With the notable exception of Edvard Grieg, no Norwegian composer has ever achieved worldwide fame. This collection of Norwegian 20th century string quartets comes as an invitation to discover some of the country’s major modern talents. At least three of the four works presented here are splendid additions to the repertoire. The String Quartet No. 1 of Klaus Egge (1906-79) opens with an impressive, ruminative Largo funebre, followed by three movements where the folkloric material gets treated in the most affectionate–if not the most imaginative–way. Perhaps the best-known 20th century Norwegian composer is Fartein Valen (1887-52), whose music has been championed by Glenn Gould, who recorded his Piano Variations, and more recently by the pianist Leif Ove Andsnes. Valen’s symphonies, songs with orchestra, and tone poems (released on CD by Simax) all show a strong, combined influence of Bach, Webern, and Schoenberg. His Second String Quartet’s opening Fuga displays tremendous polyphonic skills in a dark, broody mood reinforced by the following anxious Minuet and a fast, violent finale. Valen’s tense and meditative quartet is a masterwork well worth discovering.
Although it’s well crafted, Johan Kvandal’s (1919-99) Third String Quartet, with its traditional blend of folk music and neo-classical gestures, lacks a well-defined personality. The program concludes with a fascinating quartet by Alfred Janson (b. 1937) that juxtaposes gloomy melodic patterns with frozen, minimalistic rhythms and crystalline sonorities, resulting in an almost hypnotic beauty. The young Oslo String Quartet’s atmospheric playing serves this gripping program with high technical polish and deep emotional impact. First class engineering completes this appealing offer. There is life after Grieg.
