Duo Gelland
Encyclopedia
Duo Gelland is a Swedish-German violin
duo on the international classical scene. It was founded in 1994.
and the fiercely demanding one hour long cycle for two violins (1951) by Allan Pettersson
showed the true potentials of the violin duo, inspiring many composers to turn to this medium. Duo Gelland received over 100 dedications, among them duos by: Giorgio Netti, Bernd Franke, Alexander Keuk, Madeleine Isaksson
, Birgitte Alsted
, Kerstin Jeppsson
, Ingvar Karkoff, Maurice Karkoff, Olov Franzén, Gunnar Bucht, Carin Bartosch Edström, Rolf Martinsson, Erika Förare, Miklós Maros, Gerhard Samuel, Johan Ramström, Paula af Malmborg Ward, Marie Samuelsson
, Peter Schuback, Victoria Bond, Anders Hultqvist, Max Käck, Ole Lützow-Holm, Nikolaus Brass, Michael Fiday, Justin Rubin.
Duo Gelland also premiered duos by other composers - never performed due to lack of permanent violin duos - by Werner Wolf Glaser
, Erika Förare, Oleg Gotskosik, Ture Rangström. Further important duos belonging to their repertory are those by Luigi Nono
, James Dillon
, Olga Neuwirth
, Giacinto Scelsi
, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati
, Jacqueline Fontyn
.
Duo Gelland's performance of Traumwerk by James Dillon was filmed by Johan Ramström. It was awarded the Jahrespreis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2008. Another award is the Interpreter’s Prize of the Society of Swedish Composers (FST). The inscription reads:
They take on the new music with an overwhelming empathy and a virtually feverish intensity, catching the audience in a bubble of absolute presence.
Duo Gelland received dedications of works for violin duo and orchestra or ensemble by Harold Blumenfeld (premiered 1996), Ingvar Karkoff (premiere 2009), Olov Franzén (premiere 2010), Olof Lindgren (premiered 2002). Håkan Larsson (premiered 2002). January 2003 Duo Gelland premiered Håkan Larsson's Angesicht in Angesicht - inspired by Ingmar Bergman
's films - for violin duo and orchestra in the Berliner Philharmonie. Spring 2003 two works for violin duo and choir by Hans-Erik Dahlgren and Olof Lindgren were premiered together with Dresdner Kammerchor and Hans-Christoph Rademann.
In Berliner Philharmonie 2006 together with the RIAS Kammerchor
and Hans-Christoph Rademann, Duo Gelland premiered works for violin duo and choir by Sunleif Rasmussen
, Peter Schuback and Håkan Larsson.
The dramatic and physical qualities of Duo Gelland's stage presence has been cultivated in cross over productions e.g. in provocatively moving The donkey on Mars, text Kasëm Trebeshina (Albania), in collaboration with choreographer Britta Hanssen and composer Birgitte Alsted. Here the synthesis of emotion, motion, word and sound is explored in a mode which could be referred to as violin theater.
Duo Gelland's growing historic repertory involves research in archives and libraries. The musicologist Ulrich Mazurowicz points out that the second half of the 18th century into the beginning of the 19th century was a period when string duos were printed more often than any other constellation including songs, operas, string quartets, music for orchestra or piano. Of all these string duos the major part was violin duos.
Duo Gelland's continuous study of historic literature on music performance, theory and philosophy is a source of inspiration facing both their old and their new repertoire.
Characteristic for Duo Gelland's work with new music is the close collaboration with composers and the search for an individual world of sounds for each new composition approached.
Also important are the frequent informal presentations of new duos to children in the class room. This mostly takes place in the municipality of Strömsund, Jämtland, northern Sweden, where Duo Gelland is artist in residence since 2002.
Duo Gelland considers the work with children artistically fruitful.
The teachers of the violinists were Max Rostal
, Walter Levin
and each one of the other members of the LaSalle Quartet
, Ricardo Odnoposoff, Gerhart Hetzel, Kurt Sassmannshaus, Ingeborg Scheerer, Josef Grünfarb, Machie Oguri-Kudo and for shorter periods Valery Klimov, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Pierre d'Archambeau, composition and theory Allen Sapp.
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
duo on the international classical scene. It was founded in 1994.
Biography
Duo Gelland was founded in 1994. Their early recordings of Cantus gemellus by Dieter AckerDieter Acker
Dieter Acker was a German composer.-Selected works:Concertante* Musik for viola, harp and string orchestra Chamber music* Duo for viola and cello * Sonata for viola and piano...
and the fiercely demanding one hour long cycle for two violins (1951) by Allan Pettersson
Allan Pettersson
Gustav Allan Pettersson was a Swedish composer. Today he is considered one of the most important Swedish composers of the 20th century...
showed the true potentials of the violin duo, inspiring many composers to turn to this medium. Duo Gelland received over 100 dedications, among them duos by: Giorgio Netti, Bernd Franke, Alexander Keuk, Madeleine Isaksson
Madeleine Isaksson
-Biography:Madeleine Isaksson studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm from 1979 to 1987. She received a diploma as a piano and ensemble teacher after studying under Gunnar Hallhagen, and then studied composition under teachers including Gunnar Bucht and Sven-David Sandström , Pär...
, Birgitte Alsted
Birgitte Alsted
Birgitte Alsted is a Danish violinist, teacher and composer, educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and in Warsaw....
, Kerstin Jeppsson
Kerstin Jeppsson
-Biography:Kerstin Jeppsson was born in Nyköping, Sweden, and graduated from the State Academy of Music in Stockholm, where she studied composition with Maurice Karkoff. She received a fellowship to continue her studies at the Cracow Conservatory, where she studied with Krzysztof Meyer and...
, Ingvar Karkoff, Maurice Karkoff, Olov Franzén, Gunnar Bucht, Carin Bartosch Edström, Rolf Martinsson, Erika Förare, Miklós Maros, Gerhard Samuel, Johan Ramström, Paula af Malmborg Ward, Marie Samuelsson
Marie Samuelsson
-Biography:Marie Samuelsson was born in Stockholm, Sweden. She studied piano and improvisation at Birkagården College from 1979–81, musicology at the University of Stockholm from 1982–83 and composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm from 1987-95 with Sven-David Sandström, Daniel Börtz...
, Peter Schuback, Victoria Bond, Anders Hultqvist, Max Käck, Ole Lützow-Holm, Nikolaus Brass, Michael Fiday, Justin Rubin.
Duo Gelland also premiered duos by other composers - never performed due to lack of permanent violin duos - by Werner Wolf Glaser
Werner Wolf Glaser
Werner Wolf Glaser was a German-born Swedish composer, conductor, pianist, professor, music critic, and poet.-Life:...
, Erika Förare, Oleg Gotskosik, Ture Rangström. Further important duos belonging to their repertory are those by Luigi Nono
Luigi Nono
Luigi Nono was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music and remains one of the most prominent composers of the 20th century.- Early years :Born in Venice, he was a member of a wealthy artistic family, and his grandfather was a notable painter...
, James Dillon
James Dillon (composer)
James Dillon, born October 29, 1950 in Glasgow, Scotland, is a Scottish composer often regarded as belonging to the New Complexity school. Dillon studied art and design, linguistics, piano, acoustics, Indian rhythm, mathematics and computer music, but is self-taught in composition.Honors include...
, Olga Neuwirth
Olga Neuwirth
Olga Neuwirth is an Austrian composer.As a child at the age of seven, Neuwirth began lessons on trumpet. She later studied composition in Vienna at the Vienna Academy of Music and Performing Arts under Erich Urbanner, while studying at the Electroacoustic Institute...
, Giacinto Scelsi
Giacinto Scelsi
Giacinto Scelsi , Count of Ayala Valva was an Italian composer who also wrote surrealist poetry in French....
, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati
Roman Haubenstock-Ramati
Roman Haubenstock-Ramati was a composer and music editor who worked in Kraków, Tel Aviv and Vienna.Haubenstock-Ramati studied composition, music theory, violin and philosophy in Kraków and Lemberg from 1937 to 1940. Among his teachers were Artur Malawski and Józef Koffler. From 1947 to 1950 he was...
, Jacqueline Fontyn
Jacqueline Fontyn
Jacqueline Fontyn is a contemporary Belgian composer, pianist and music educator. She was born in Antwerp, and has received the title of baroness from the King of Belgium in recognition of her many artistic contributions.-Background:...
.
Duo Gelland's performance of Traumwerk by James Dillon was filmed by Johan Ramström. It was awarded the Jahrespreis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2008. Another award is the Interpreter’s Prize of the Society of Swedish Composers (FST). The inscription reads:
They take on the new music with an overwhelming empathy and a virtually feverish intensity, catching the audience in a bubble of absolute presence.
Duo Gelland received dedications of works for violin duo and orchestra or ensemble by Harold Blumenfeld (premiered 1996), Ingvar Karkoff (premiere 2009), Olov Franzén (premiere 2010), Olof Lindgren (premiered 2002). Håkan Larsson (premiered 2002). January 2003 Duo Gelland premiered Håkan Larsson's Angesicht in Angesicht - inspired by Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
's films - for violin duo and orchestra in the Berliner Philharmonie. Spring 2003 two works for violin duo and choir by Hans-Erik Dahlgren and Olof Lindgren were premiered together with Dresdner Kammerchor and Hans-Christoph Rademann.
In Berliner Philharmonie 2006 together with the RIAS Kammerchor
RIAS Kammerchor
The RIAS Kammerchor is a professional chamber choir of the RIAS in Berlin, founded originally for contemporary music, with an international reputation.-History:...
and Hans-Christoph Rademann, Duo Gelland premiered works for violin duo and choir by Sunleif Rasmussen
Sunleif Rasmussen
Sunleif Rasmussen is the foremost Faroese composer of classical music.Rasmussen studied in Norway, then returned to Tórshavn in the Faroes as music teacher and jazz pianist. From 1990 to 1995 he studied musical composition at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen under Ib Nørholm and...
, Peter Schuback and Håkan Larsson.
The dramatic and physical qualities of Duo Gelland's stage presence has been cultivated in cross over productions e.g. in provocatively moving The donkey on Mars, text Kasëm Trebeshina (Albania), in collaboration with choreographer Britta Hanssen and composer Birgitte Alsted. Here the synthesis of emotion, motion, word and sound is explored in a mode which could be referred to as violin theater.
Duo Gelland's growing historic repertory involves research in archives and libraries. The musicologist Ulrich Mazurowicz points out that the second half of the 18th century into the beginning of the 19th century was a period when string duos were printed more often than any other constellation including songs, operas, string quartets, music for orchestra or piano. Of all these string duos the major part was violin duos.
Duo Gelland's continuous study of historic literature on music performance, theory and philosophy is a source of inspiration facing both their old and their new repertoire.
Characteristic for Duo Gelland's work with new music is the close collaboration with composers and the search for an individual world of sounds for each new composition approached.
Also important are the frequent informal presentations of new duos to children in the class room. This mostly takes place in the municipality of Strömsund, Jämtland, northern Sweden, where Duo Gelland is artist in residence since 2002.
Duo Gelland considers the work with children artistically fruitful.
The teachers of the violinists were Max Rostal
Max Rostal
Max Rostal was a violinist and a viola player. He was Austrian-born, but later took British citizenship.-Biography:Max Rostal was born in Cieszyn and studied with Carl Flesch. He won the Mendelssohn Scholarship in 1925...
, Walter Levin
Walter Levin
Walter Levin is a German-born musician who founded and played first violin of the LaSalle Quartet at Colorado College. Levin was also professor of violin and chamber music for thirty-six years at the University of Cincinnati. Since 2002, he has been Adviser of the Chamber Music Chair at the Escuela...
and each one of the other members of the LaSalle Quartet
LaSalle Quartet
The LaSalle Quartet was a string quartet active from 1946 to 1987. It was founded by first violinist Walter Levin. The quartet played on a donated set of Amati instruments....
, Ricardo Odnoposoff, Gerhart Hetzel, Kurt Sassmannshaus, Ingeborg Scheerer, Josef Grünfarb, Machie Oguri-Kudo and for shorter periods Valery Klimov, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Pierre d'Archambeau, composition and theory Allen Sapp.
Discography
- Allan PetterssonAllan PetterssonGustav Allan Pettersson was a Swedish composer. Today he is considered one of the most important Swedish composers of the 20th century...
, Seven Sonatas for Two Violins (1951), 58 min. - Werner Wolf GlaserWerner Wolf GlaserWerner Wolf Glaser was a German-born Swedish composer, conductor, pianist, professor, music critic, and poet.-Life:...
, Duo (1966), 17 min. - Dieter Acker, Cantus gemellus (1973) 9 min.
- Erika Förare, Duo op. 1 (1976-79), 27 min. and Duo no. 2 (2002), 12 min.
- James DillonJames Dillon (composer)James Dillon, born October 29, 1950 in Glasgow, Scotland, is a Scottish composer often regarded as belonging to the New Complexity school. Dillon studied art and design, linguistics, piano, acoustics, Indian rhythm, mathematics and computer music, but is self-taught in composition.Honors include...
, Traumwerk (1995-96), 26 min. - Olof Lindgren, Jieleden Vuilie (Chant of Life) (1995) and other works (1995-2002), 67 min.
- Olov Franzén, Autumn Duo (1997), 16 min.
- Anders Hultqvist, Apricot trees exist (1998/2000), 9 min.
- Birgitte Alsted, Zweigeigen (2001), 13 min.
- Gunnar Bucht, Partita (2001), 15 min. and Tre per due (2004), 16 min.
- Peter Schuback, del altro al altro (2001), 14 min.
- Max Käck, Aonia terra (2001), 12 min.
- Håkan Larsson, När intet blir allt (2002), 14 min.
- Kerstin Jeppsson, Canto cromàtico (2002) 18 min.
- Hans-Erik Dahlgren, Imagines Memoriae (2002) and other works (2002-2004), 32 min.
- Rolf Martinsson, Symbiosis (2003), 19 min.
- Ingvar Karkoff, Largo (2004) 7 min. and Gelland Suite (2004), 8 min.
- Bernd Franke, "in between (IV)" (2007), 11 min.
- Oleg Gotskosik, From the Jewish Folk tradition (1990), 23 min.
- Cecilia Franke, Febris (2005), 11 min.
- Johan Ramström, KAKEL (2002), 13 min.
- Johan Ramström, Vallombrosa (2008), 7 min.
- Hans-Erik Dahlgren, Imagines memoriae (2002), 12 min.
- Sanna Ahvenjärvi, Fingers to the Bone (2004), 12 min.
- Tapio Lappalainen, Violin Duo (2004), 7 min.
- Alexander Keuk, Bagatelle (2003), 11 min.
- Aron Hidman, Chaconne (2001), 12 min.
- Johan Samskog, Al cielo (2001), 13 min.
- Jonas Asplund, Forms of the floating fragments (2007), 11 min.
- Justin Henry Rubin, Three Chorales (2009), 7 min.
- Justin Henry Rubin, Samuel Greenberg Constellation (2009), 10 min.
Awards
- Jämtlands Landstingets Kulturpris 2011
- Nutida Sound 2011
- Jahrespreis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2008
- Rosenborg-Gehrmans Ensemble Prize 2005
- The Society of Swedish Composers’ Interpreter’s Prize (FST) 2003
- Västerbotten County Council Great Award 2002
- Västerbottens-Kurirens Kulturpris 2000
Duo Gelland
- Stefan Drees, Experimentierfreude und Repertoireerkundung. Zur Arbeit des Duo Gelland, in: Die Tonkunst 4, 2008, 466f
- Stefan Drees, until the singing of the spheres brings us together, in: Die Tonkunst 3, 2008, 419f
- Anna Rudroff, Ästhetische Erfahrung als Ziel von Musikunterricht - Fragen an ein musikpädagogisches Praxiskonzept aus Schweden, Leipzig 2008
- Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG), Kassel 1994-2008: Duo Gelland
- Cecilia Gelland, Tystnaden är utrotningshotad, in: Coniunctio 2008
- Jonas Asplund, ...det rör om i hjärnan på något sätt: En beskrivning av en interpretationsprocess inom samtida konstmusik ur ett kommunikationsperspektiv, Örebro Universitet, Örebro 2007
- Stefan Drees, Engagement im Dienste einer vernachlässigten Gattung, in: Dissonanz 93, März 2006, 43f
- Ylva Nyberg, Duo Gelland, in: Nutida Musik 47, 2004, H. 1, 38f
- Gustaf Jilker, Kulturambassadörer, in: Samefolket 2002, H. 9, 46
- Henrik Martén, Duo Gelland - en färgstark ensemble, in: Kammarmusik-Nytt 19, 2002, H. 2, 9
- Stefani Ragni, I violini del grande nord, in: Studi e documentazioni 20, 2001, Nr. 41, 37f
Violin duo and history
- Ulrich Mazurowicz, Das Streichduett in Wien von 1760 bis zum Tode Joseph Haydns, Eichstätter Abhandlungen zur Musikwissenschaft, Band 1, Hans Schneider, Tutzing 1982
- Walter Kolneder, Das Buch der Violine, Antlantis, 1972 and 1993
- Wilhelm Joseph von WasielewskiWilhelm Joseph von WasielewskiWilhelm Joseph von Wasielewski was a German violinist, conductor, and musicologist.-Life:Wasielewski was born on June 17, 1822 in the village of Gross, near Danzig as the eighth of eleven children of Henriette Christina Piwko and Josef Thaddäus von Wasielewski , a landholder and later Rector of...
, Die Violine und ihre Meister, 1868, 4th edition Dresden 1927