Tabita Berglund
Tone Kummervold Gustav Mahler
Franz Schubert
Ludvig Irgens-Jensen

Mahler: Blumine

Blumine means flower and is a romantic, lyrical piece. It was originally the second movement of his First Symphony, but disappeared from the score after a performance of the symphony in 1894. Blumine remained hidden until the biographer Donald Mitchell came across the score in 1966. Mahler himself offered several explanations as to why it was removed from the symphony, and he wished the piece to be performed only on its own.

Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) was young when Blumine was composed in 1884. It has been speculated that he was in love with the soprano Johanna Richter at the time, and many describe the piece as one long love song. The music is transparent, shimmering, naive, and youthful. This makes the movement a beautiful breathing space in a world full of tension and stress.

Schubert: Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished"

For over 200 years, there has been speculation as to why Schubert never completed his Eighth Symphony — after all, he lived for six years after the first two movements were composed. It has since been given the name "The Unfinished", which underlines the particular mystique of the work.

Schubert was a composer who challenged the formal ideals of his time. He composed with great sensitivity, and The Unfinished is at once beautiful, yearning, and dramatic. It is a work that reflects on the unpredictability of life.

Mahler: Rückert-Lieder

Rückert-Lieder shows Gustav Mahler at his most personal. They were written during a period marked by both happiness and inner turmoil. He was in love with Alma Mahler, but had a near-death experience shortly before composing them.

Rückert-Lieder is a collection of five orchestral songs based on poems by Friedrich Rückert. The songs were composed in 1901 and 1902 at his villa beside a lake in Austria. The peaceful surroundings combined with a fear of death gave the songs a very distinctive character. Many believe that Rückert-Lieder marks a turning point in Mahler's compositional output. Through these songs, Mahler shows that he is concerned with answering existential questions through his music and is curious about life after death.

Irgens-Jensen: Passacaglia

Ludvig Irgens-Jensen's Passacaglia is a significant work in Norwegian orchestral history, and also achieved great international success. The passacaglia is a form established in the Baroque era. It is a set of variations in triple time over a repeating bass theme. This form is the point of departure for Irgens-Jensen's piece.

Irgens-Jensen (1894–1969) combined the traditional with innovative techniques and sonorities. This also applies to Passacaglia, which combines the strict, traditional form with other elements and emotions.