Christian Grøvlen, piano

Agathe Backer-Grøndahl is undoubtedly the most important figure of the late 19^th-century Norwegian music scene. A student of Hanns von Bulow (1830-1894) and Franz Liszt (1811-1886), she composed around 400 pieces and led a highly successful international career as a pianist until 1903, when, suffering severe hearing loss, she decided to dedicate herself to composition and teaching. With her exquisite melodies and works for the piano, she became known throughout Europe.

Christian Grøvlen is a pianist whose talent has won him numerous awards. He played with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra while he was still a teenager, with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in 2018, and as a soloist in the Norwegian Opera Orchestra in 2020. He is also music curator at the Kode Museum, Bergen, and a specialist on Agathe Backer-Grøndahl. The Kode museum, partner for the exhibition "Harriet Backer (1845-1932), the music of color", includes not only a fine arts museum, but also the houses of several composers, including that of Edvard Grieg, a close friend of Agathe Backer-Grøndahl who often stayed at the composer's home.

Artist

• Christian Grøvlen, piano

Program

• Agathe Backer-Grøndahl:
  • Fantasistykker, op. 39; 
• Edvard Grieg:
  • Ballade for piano in G minor, op. 24;
• Agathe Backer-Grøndahl
  • I Blaafjellet, op. 44.

Cultural programming in conjunction with the exhibition "Harriet Backer (1845-1932). The music of color" is supported by the Royal Embassy of Norway in France.