Opening Concert
Tine Thing Helseth invites you to a spectacular opening with Haydn and Schumann, among others. Welcome to Risør Chamber Music Festival 2026!
About the concert
We start with style, and we start spectacularly: Tine's trumpet solo and Haydn's Piano Trio No. 43 are worth the admission price alone.
But we raise the stakes with the second movement from Clara Schumann's Piano Concerto and Respighi's sunset music.
The opening concert kicks off what we believe is a fantastic week of classical music. Come and see for yourself where we've set the bar for this year's chamber music festival.
Additional Content
Concert program
Nadia Boulanger: Cantique
Nadia Boulanger: Cantique (1909)
Tine Thing Helseth opens this year's festival in her beloved tradition. Experience how one of the world's most acclaimed trumpeters, with her utterly distinctive sound, fills the entire church and sets the tone for the opening concert.
Performers:
- Tine Thing Helseth, trumpet
- Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
Joseph Haydn: Piano Trio No. 43
Joseph Haydn: Piano Trio No. 43 in C major, Hob.XV:27, 'Trio Bohémo' (1784–85)
- Allegro
- Andante
- Finale: Presto
This year's festival highlights Joseph Haydn and his role in developing what we today understand as Classical music. This work is one of Haydn's most demanding and virtuosic piano pieces. It was published in 1797 as the first in a series of three written for the remarkable pianist of the era, Therese Jansen Bartolozzi.
Performers:
- Johan Dalene, violin
- Victor Julien-Laferrière, cello
- Håvard Gimse, piano
Clara Schumann: 2nd movement from the Piano Concerto
Clara Schumann: 2nd movement from Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7 (1833–35)
- Romanze: Andante non troppo con grazia
Clara's only piano concerto, written when she was 16 and still called by her birth name Wieck. Premiered in Leipzig in 1835, and conducted by none other than Felix Mendelssohn.
Performers:
- Alexandra Dariescu, piano
- Frida Fredrikke Wærvågen, cello
Frank Bridge: Lament for Two Violas
Frank Bridge: Lament for Two Violas, H.101b (1911–12)
Lament was originally written for two violas in 1912, in the wake of the Titanic disaster. The work is one of Bridge's most moving compositions – a melancholic dialogue between two equal voices weaving together in grief and beauty.
Performers:
- Lilli Maijala, viola
- Eivind Ringstad, viola
Maurice Ravel: From the Sonata for Violin and Cello
Maurice Ravel: From Sonata for Violin and Cello in A minor, M.73 (1920–22)
- Allegro
- Très vif
Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello is one of his most radical chamber works. Composed as a memorial piece for Debussy, it explores the limits of what two string instruments can create together – from intense dialogues to almost orchestral soundscapes.
Performers:
- Alena Baeva, violin
- Victor Julien-Laferrière, cello
Ottorino Respighi: Il Tramonto
Ottorino Respighi: Il Tramonto, 'The Sunset' (1914)
Il Tramonto is a 'poemetto lirico' (lyric poem) for soprano and string quartet, written in 1914 to text by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The work is intense, with delicate timbres and a narrative, almost scenic quality. It is considered an early highlight in Respighi's vocal music.
Performers:
- Mari Eriksmoen, soprano
- Schumann Quartet, string quartet
Composers
Artists
Tine Thing Helseth
Tine Thing Helseth
Trumpet & Artistic Director
Isata Kanneh‑Mason
Isata Kanneh‑Mason
Piano
Johan Dalene
Johan Dalene
Violin
Victor Julien‑Laferrière
Victor Julien‑Laferrière
Cello
Håvard Gimse
Håvard Gimse
Piano
Alexandra Dariescu
Alexandra Dariescu
Piano
Frida Fredrikke Wærvågen
Frida Fredrikke Wærvågen
Cello
Lilli Maijala
Lilli Maijala
Viola
Eivind Ringstad
Eivind Ringstad
Viola
Alena Baeva
Alena Baeva
Violin
Mari Eriksmoen
Mari Eriksmoen
Soprano
Schumann Quartet
Schumann Quartet
String quartet