Norwegian Violin and Her Sisters
With Kyiv frozen all over, guests from the North came to share the warmth of their music. Two young Norwegian violinists, sisters Eldbjorg and Ragnhild Hemsing, performed at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine in a concert organized by the Norwegian Embassy and sponsored by Telenor, a majority shareholder in Kyivstar mobile operator.
The Norwegian music soiree has been held the second time in Kyiv. Last year, Ukrainian musicians performed compositions by Edward Grieg. This time, the concert program included pieces by composers who lived and composed in the epoch of Grieg, namely Johan Halvorsen, Johan Svendesen, Ole Bull, and our contemporary Harald Severud. A share of Northern romanticism was brought to the audience by the Symphonic Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine directed by meritorious worker of the arts Ihor Palkin, laureate of international contests, pianist Oleksandr Poliakov, and the Hemsing sisters, who were proudly presented by Norway Ambassador Jostein Bernhardsen. By the way, he delivered his speech in flawless Ukrainian, which is a rare occurrence among foreign diplomatic representatives in our country. Mr. Bernhardsen has reasons to be proud to have invited these two girls to participate in the concert. 12-year-old Eldbjorg and 14-year-old Ragnhild performed solo with the symphony orchestra so confidently as befits professionals, those who know how to combine the playing technique with adequate profundity.
The Hemsing sisters live in the town of Aurdahl 200 kilometers off Oslo, but to take their music lessons they travel all the way down to the Norway’s capital. Laureates of countless national and international contests, the girls performed with many professional and youth orchestras both in Norway and abroad, in the Czech republic, Austria, and Italy. As The Day learned from the Hemsing sisters, they rated highly the work of the National Symphony Orchestra as well as the fact that Ukrainian musicians are very friendly. “A peculiarity of Norwegian music is its folk roots,” said Ragnhild. Apart from classical violin, the sisters also play Norway’s national fiddle, the hardingfele. It is different in its resonating sounding. Norway’s folk musicians learn by rote and pass from generation to generation melodies composed in the 16th and 17th centuries. Of course, they improvise and create their own pieces.
“In Norway, musicians who play in orchestras are quite well off,” said the girls’ mother, Ms. Hemsing, also a violinist. “Those who play in chamber ensembles receive less in the way of money.” But the Hemsing family believe that to be a musician in their country is prestigious. Eight in nineteen of Ragnhild’s classmates practice the violin. Concerts performed by the girls are popular with people in all age groups. “It’s only natural that the young are fond of pop music,” said Ragnhild. “My classmates listen to pop and play the violin,” she added jocularly.
