David Monrad Johansen – Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

Stylistic metamorphosis

In the course of his long career as a composer, David Monrad Johansen underwent a stylistic metamorphosis. This album is like a musical journey throughout the various stages of the composer´s musical life, from the early Debussy-influenced piano pieces “Scenes from Nordland” and “Two Portraits from the Middle Ages”, to the two piano suites “From Gudbransdalen” and “Prillar-Guri”, both heavily inspired by Norwegian folk music written in an advanced pianistic style – all performed by one of Norway´s leading pianists Jens Harald Bratlie. In addition, this album also includes the orchestral works “Pan” and “Symphonic Variations and Fugue”, two pieces that are far removed from the early Debussy-influenced piano pieces – masterly performed by Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Karsten Andersen.