine forests of southern Germany. Its body is made up of various animal parts—usually wings, antlers, a tail, and fangs—attached to the body of a small mammal.

In this work, she has transformed the orchestra into a new sonic creature, inspired by the taxidermists who created the myth of the Wolpertinger. Humour, precision, beauty, and wildness are words that can describe the work. Tjøgersen wishes to place the audience in a magical forest where there is room for both the bizarre and the beautiful.

Kristine Tjøgersen is the Oslo Philharmonic's composer-in-residence from 2026 to 2029, and tonight we will hear the Norwegian premiere of Wolpertinger. The work is co-commissioned by the Oslo Philharmonic, the WDR Symphony Orchestra, and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra.

Produced in collaboration with Ultima and IRCAM.