NORWEGIAN STRINGS: The Bergamot Quartet introduces the national instrument of Norway at Princeton Public Library on February 4.
Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s (PSO) Soundtracks Series continues on Wednesday, February 4 at 7 p.m. at Princeton Public Library with a musical presentation which introduces the national instrument of Norway, the Hardanger fiddle.
Bergamot Quartet will perform new works composed and adapted by composer and Princeton Music Department Chair Dan Trueman specifically for their unique Hardanger string instruments. Attendees will learn what makes these instruments special, and how Bergamot Quartet is reviving the Hardanger tradition for modern audiences. Audience members will have an opportunity to participate in a Q&A immediately following.
This free presentation ties into the PSO’s February 7-8 concerts which feature Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s folk-infused Piano Concerto.
Project Resonance is a multifaceted collaborative endeavor between contemporary music specialists Bergamot Quartet and composer/fiddler Dan Trueman, with the Hardanger fiddle music of Norway at its center. Bergamot Quartet plays a set of four Hardanger instruments made by Lynn Berg, one of the only sets of its kind in the world. Under the auspices of Project Resonance, Bergamot and Trueman are creating new repertoire for the quartet of instruments, working with both traditional tunes and experimental/modern musical language, as well as recording, touring, commissioning, and providing a variety of educational opportunities.
“Resonance” speaks not only to the five sympathetic strings on each Hardanger instrument which give them their unique sound, but to Trueman and Bergamot’s pursuit of discovering the ways in which the project can resonate across folk traditions, modes of performing, and beyond.
Attendees will have the opportunity to enter a drawing to win tickets to the Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s February Beethoven & Grieg concert at Richardson Auditorium.
Soundtracks events are free and open to the public, with complimentary refreshments. Visit princetonsymphony.org for more information.