"The melodies are incredibly beautiful"
Violinst Eldbjørg Hemsing prepares for the world premiere of a Tan Dun violin concerto – for the fourth time.
Written by Fred-Olav Vatne
![](https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/E-Hemsing-Tan-Dun-foto-Patrick-Wack-1920x1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=393&q=90&w=750&s=a78f582b88698cce9c4fea3db5eb4d28 750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/E-Hemsing-Tan-Dun-foto-Patrick-Wack-1920x1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=524&q=90&w=1000&s=cd44b193f31b9c266c6ae4841ea0dc08 1000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/E-Hemsing-Tan-Dun-foto-Patrick-Wack-1920x1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=655&q=90&w=1250&s=0c0d2569f72ccb1460b0ba362b4544be 1250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/E-Hemsing-Tan-Dun-foto-Patrick-Wack-1920x1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=786&q=90&w=1500&s=9dc99431a333bc5a318437d788ddd630 1500w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/E-Hemsing-Tan-Dun-foto-Patrick-Wack-1920x1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=917&q=90&w=1750&s=26afd0e472024c68a2e0ddfaa0c1005a 1750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/E-Hemsing-Tan-Dun-foto-Patrick-Wack-1920x1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1048&q=90&w=2000&s=d866bef9ddd85210b5a82e7b2d5d0adc 2000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/E-Hemsing-Tan-Dun-foto-Patrick-Wack-1920x1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1179&q=90&w=2250&s=e0f7af514c632d1c4349969fef5c25c6 2250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/E-Hemsing-Tan-Dun-foto-Patrick-Wack-1920x1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1258&q=90&w=2400&s=897ea45981be9c0d159ab03ea51f773a 2400w)
Violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing with composer and conductor Tan Dun on stage in Shanghai in 2010. (Photo: Patrick Wack)
Eldbjørg Hemsing met Tan Dun during the Expo 2010 in Shanghai, where she performed his violin concerto "The Love" together with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra.
"From our first meeting we had a very good musical energy together," Eldbjørg Hemsing says on the phone from Berlin a few weeks before her concert with the Oslo Philharmonic and Tan Dun on 19th September.
Chinese Tan Dun is probably most famous for his soundtrack to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", but also is a recognized composer for orchestra and other ensembles. Eldbjørg Hemsing recalls her first meeting with him:
"Before the first rehearsal in Shanghai, he asked me to meet him in his studio. I was quite nervous, it's very special to play a piece for a composer standing right in front of you. Before I played, he asked me what my thoughts were about the new work, "The Love". The theme of the piece is love and its development through three parts of the music. I explained how I imagined the character in the music, and when I was finished, he said: That's exactly the way I think too. Then we were on track!"
Read more about the concert: Tradition and innovation
![](https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/Eldbjorg-Hemsing-1920-1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=393&q=90&w=750&s=a145a86c4b38b9f31f751cf3b57464cf 750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/Eldbjorg-Hemsing-1920-1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=524&q=90&w=1000&s=da7e23d27dc5fe6ac1d379047327279e 1000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/Eldbjorg-Hemsing-1920-1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=655&q=90&w=1250&s=59a99a47bcbde565a7c9863cdecd6cb7 1250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/Eldbjorg-Hemsing-1920-1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=786&q=90&w=1500&s=54a6a88585dc1789bd9ee4fdc0a76aca 1500w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/Eldbjorg-Hemsing-1920-1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=917&q=90&w=1750&s=47d90e59fcd7fc59f6eb8aec916843a1 1750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/Eldbjorg-Hemsing-1920-1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1048&q=90&w=2000&s=b3cf05c64f1e21dd9346d8e48ed786b2 2000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/Eldbjorg-Hemsing-1920-1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1179&q=90&w=2250&s=bc54d847b3111420b4e2a9e0720294fd 2250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Konsertpromo/Sesong-2018-2019/Eldbjorg-Hemsing-1920-1006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1258&q=90&w=2400&s=b616e79b7367696ade5f63ea5ee304be 2400w)
Eldbjørg Hemsing is soloist with the Oslo Philharmonic at the Tan Dun concert on 19th September. (Photo: Nikolaj Lund)
Common roots in traditional music
Since 2010, Eldbjørg Hemsing and Tan Dun have had a close collaboration and they have met several times each year. Both artists have their roots in traditional music, and Hemsing believes it has been crucial for the collaboration:
"He is very keen on preserving his Chinese tradition, while still being a Western-oriented contemporary composer. I also have experience from combining roots in folk music with so-called classical training. I think the understanding of our countries' cultures is one of the things that helps us cooperate so well. For instance, I need some flexibility in my performances."
The two have also been performing a lot together, with Tan Dun as conductor:
"We've been touring a lot in China, and we've also been on tour in Europe. It's a great honor for me to collaborate so closely and get so much confidence from him. I look forward to performing together in Oslo, it's going to be fun. One of the things I enjoy about playing with him is that he gives me a lot of freedom. I get to shape things, and still he's available to tell me what he thinks about his own music."
"The melodies are incredibly beautiful"
In the concert with the Oslo Philharmonic, which is part of the Ultima Festival, Eldbjørg Hemsing will present a new version of the violin concerto "Fire Ritual − a music ritual for the victims of war". The first version is for Chinese instruments and western violin.
Eldbjørg Hemsing has, as usual, been very involved in the creative process and is excited about the result:
"Many of the melodies are incredibly beautiful and go straight to the heart, and at the same time it is very virtuosic music!"
The concert program also includes "Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds" for cell phones and orchestra and the violin works "Rock the Violin in Rhapsody" and "A Dream Out of Peking Opera".
The Oslo Phlharmonic with Eldbjørg Hemsing and Tan Dun will also record the music for a future CD on BIS Records.