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.
Audience success and a musical vitamin injection
The composer Johan Kvandal’s opera ‘Mysteries’, opus 75, was premiered in the Norwegian Opera on Saturday. It was a winner with the audience and a musical vitamin injection. Broadly constructed, it has an impact both as a musical work and as a theatrical performance.
Publikumssuksess og musikalsk vitamininnsprøytning
Komponisten Johan Kvandals opera “Mysterier”, opus 75, som ble urfremført i Den Norske Opera lørdag, ble en publikumssuksess og en musikalsk vitamininnsprøytning. Den var stort anlagt, og den hadde gjennomslagskraft som musikkverk og som scenisk forestilling. Barthold Halles libretto var tekstgrunnlaget for Kvandal, som viste et usedvanlig musikkdramatisk talent og en teft i bruken av orkester, kor og solister.