POING plays:

Olav Anton Thommessen: Three Tchaikovsky sketches (2019-2020, first performance)

Miklós Maros: Trio Mantice (2020, first performance)

Eivind Buene: Mahler Mixtape (2020)

Gustav Mahler: Scherzo: Wuchtig, from Symphony nr.6 (1903-1905). Arr. POING

POING continues their concert series at Kunstnernes Hus with premieres of Olav Anton Thommessen and Miklós Maros, in addition to Eivind Buene's arrangements of Mahler songs, which are performed for the second time at this concert. The works rely largely on music from the late Romantic period. "Three Tchaikovsky sketches" by Olav Anton Thommessen is based on situations taken from Tchaikovky's late orchestral ballad VOYEVODA from 1891, which the composer himself wanted to throw in the trash bin but was rescued by an attentive conservatory director. Eivind Buene's "Mahler Mixtape" is a continuation of the work he has done with the concept Schubert Lounge: to create new versions of German songs, reworked into the singer-songwriter format of our time.

POING (Rolf-Erik Nystrøm, alto saxophone, Frode Haltli, accordion and Håkon Thelin, double bass) started playing together in 1999, and have since been one of the leading ensembles for contemporary music in Scandinavia. They have played in clubs and concert halls in most European countries, the US as well as in China and Japan, with more than 150 first performances.

The three musicians are among the world's top performers on their instruments, both as interpreters of notated music and improvisation. Their unique flexibility results in many untraditional commissions by composers and festivals that go beyond the usual interpretation, interaction and dissemination of contemporary music.

The trio collaborates regularly with musicians from around the world, with backgrounds in different styles – from folk and traditional, via popular music to experimental expressions. Among others, POING have collaborated with Swedish, Swiss, Nepali, Brazilian, American, Azerbaijani, Mongolian, Egyptian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Iranian, Mauritanian, Ivorian, Tanzanian, Irish, Faroese, Icelandic, Finnish, Peruvian, Brazilian, Baltic, Sami, Russian and Spanish musicians.

Picture above: Geir Dokken