A concert tour featuring Erlend Tvinnereim, tenor, and Bendik Båtstrand, piano
The duo Tvinnereim & Båtstrand takes the audience on an atmospheric journey into the Romantic lied repertoire, with three magnificent works that reflect the origins of Romanticism in Germany and Norway, respectively.
The program features music by Robert Schumann and Agathe Backer Grøndahl, alongside works by Ole Olsen, Northern Norway’s greatest lied composer. The duo aims to raise awareness of Olsen’s exceptionally captivating and beautiful songs, performing them for audiences from coast to coast along the Norwegian coast.
The concert project *Diktarkjærleik!* is based on the following three works:
Dichterliebe, Op. 48 – Robert Schumann
Songs by the Sea, Op. 17 – Agathe Backer Grøndahl
Four Poems, Op. 7 – Ole Olsen
Erlend Tvinnereim – tenor
Erlend Tvinnereim trained in Zurich, where he studied under Professor Scot Weir at the Zurich University of the Arts. In recent years, he has appeared at opera houses and venues such as the Hamburg State Opera, Theater Basel, Theater St. Gallen, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Free Opera Company Zurich, Bergen National Opera, Arctic Opera, Ho Chi Minh City Opera, and Szeged National Theatre.
He regularly performs on concert stages throughout Europe. Together with Bendik Båtstrand, he is on tour with both well-known and lesser-known works from the lied repertoire—a genre close to his heart.
Bendik Båtstrand – piano
Bendik Båtstrand studied at the Grieg Academy in Bergen and the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. He has extensive experience as an accompanist for singers, both in opera and lied, and has collaborated with artists such as Nina Gravrok, Espen Langvik, Erlend Tvinnereim, Thor Inge Falch, Thomas Ruud, and Lina Johnson.
In addition to his concert activities, he works as a pianist and piano teacher at the Hammerfest School of Culture.
The Tvinnereim & Båtstrand Duo
The lied duo Tvinnereim & Båtstrand combines the resilience of Northern Norway, the warmth of Southern Norway, and the optimism of Western Norway. Based in Bergen, Hammerfest, and Kristiansand, the duo works to bring the classical song repertoire to both new and experienced audiences—in major cities as well as in remote coastal areas.
The duo emphasizes a more informal performance style, presenting the works with well-crafted Norwegian translations to reduce language barriers and enhance the audience’s understanding of the texts’ content. This is particularly important at a time when the lied has been given less prominence in the concert repertoire. The goal is to convey the art of the lied in an accessible way, without compromising the poetic and musical quality of the works.
About the repertoire
Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
Schumann is considered one of the greatest composers in the lied genre. His songs are characterized by the rich imagery and intense emotional expression of Romanticism. *Dichterliebe*, Op. 48, is one of his best-known and most highly regarded works, with texts by Heinrich Heine. The cycle was composed in 1840—an exceptionally productive year for Schumann—and completed in just six days.
To reach a Norwegian audience, the duo performs the songs in a Nynorsk translation by Arne Kvarven in collaboration with Einar Økland.
Songs by the Sea
Both Agathe Backer Grøndahl and Ole Olsen have set texts from Holger Drachmann’s poetry collection Songs by the Sea (1877) to music. Drachmann was known as “the great bard of the sea,” and the sea’s movements, light, and sounds are central to the poems. It is particularly interesting to hear how the two composers have chosen different musical approaches to the same texts.
Ole Olsen (1850–1927)
Ole Olsen, from Hammerfest, was a prominent Romantic composer and conductor who studied in Leipzig—just like Schumann and Grieg. He was a central figure in Norwegian musical life during his time, but is relatively little known today. His songs celebrate nature and the northern region to which he was deeply attached.
Agathe Backer Grøndahl ( 1847–1907)
Agathe Backer Grøndahl was one of Norway’s leading pianists and composers of her time, enjoying great success both nationally and internationally. She composed over 250 romances and around 150 piano pieces, in addition to works for choir and orchestra. She was a close friend of Nina and Edvard Grieg, and *Songs by the Sea*, Op. 17, is dedicated to them.
