— From Grieg to our time.

It is with pride that we open this summer's Håkonshall concerts with some of the finest Scandinavia has to offer: Bergen's international star soprano Mari Eriksmoen is visiting Håkonshallen together with Bergen-born pianist Pål Eide — one of the few who has been able to record albums on Grieg's own grand piano at Troldhaugen.

The concert focuses on Haugtussa — Grieg's only song cycle, composed in 1895 to Arne Garborg's texts. The work is considered one of the most important ever written for voice and piano, and is performed here in the composer's own hometown.

Around the cycle, the duo has built the program Etterklang , with a title borrowed from Grieg's very last lyrical piece. Here, Grieg's songs and piano pieces meet music by Schubert, Rachmaninov, Silvestrov and Scriabin — based on Eide's album project Beyond Belle , where lyrical pieces from different eras are intertwined. In addition, the Danish composers Ejnar Kanding and Jesper Koch, with whom Eide has collaborated closely for several years, are presented.

Welcome to the opening concert in the atmospheric Håkonshallen!

Mari Eriksmoen soprano
Pål Eide piano

Duration approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes including interval.

• About the performers

  Mari Eriksmoen is one of Norway's leading sopranos and has had an extensive international career on opera stages and concert stages across Europe — from Theater an der Wien and the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence to Glyndebourne and Teatro alla Scala. In addition to opera, she is a highly regarded lied interpreter, known for her textual empathy, timbre and natural ability to convey. Her recordings and concerts testify to a particular love for the Nordic singing tradition, where she combines linguistic closeness with great artistic depth. When she debuted with her own solo album, The Guardian described her interpretations as "poised, elegant and persuasive".

  Pål Eide , originally from Bergen and living in Denmark, is known for his poetic and sonorous interpretations. His recordings have received wide international attention, and he regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician in the Nordic countries and internationally. In his projects, he often works to put the classical repertoire in dialogue with contemporary Nordic music. This is expressed, among other things, in the album project Beyond Belle — A Timeless Dream , where lyrical piano pieces from different eras are woven together into a coherent musical progression. International Piano describes him as "(…) a highly intelligent pianist… tremendous, clear in terms of line yet hugely exciting".

  Mari Eriksmoen and Pål Eide began their collaboration in Copenhagen in 2025. In the program Etterklang , they meet in a joint exploration of the Nordic singing tradition and how Grieg's musical legacy can still resonate in our own time.

• Concert program

  Edvard Grieg (1843—1907)
  Arietta, op. 12 no. 1

  Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937)
  Bagatelle, op. 1 no. 3

  Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873—1943)
  Prelude, Op. 32 No. 5

  Ejnar Kanding (b. 1965)
  Rippling Stillness

  Jesper Koch (b. 1967)
  Melancholy

  Edvard Grieg
  Elegy, op. 47 no. 7

  Selected songs:
  Greetings, op. 48 no. 1
  For the Rose Season, Op. 48 No. 5
  A Dream, Op. 48 No. 6
  Spring, op. 33 no. 2

  Franz Schubert (1797—1828)
  Ave Maria, Op. 52 No. 6

  — Pause

  Ejnar Kanding
  Still water

  Alexander Scriabin (1872—1915)
  Etude, op. 2 no. 1

  Jesper Koch
  Rain
  Alive

  Edvard Grieg
  Nocturne, op. 54 no. 4

  Haugtussa for soprano and piano. Text by Arne Garborg (1851—1924)

We wish you an enjoyable, unique concert experience with us. Welcome!

Photo: Francisco Munoz (Eriksmoen) / Bjarne Stæhr (Eide)