NEW YEAR'S CONCERT WITH A COMEDY VIRTUOSO
Bach and Beethoven led Espen Beranek Holm to prog rock. Now he’s ready for the New Year’s concert with the KSO.
This year’s traditional New Year’s concert with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra will be hosted by Espen Beranek Holm. The versatile musician and comedian has been a regular on the P2 program *Hallo i uken* and has spent several seasons poking fun at current events on the satirical segment of NRK’s *Løvebakken*.
From the comedy stage to Kilden: Espen Beranek Holm will conduct this year’s New Year’s concert with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra.With a background as a rock artist in the 1980s, including the once-controversial single "Dra Te Hælvete," he has gradually transitioned to the comedy and revue scene with great success. But it is still music that he identifies with most strongly.
“I still consider myself a musician. Besides, it’s worth noting that performing lyrics—whether funny or not—requires much of the same as what’s required of a good musician,” says Holm.
As the host of the NRK programs *Maestro* and *Virtuos*, he has also demonstrated his expertise in classical music.
“I was introduced to Bach and Beethoven at a fairly young age, and that probably laid the groundwork for my strong connection to prog rock in the ’70s. My father (jazz musician Eilif Holm, ed.) also showed me how Grieg, among others, used folk music in the same way that many jazz arrangers and musicians have done. So I wasn’t exactly a complete novice in classical music before my TV exposure, says Holm.
As the host of the entertainment series *Maestro*, he became very familiar with how an orchestra works, and during the show, eight well-known amateurs had the chance to conduct the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
– If you were to conduct the KSO at the New Year’s concert, which piece would you choose?
– I’d hope they’d choose something the orchestra knows so well that they can actually manage just fine on their own.
KSO's New Year's Concert is dedicated to the greatest masters of operetta: Jacques Offenbach, Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, and Arthur Sullivan.
Guest conductor Henrik Schaefer is the chief conductor of the Gothenburg Opera and has assembled a lineup of four outstanding soloists, including German soprano Marie Heeschen, whose magnificent voice shines across all genres of classical music.
New Year's Concert, January 8–11, 2020
- Conductor:Henrik Schæfer
- Host:Espen Beranek Holm
- Soloist:Marie Heeschen, soprano, and others
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