Saariaho, Kaija - Remembering - Kullberg, Jakob

On his album Remembering, Danish cellist Jakob Kullberg continues his collaboration with two leading Nordic composers, Per Nørgård and Kaija Saariaho. Kullberg is internationally acclaimed for his performances of modern cello concertos, and he regards the concerto form as an encounter between the individual soloist and the composer's sound world. With living composers, this approach often leads to unusually extensive collaboration, as evidenced by the works collected here. Since 1999, Kullberg has enjoyed a close and unique partnership with Nørgård, which has resulted in a large number of works. The opening work on the album dates from an earlier period, but Nørgård's viola concerto Remembering Child, transposed for cello, is a good example of Kullberg's process. He has not only transposed the concerto for his own instruments, but has also – in consultation with the composer – written his own cadenzas and added details to the score. Similarly, halfway through Saariaho's concerto Notes on Light, Kullberg creates his own expressive space with a two-minute cadenza he composed himself. In this work, as in Nørgård's Between, Kullberg is accompanied by the BBC Philharmonic, and the final concerto features Sinfonia Varsovia.