Author: HKKS

In the season 22/23 HKKS continues his work to present new compositions for percussion and orchestra as well as diving deep into the ocean of theater and music.

It kicks off already in August with the outdoor production of Ibsen´s Peer Gynt. HKKS will share the stage with esteemed actors like Dennis Storhøi, Aksel Hennie, Øystein Røger and Guri Johnsen as a musician/actor/co-composer, directed by Per Olav Sørensen. 21.000 people will attend the outdoor theatre during a week´s performances in the mountains of Gålå, Norway.

This season also sees the world-premieres of concertos by Henrik Hellstenius and Olga Neuwirth, both concertos initiated by Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen.

Olga Neuwirth´s new concerto ”According to What” is a double-concerto for cello and percussion written for cellist Tanja Tetzlaff and HKKS. The concerto is a joint venture commission by four orchestras – Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (cond. Baldur Brönnimann), Swedish Chamber Orchestra (cond. Thierry Fischer), RSO Vienna / Graz Festival (cond. Yalda Zamani), and Paris Chamber Orchestra (cond. Lars Vogt), who will all perform ”According to What” this season.

HKKS has again commissioned a new concerto from Henrik Hellstenius which will receive its world premiere in November 2022. “Public Behaviour” is a concerto grosso with solo percussion, 6 voices and orchestra. It will be performed by HKKS, Nordic Voices, and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ilan Volkov.
The concerto will also be recorded by BIS Records during the same week

 

2021 is marking a particularly active year for Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen in his work of premiering new concertos.  In spite of the current corona situation, he is premiering no less than 3 concertos for solo percussion and orchestra written by Norwegian composers, as well as touring Lament concerto for percussion and Choir.

               

Starting in January, he premiered Rolf Wallin´s new double concerto Das War Schön! for percussion and cello with cellist Tanja Tetzlaff and Trondheim Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peter Szilvay.
Tetzlaff and Sørensen then repeated the concerto with Gävle Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jaime Martin  in April.

In September he will continue by premiering Eivind Buene´s House of Mirrors – concerto for solo percussion and wind ensemble with The Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces (Stabsmusikken). This performance is a collaboration with the Ultima Festival.
House of Mirrors will later be performed with the military bands in Bergen, Trondheim and Harstad, Norway.
This is the first concerto where HKKS will be using both cimbalom and percussion instruments as well as leading the ensemble.

And already the month after, in October, he will finally premiere Ørjan Matre´s Concerto for solo percussion and orchestra with Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tabita Berglund.
This concerto will also be repeated in January 2022 with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ludovic Morlot.

HKKS commissioned in 2017 Lars Petter Hagen´s Lament for percussion and choir. This was recorded with The Norwegian Soloists´ Choir conducted by Grete Pedersen, and the album Lament won this year the Norwegian Grammy – Spellemannsprisen.
HKKS and The Norwegian Soloists´ Choir will tour Lament with 3 concerts in Hamar, Tønsberg and Oslo in November in connection with All Saints Day.

(HKKS playing Lament at the construction site of the new Munch museum)

In 2021 HKKS is also recording new music by composers Ketil Bjørnstad, Håkon Nystedt and Kim André Arnesen.

Through his platform Nordic Percussion Concertos, HKKS is a devoted champion and promoter of new-written music for percussion and ensembles. This work is continuing in the years to come with new and exciting commissions and collaborations in Scandinavia and Europe.

 

The album Lament has won the Norwegian Grammy “Spellemannsprisen” in the contemporary category!

The concerto for solo percussion and choir “Lament” was commissioned by Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen in 2015 by composer Lars Petter Hagen and is recorded and released on BIS Records with The Norwegian Soloists´ Choir conducted by Grete Pedersen.

The other two pieces on the album are composed by Nils Henrik Asheim and Arne Nordheim.  Ensemble Allegria and percussionists Terje Viken and Daniel Paulsen are also contributing to the two latter works.

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