Oda Voltersvik
LIVE recordings & REVIEWS
From "The Song of the Stone"
by Atli Heimir Sveinsson (1938 - 2019)
- From recital at Central Washington University (12.11.2023)
Sergei Prokofiev: Sonata no. 2 in D minor, Op.14: IV Vivace
- From recital at Sandefjord, MiSK concert series (2020)
Pieces by Edvard Grieg at US tour "Nordic Unrest", March 2023
UND (Grand Forks, ND), VCSU (Valley City, ND), Mindekirken (Minneapolis, MN), Norwegian Seamen` s Church (NYC, NY)
Sofia Gubaidulina (1931-): Chaconne (live recording)
- From recital at Norwegian Church, New York City, 02.04.2022
Still photos & clip: Nedra Hoffman
Oxford Digital Piano Festival, Recital 2020
(invited by Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra)
Pieces by Edvard Grieg, Inger Bang Lund & Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Scriabin Fantasy in B minor, Op.28
- From recital at Sandefjord, MiSK concert series (2020)
Online Concert on TRUE ART TV
Sibelius Impromptu Op. 5, no. 5 at Grieg Museum, Bergen
Sergei Prokofiev: Sonata no.2 in D minor Op.14: II. Allegro marcato
Tord Kalvenes (1989-): Prolog for piano
A collaboration in 2021.
Concordia Piano Festival, Moorhead, MN, 28.03.2022
Edvard Grieg: Tempest Clouds EG 110
Philip Martin "Flight" I.Gathering II.Murmuration
Shostakovich Sonata in B minor, Op.61: III. Moderato
Smetana Etude `On the Seashore` Op.17
Bach Fantasia&Fugue in a minor BWV944
Bela Bartók: 3 Burlesques Op.8c (III.Finale)
Chopin Concerto in E minor, Op. 11. Paderewski Hall, February 2014, Youth Polish- Norwegian Orchestra
Klassiskmusikk.com, Review by Martin Anderson (February 2019)
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“Hats off to Oda Voltersvik for such well-considered programme for her debut recording as a solo pianist: both familiar and unfamiliar names, and unfamiliar music from the familiar names, too – a pity that better-known musicians don’t manifest the same degree of imagination in their choice of repertoire. If Voltersvik’s selection was also intended to show off her technique, too, it has firmly ticked that box, too: she maintains clarity in the busiest of passages, and also knows how to project the warmth of the bass line without losing its focus – a sign that her feet are as intelligent as her fingers.”
“Guido Agosti’s transcription of three dances from The Firebird(...) I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she uses this piece to bring the house down at her concerts – it’s a cliché to say that all Russian music evokes bells at some point, but Voltersvik really makes the rafters ring in the final Firebird dance.”
«A most auspicious start to a recording career that promises much for the future – and already delivers generously here.»
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"Giulio Potenza and Oda Voltersvik have a great amalgam, the sound is always defined and mellow, and playing styles are well differentiated between the various periods. The finals are always very light, and the interpretative choices never predictable. There is a nice pearly touch and perfect phrasing of trills that feature in Bach."
Review of the CD `Khoreia` by the renowned Italian musical magazine "Corriere Musicale".
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"...I felt cosseted and highly entertained in their hands, not only with playing of the surest unison and harmony, but with the palpable joy and fun of their music-making...I wish them every success"
Review of the CD `Khoreia`, Des Hutchinson, Musicweb-international.com (May 2017)
Holly Harris, The Free Press, review on “NEO” (May 2022):
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“(...) immediately displays her sensitive artistry in Scriabin’s Fantasie in B Minor, Op. 28, with expansive sweeps across her keyboard.”
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“Voltersvik shows a natural affinity for the artist’s (Prokofiev`s) spiky music (..) performed with crisp attack fuelled by driving ostinato figures. She also demonstrates her ability to turn on a dime to instil more playfulness into several transitional sections that provide welcome sonic relief, with the Andante movement showing her more expressive side.”
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“Shostakovich’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61 further displays her technical prowess, first heard in its opening Allegretto. Its Largo central movement showcases her eloquent phrasing and carefully nuanced tonal palette before leading to its plaintive Moderato con moto.”
Feedback letter on recital "Nordic Unrest" in Mindekirken, Minneapolis for Grieg Society of Minnesota on March 3rd 2023:
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"I want to thank you for your outstanding performance at Mindekirken on Friday. “Nordic Unrest” is a timely theme, and your selection of music to express this theme was brilliant. I hope you know from the applause and standing ovations you received that the skill and artistry with which you performed these pieces was deeply appreciated by the large audience that turned out to hear you on a cold winter day in Minnesota.
I was glad to see a composition by Geirr Tveitt on your program. He is not well known in the States but I find his music endlessly fascinating.
Thank you also for introducing me—and, I suspect, everyone else who attended your concert—to the Icelandic composer Atli Sveinsson. I have since learned that he played a major role in Icelandic music during his career and I intend to download some of it for private listening sometime soon.
It is always a pleasure to hear Grieg. I sometimes think his “Lyric Pieces” are almost as well known here as they are in Norway. I want to especially commend you, however, for your performance of the Balladein G Minor. I have heard this piece played professionally many times, and your performance compares favorably with the best of them. I was waiting for that dramatic E-flat near the end of the piece. I actually timed it. You held us in suspense for nine full seconds before resolving it to a quiet D. That was thrilling.
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Bill Halverson, expert on Edvard Grieg (author, translator and lecturer).
Trond Erikson, at klassiskcd.blogspot.com (September 2022)
"Oda Voltersvik is a skilled pianist who gives colour the musical landscape. The record "Neo" is a small dive into the Russian/Ukrainian musical sphere with Scriabin, Shostakovich, Gubaidulina and Prokofiev.
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Here we meet a wide spectrum of exciting music - written in the period 1900-1963 (...)"
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"Dmitri Shostakovich is represented with his sonata op.61 from 1943 - and here we plunge straight into the horrors of war - musically speaking. The sonata one of my favourites and Oda Voltersvik makes an excellent presentation of this work."
Oda Voltersvik presents four great works. She is faithful to the composers' intentions and brings out both musical insight and a virtuosity that is excellent.
The pianist has definitely made a good selection of music - both in terms of the timeline and a musical diversity within the relatively short period in which the music was written.
This is a good recording served by a very good pianist."
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