Les Vendredis – Vertavo

Between the salon and the concert hall.

After the hugely successful release containing Bartók´s complete string quartets (amongst other chosen as Editors Choice in Gramophone), the Vertavo girls presents several fantastic small pieces that are guaranteed to appeal to most listeners. Les Vendredis is the name of a collection gleaming and beautiful quartets written to the monthly music gathering at wealthy music lover Beliaeff´s residence in St. Petersburg during the late 19th century. The first friday of every month, composers and performers gathered at Beliaeff´s place to play, try out newly composed works while enjoying food and drinks. More often than not composers wrote new pieces for these gatherings, in an environment where new musical ideas were to be played with and tested out. The result are amongst other a Mazurka written as a relay between four different composers, a Sarabande in exquisite 17th century style, as well as other feisty concotions.

Through 20 years, the prize winning Vertavo String Quartet (Øyvor Volle, Berit Cardas, Henninge Landaas and Bjørg Værnes) has developed great sensitivity for the demands of different musical genres, both within the classical repertoire and in collaboration with artists like Anne Grete Preus, Hot Club de Norvége, Maj Britt Andersen, and many more. The Vertavo String Quartet hits the mood and feeling of the Les Vendredis music perfectly – not an easy feat. This is music in the borderlands between the salon and the concert hall, between the dance floor and concentrated listening. Infinitely generous for the listener and highly demanding for the performer. This kind of music falls like a rock if not performed with the perfect combination of virtuosity and tongue-in-cheek which is the trademark of the Vertavo girls.