On March 17 the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor Andris Poga present the world premiere of Stride by Rolf Wallin, a celebration of moving forward and working together.
The starting point for the 10-minute concert opener was the simple act of walking to clear the mind. ‘[It] has been a great therapy for me’, writes the Norwegian composer. ‘Just sheer positive energy, the feeling of moving joyfully forwards on foot or skis through a snowy forest, or simply walking up the street to meet a good friend’. As its title suggests, the piece is characterized by a sense of constant forward movement which steadily accumulates, culminating in a thrilling rhythmic climax for the full orchestra.
Stride was commissioned by Stavanger Symphony Orchestra with funding from the Norwegian Composers’ Fund.
Read more about Stride
About Rolf Wallin
Norwegian composer Rolf Wallin’s musical background spans from jazz, avantgarde rock and early music to traditional classical training, and this versatility is reflected in an exceptionally many-faceted list of compositions. Stonewave, one of his most popular and frequently performed pieces, is made purely from fractal mathematics, but far from being abstract, Wallin’s music comes across as very physical and organic. Other works connect directly with the world around him, most notably in works such as Act (2004), a celebration of the power of cooperation, Strange News (2007), which tells the story of the rehabilitation of child soldiers, and Large Bird Mask (2019), posing important ethical and philosophical questions around the accelerating extinction of birds. His opera Elysium (2016) brings together topics such as human rights, revolution, salvation and transhumanism.
