– Johan Kvandal is a Norwegian composer who writes with an evident respect for Mozart’s approach to the wind ensemble: This alone makes the coupling a good one.
BBC Music Magazine: Attractive makeweights
A delightfully airy, idiomatic Holberg Suite from this conductorless string group from Oslo, with attractive makeweights by the less familiar Kvandal, Grüner-Hegge and Nystedt. Superbly clear recording.
Inspired and powerful
David Monrad Johansen and Johan Kvandal’s piano concertos have a virtuous flight, energy and are powerful masterpieces. The two composers were father and son, and both succeeding residence at the same property at Gyssestadkollen in Bærum. That complicated their relationship, but musically they had a lot in common.
Moose on the loose
The work has been nicknamed “”Elgsonaten”” (Elk Sonata) because a moose (elk) kept staring at Johan Kvandal every time he looked out the window of his study while writing it.
Father and son on the same CD
On their new record, Håvard Gimse and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra perform piano concerts by David Monrad Johansen (1888-1974) and Johan Kvandal (1919-1999). The two were father and son, but colliding personality types.
Brillant Norwegian- Swedish interplay
Kvandal’s Antagonia is an exciting work with explosive rythms in intricate patterns, interchanging with soft sounds. Continue reading
Antagonia premiere: Norwegian success
Yesterday, a truly significant event took place in Norwegian musical life, when the Philharmonic Society’s orchestra under the direction of conductor Miltiades Caridis premiered Johan Kvandal’s Concerto for 2 string orchestras and percussion (‘Antagonia’), Op. 38.