LATEST NEWS
New CD Out Soon! Click on the image to read my album booklet!
Just in time for our Beethoven tour next week where Arctic Philharmonic and I play Beethoven Violin concerto with Christian Kluxen conducting.
Simax Classics release our new album Metamorphoses on February 21!
The CD contains world premiere recording of my duo Mantra~Metamorfosen together with Brynjar Lien Schulerud.
It is also a world premiere recording of my own arrangement of Beethoven Quartetto Serioso, and for the first time, my 2 Beethoven Cadenzas are available on CD. Radio Broadcasts with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, amongst others, from our Carnegie Hall concert, has been aired but these cadenzas will now be available on CD and Spotify for the first time. Cover Photos by the one and only Kaupo Kikkas😊
Nobel Peace Prize 2018
In December 2018, Henning performed his composition “A little Piece for Peace” along with Petter Richter at the Nobel Peace Prize Gala Dinner in Oslo.
“A little Piece for Peace was composed for the Nobel Peace Prize 2018 and Laureates Nadia Murad and Dr Denis Mukwege.
When I heard the stories of Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege, I decided to compose a piece in their honour for the Gala Dinner, where guitarist Petter Richter and I performed on December 10th.
We gave this piece’s first performance, standing less than two meters from the award winners, along with Norway’s King, Queen and Prime Minister and many other prominent guests.
If you perhaps have any doubts about whether your New Year’s resolutions will have an effect, why don’t you support these noble causes where your donation could have a world changing effect.”
- Henning Kraggerud 2019
https://www.panzifoundation.org/donate/
https://nadiasinitiative.org/donation/
Leeds International Piano Competition
This September 2018, Henning will be joining the Leeds International Piano Competition as a jury member.
Further information is available here:
https://www.leedspiano.com/
Menuhin Competition 2018
Henning has been selected to be a jury member for this year's Menuhin Competition in Geneva!
This is what he has to say about the competition:
“One of the reasons I like to participate as a juror in the Menuhin Competition is that they seem genuinely concerned about making the life for future musicians better and more meaningful. Several years ago the competition implemented my suggestion of incorporating improvisation as part of the competition for the youngest musicians. This was once a natural part of classical music life, a stimulating way of trying out new ideas, and could revitalize the genre again. I am working for a freer classical music life where more players dare to be even more creative and spontaneous; write their own cadenzas and compose music of their own. This was the norm in the 17th to 19th Centuries but sadly has been neglected in the last few decades. The Menuhin Competition has been listening with great sympathy to my ideas, and I will certainly continue to work with organisations like this who want to progress in these important matters. I hope to see even more development in the years to come.”
Vivaldi Four Seasons: Winter
Henning recently filmed several outdoor recordings of "Winter" from Vivaldi's Four Seasons with the Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra.
Here are Allegro and Largo:
youtube.com/watch?v=gSSo_IxpFEg
youtube.com/watch?v=WSVOZoVWTto
ECHO Klassik Awards Ceremony 2017
Henning had a fantastic weekend 28 - 29th October in Germany, performing at the Klassik XL event on Saturday and receiving his and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra's ECHO KLASSIK award on Sunday for their Mozart Violin Concertos (3, 4 and 5) Naxos album.
The album is available here:
ACO Tour 2017
Henning has just finished his Australian tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra which ran from 1st - 12th September. Here are some quotes from the reviews:
The Advertiser [Adelaide Now]:
"Fostering the Grieg presence mercurial solo violinist, composer and director Henning Kraggerud was persuasive, his lengthy verbal prequels, kaleidoscopic violin timbres and energised direction revealing his Grieg passion at every turn"
"Kraggerud’s own Topelius Variations (From Topelius Time), an almost equally new work, provided a far more emotional counterpoint to one of Finland’s most compelling authors with a helter-skelter procession of strongly etched statements and immense drive"
"Whatever your perspective we were undoubtedly given a serve of really big-hair Grieg and it brought the house down in true ACO fashion”
Click here to read the review
Limelight Magazine:
"Kraggerud was a gregarious musical host, with a story to tell for each performance, his own joy and vitality reflected in the ACO musicians."
"The lush orchestral sound and melodies recalled Grieg, with Kraggerud leading the orchestra" (Henning's Topelius-Variations)"
Click here to read the review
ECHO Klassik Award 2017
It has just been announced that Henning and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra will be receiving an ECHO Klassik Award for their Mozart Concertos No. 3, 4 and 5 album!
The CD was released through Naxos (who also published a Music in Motion live DVD of the same repertoire) both of which are part of a larger educational project.
The project included a series of masterclasses with the young talents at the Barratt-Due's Institute of Music, where Henning teaches new ways to approach this music. Two of these masterclasses are already available and free to watch online.
(Dextra Musica who own Henning's 1744 Guarneri, also sponsored parts of this project).
Check out the album here:
open.spotify.com/album/2Y8NlpdxfblnbX2cy0iWZE
"Between the Seasons" International Release
This September, Henning's latest album "Between the Seasons" will be released worldwide through Simax Classics!
Henning collaborated with both the Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and the world famous author, Erik Fosnes Hansen when creating this project.
It features the Four Seasons by A. Vivaldi and four of Henning's own compositions between each track (three of which have been recorded for the first time):
Preghiera - (Arranged for Chamber Orchestra and commissioned by the Brodsky Quartet 2011-2012)
Postludium in B flat Minor from Equinox
The last leaf – Magnus in Memoriam (2014)
Victimae Paschali (2016)
The CD booklet will feature an essay by Erik Fosnes Hansen who compares the "Four Seasons" to the four seasons of Vivaldi's life and there is more information to discover in the booklet, so don't miss out!
The album will also be available on Spotify / iTunes and a pre-ordering link will be available soon.
As the current International Chair of Violin at the Royal Northern College of Music, Henning has been selected to receive an RNCM fellowship!
He will receive the award alongside Vasily Petrenko and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet later this year.
Click here to read the article
A Story of Firsts...
Henning has just arrived home from Finland after performing at the first ever Väyläfestival.
His work “Equinox” was selected to be performed on the opening night (Friday 16th June) and he also performed J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations alonsgide the Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra on (Saturday 17th).
After the concert at Ylitornio Church, Henning signed CDs and both him and the Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra have since been asked to play in Finland again.
The area where the festival is based is only about one hours flight from Tromsø, but in the beginning, it looked like it would take a full day of commercial flights or at least a 10 hour bus drive to get there.
Thankfully this was not the case, as during a planning meeting, Henning suggested that they approach a brand-new company (that had not even started up at the time), asking whether they could fly the orchestra directly to the festival.
Fortunately, they agreed and this became the first ever chartered flight in Fly Viking’s history!
During the journey, they celebrated with chocolates and the pilots even let Henning experience part of the flight in the cockpit.
Between the Seasons - Norwegian Release
This month, Henning's most recent Simax Classics album: Between the Seasons was released in Norway.
The album features Kraggerud and the Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra playing the Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi, alongside several of Henning's own pieces.
In light of this Norwegian release, Between the Seasons has been recently featured in both the Culture section of Dagsavisen and the Vårt Land newspapers.
Here is one of the articles in which he discussed his collaboration with world-renowned Psalm at the Journeys End author, Erik Fosnes Hansen; who has written a short booklet essay on the life of Vivaldi for this Simax recording.
Click here to read the excerpt from the Dagsavisen article
Between the Seasons is due to be released internationally this September.
What is the Musical Calendar?
Composed as a Christmas gift to friends and family 24 years ago, Henning’s Musical Calendar features a duet for each month of the year. All the pieces can be performed in first position and any double stops include an open string.
This has now been kindly arranged by Iris Adler for two violas or two cellos
How to use this music
As a limited offer, the Musical Calendar for Two Violins (or cellos or violas) can be downloaded free of charge (for non-commercial purposes). Simply click here to download the music!
Use this music freely in teaching, for fun, practising, sight reading or student concerts, or as examples to encourage students to compose their own calendar.
Submit your recordings
Feel free to record (video or audio) your performance of the Musical Calendar, or your own compositions inspired by the calendar. Send your recordings to Henning Kraggerud’s official Facebook page and Henning will personally select and publish the best videos.
Commercial Use
If you wish to use this music for commercial purposes, please contact Henning Kraggerud’s official Facebook page to request permission. This includes any CD sales, use in films, etc.
Rights
Henning retains the right to be credited as composer in all reproductions of this music. Please credit Composer Henning Kraggerud at all times.
Henning has been improvising and composing his own etudes since the age of eight - which he suggests is a much more fun way to learn new techniques like thirds, octaves, staccatos, scales and more! To find out more about Henning as a composer, see here.
Listen to Henning's Cadenzas for Clemens Hagen below: