CMA Concerts at Transformer Station

Frode Haltli (b. 1975, Norway) began playing the accordion at the age of seven. As a child he played folk music but soon moved into different forms. Playing music by composers such as Pietr Fiala, Per Nørgård, Arne Nordheim as well as classical music, he swiftly developed exceptional instrumental skills alongside a deep understanding of new music. In his early years he won numerous national contests, raising interest in and appreciation of the accordion to unprecedented heights. Haltli studied at the Norwegian State Academy of Music, then at the Royal Danish Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, graduating in 2000. In 2001 the Norwegian Concert Institute named him Young Soloist Of The Year, he was also placed second in the International Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition 1999 in the Netherlands. Concerts throughout Europe as well as several other parts of the world, including the USA, Canada and Asia, raised awareness still further. Directing his career into explorations of new music, he became associated with like-minded musicians mainly in Europe where the development of adventurous forms has grown throughout recent years.

Haltli has established links with several composers, notably Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje who is one of several who have written especially for him; others include Bent Sørensen, Rolf Wallin, Atli Ingólfsson, Hans Abrahamsen, Jo Kondo and Sam Hayden. Haltli has a broad repertoire of contemporary classical works, including several concertos for the accordion, appearing with string orchestras such as the Trondheim Soloists, sinfoniettas and symphonic orchestras world wide. He has also cooperated with several string quartets, among them the Arditti String Quartet. His debut CD ‘Looking on Darkness’ was released on the prestiguos German record label ECM in 2002. It was very well received, Hilary Finch in the BBC Music Magazine wrote: ‘Still in his twenties, the young Norwegian accordionist Frode Haltli is clearly a performer of comparable gifts and imagination, whose astonishing virtuosity has inspired many Scandinavian composers. This debut solo presents five challenging new works which explore the furthest sonic regions of the instrument.’

In 2012 Haltli released ‘Arne Nordheim Complete Accordion Works’ (Simax Classics) to great critical acclaim. He has played regularely with the trio POING, alongside saxophonist Rolf-Erik Nystrøm and double bass player Håkon Thelin. They have commissioned more than 60 works from composers all over the world and recorded several albums. Since the release of the duo album “Yeraz” on ECM in 2008 Haltli has even toured regularly with saxophonist Trygve Seim. Frode Haltli has developed several transcultural music projects, in India, China, Japan, North Korea, Egypt. He has also played music rooted in Norwegian traditional music, notably with RUSK in which he is teamed with singer Unni Løvlid and violinist Vegar Vårdal.

On his 2007 recording ’Passing Images’ (ECM), Haltli is joined by trumpeter Arve Henriksen, viola player Garth Knox, and vocalist Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje, for a selection of lyrical explorations of folk themes couched in the form of contemporary improvised music. This theme and combination of old and new music is further developed in duo with Norwegian violinist Gjermund Larsen and in The Snowflake Trio with Irish flute player Nuala Kennedy and Norwegian fiddler Vegar Vårdal.

Frode Haltli teaches accordion at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.

Concert Program:

Hans Abrahamsen (b.1952)                Air
Magnar Åm (b. 1952)                          On the Banks of the Eternal Second
Arne Nordheim (1931-2010)              Flashing
Aldo Clementi (1925-2011)               Ein kleines …

Tickets are $20 ($18 for CMA members) and available online, at the Cleveland Museum of Art box office, and Transformer Station. Please be advised seating is very limited. 

About this City Stages Concert Series: 
Setting a standard for vanguard art, the Transformer Station also heralds a new space for adventurous music. This year marks the start of a series of intimate and (mostly) solo concerts presented by the Cleveland Museum of Art, featuring composed and improvised music by some of the most remarkable artists of our time. Virtuosic on every level.

This concert series is presented at:

The Transformer Station is a new contemporary art museum on Cleveland’s west side, owned by the Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Foundation. For six months a year, the Cleveland Museum of Art will present exhibitions with internationally recognized artists, using it as a creative laboratory.

For hours and other information, visit transformerstation.org.