— From Grieg to our time.

It is with pride that we open this summer's Håkon's Hall Concerts with some of the very best Scandinavia has to offer: Bergen's international star soprano Mari Eriksmoen visits Håkonshallen together with the Bergen-born pianist Pål Eide — one of the few who has been allowed to record albums on Grieg's own grand piano at Troldhaugen.

The centerpiece of the concert is Haugtussa — Grieg's only song cycle, composed in 1895 based on Arne Garborg's esteemed poetry. The work is considered amongst the most important written for voice and piano — and it adds to the experience to hear these songs performed in the composer's own city.

Around the cycle, the duo has built the programme 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 various eras are interwoven. In addition, Danish composers Ejnar Kanding and Jesper Koch, with whom Eide has collaborated closely for several years, are presented.

Welcome to the opening concert in atmospheric Håkon's Hall !

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, boasting an extensive international career on opera stages and concert platforms across Europe — from Theater an der Wien and Festival d'Aix-en-Provence to Glyndebourne and Teatro alla Scala. Beyond opera, she is a highly esteemed interpreter of lieder, celebrated for her textual insight, vocal timbre, and natural expressive ability. Her recordings and concerts reveal a particular fondness for the Nordic song tradition, where she combines linguistic nuance with profound artistic depth. Upon the debut of her solo album, The Guardian described her interpretations as «poised, elegant and persuasive».

  Pål Eide, originally from Bergen and residing 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 bring the classical repertoire into 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 cohesive musical narrative. International Piano refers to 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 programme Etterklang, they meet in a shared exploration of the Nordic song tradition and of how Grieg's musical legacy can still resonate into 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)