Recordings
Oslo Kammerakademi released their CD recordings under LAWO Classics. Click on the photos to listen to the recordings on Spotify, or click "read more" for more information on Lawo's webpage.
Chanson et Danses (2021)
Music From the French Golden Age
One hundred and forty years ago, flutist, composer, educator, and conductor Paul Taffanel wanted to bring the winds into the musical spotlight. He believed that French wind players, who had become leaders in the field, didn’t quite get the recognition they deserved. He thus founded a chamber music organization for winds – Société de musique de chambre pour instruments á vents – whose objective was to spread and promote chamber music repertoire for these very winds.
The press took note of Taffanel’s project and the magazine La Revue et Gazette de Paris described the ensemble’s raison d’être in the following way after its premiere on 6 February 1879: “A group of artists has just met with the commendable goal of making chamber music for wind instruments better known, something we have far too much neglected at our concerts.” Taffanel took the classic octet as his starting point, the orchestration that had given rise to the Harmonie music of Mozart and Beethoven’s time, but the society also aimed to profile soloists and bring new French and foreign works to light. A selection of these works is represented on this album.
Mozart / Danzi / Beethoven for Piano and Winds (2019)
A Harmoniemusik Anniversary
During their first 10 years, the Oslo Chamber Academy has released a number of acclaimed recordings on the LAWO Classics label, and in this, their anniversary year – along with pianist Christian Ihle Hadland – offer some extra special treats for piano and winds!
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"[...] My pleasure from this recital was unabated and is a real joy from start to finish. I will be exploring the recordings from these musicians and look forward to future issues. This is a splendid set and although, as you will see, there is fierce competition, I would certainly want to add it to my shelves; the Danzi is a pleasing discovery." Musicweb International, 04/2020
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"[...] The Kammerakademi are all soloists or orchestral principals and field modern instruments with the exception of Steinar Granmo Nilsen’s natural horn. This unwieldy creature is the real revelation of the recording: its ability to chide and console in equal measure adds a piquant edge to the corporate ensemble sound. Among some beautifully turned phrasing, its disruptive qualities add to the pleasure of this finely played disc." Gramophone Magazine, 04/2020
Mozart for Wind Octet (2017)
Oslo Chamber Academy plays Mozart!
Woodwind music (Harmoniemusik) was in fashion. Musicians played at table and in the private gatherings both with the emperor in Vienna and with other royals and nobles throughout central Europe. Harmonimusikk could be heard in parks and gardens and on streets and beaches. Mozart seized this opportunity to enchant Vienna in brilliant fashion way. No one had quite the lyrical gift when writing for windplayers as Mozart.
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„Mozarts Werke für Bläseroktett werden von der Oslo Kammerakademi so zupackend und knackig gespielt, dass keine Wünsche offen bleiben … Insgesamt hat die Oslo Kammerakademi unter Leitung des Oboisten David Friedemann Strunck mit dieser Aufnahme im Vergleich zu anderen Ensembles die Nase weit vorn.“ klassik.com 01/2018
Leipzig! (2014)
Music from the finest hour for wind octet!
All musical roads led to Leipzig! The majority of composers associated with what today is called Norway’s musical golden age travelled to Leipzig to study. Both Edvard Grieg and Johan Svendsen studied with the legendary composer, conductor, and pianist Carl Reinecke. The Dane Emil Hartmann was also in Leipzig for a brief period of study.
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"Delight is the watchword throughout this engaging programme, superbly played by the Oslo ensemble. The group's playing shows a beguiling lightness of touch with no less of gravity where it's needed... Superb sound." Gramophone 09/14
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„Die fabelhafte Osloer Kammerakademi... hat sich mit Verve und Enthusiasmus in diese hochromantische Musik gestürzt … Wieder vermitteln uns die prächtigen norwegischen Bläser einen ganzen Klangkosmos nordischen Gefühlüberschwangs, gebändigt durch strenge Formen deutscher Kompositionskunst, wie sie sich in Reineckes Oktett .. in vollendeter Weise ebenso anmutig wie bezwingend erleben lässt.“ Das Rohrblatt 4/2014
The Silk Road (2023)
The Silk Road
The Silk Road features four works. Two of them are by 19th-century composers who were fascinated by the music of North Africa and the Middle East: Camille Saint-Saëns’ work for military band, Orient et occident (1869), and André Caplet’s three-movement Suite Persane (1900). The release also contains two works commissioned by Oslo Kammerakademi: the story of The Last Days of Sultan Selim III (2011) retold in music by Turkish composer Mert Karabey, and the album’s title work, Gisle Kverndokk’s suite The Silk Road (2017), inspired by music that might have been encountered along a trade route between Venice and China.
Chanson et Danses (2021)
Music From the French Golden Age
One hundred and forty years ago, flutist, composer, educator, and conductor Paul Taffanel wanted to bring the winds into the musical spotlight. He believed that French wind players, who had become leaders in the field, didn’t quite get the recognition they deserved. He thus founded a chamber music organization for winds – Société de musique de chambre pour instruments á vents – whose objective was to spread and promote chamber music repertoire for these very winds.
The press took note of Taffanel’s project and the magazine La Revue et Gazette de Paris described the ensemble’s raison d’être in the following way after its premiere on 6 February 1879: “A group of artists has just met with the commendable goal of making chamber music for wind instruments better known, something we have far too much neglected at our concerts.” Taffanel took the classic octet as his starting point, the orchestration that had given rise to the Harmonie music of Mozart and Beethoven’s time, but the society also aimed to profile soloists and bring new French and foreign works to light. A selection of these works is represented on this album.
Mozart / Danzi / Beethoven for Piano and Winds (2019)
A Harmoniemusik Anniversary
During their first 10 years, the Oslo Chamber Academy has released a number of acclaimed recordings on the LAWO Classics label, and in this, their anniversary year – along with pianist Christian Ihle Hadland – offer some extra special treats for piano and winds!
​
"[...] My pleasure from this recital was unabated and is a real joy from start to finish. I will be exploring the recordings from these musicians and look forward to future issues. This is a splendid set and although, as you will see, there is fierce competition, I would certainly want to add it to my shelves; the Danzi is a pleasing discovery." Musicweb International, 04/2020
​
"[...] The Kammerakademi are all soloists or orchestral principals and field modern instruments with the exception of Steinar Granmo Nilsen’s natural horn. This unwieldy creature is the real revelation of the recording: its ability to chide and console in equal measure adds a piquant edge to the corporate ensemble sound. Among some beautifully turned phrasing, its disruptive qualities add to the pleasure of this finely played disc." Gramophone Magazine, 04/2020
Mozart for Wind Octet (2017)
Oslo Chamber Academy plays Mozart!
Woodwind music (Harmoniemusik) was in fashion. Musicians played at table and in the private gatherings both with the emperor in Vienna and with other royals and nobles throughout central Europe. Harmonimusikk could be heard in parks and gardens and on streets and beaches. Mozart seized this opportunity to enchant Vienna in brilliant fashion way. No one had quite the lyrical gift when writing for windplayers as Mozart.
​
„Mozarts Werke für Bläseroktett werden von der Oslo Kammerakademi so zupackend und knackig gespielt, dass keine Wünsche offen bleiben … Insgesamt hat die Oslo Kammerakademi unter Leitung des Oboisten David Friedemann Strunck mit dieser Aufnahme im Vergleich zu anderen Ensembles die Nase weit vorn.“ klassik.com 01/2018
the first beauty (2015)
Harmonie music of our own time
These works for wind octet by Klein, Kvandal and Yun are regarded as cornerstones of the recent literature, and they rest on a common aesthetic and ethical foundation, together with the newly composed wind octet by Magnar Åm. It is interesting to note that the works of all the composers featured here have ties to origins, whether specifically in relationship to this genre of music, or in a more spiritual-philosophical sense.
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“Like all the works here, it is given a superb performance by Oslo Kammerakademi. All these instrumentalists are of the highest quality, and it is particularly remarkable that they are directed in this very complex music not by a conductor, but by the ensemble's artistic director … This is a superbly performed and produced programme, which, though challenging, is ultimately impressive and rewarding.” Musicweb international 02/2016
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«Oslo Chamber Academy is an excellent ensemble; they play with conviction at all times. Strong readings of challenging works.» American Record Guide
Beethoven for Wind Octet (2012)
From sumptuous Harmony and Table music to the Symphonic!
Oslo Chamber Academy presents on its debut CD chamber music by Beethoven for wind octet. This repertoire ranges from the “Storm and Stress” compositions of the young Beethoven to the mature Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7 transcribed for wind octet with double bass.
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"Stylish, surprising and sensational." - Musicweb International.
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"Det låter så klart, velformet og inspirert at det hele må kalles en begivenhet!" - Emil Bernhard, Morgenbladet.
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"Et festvyrkeri av en CD [...] en ørevekker av de sjeldne. Virkelig en av årets vinnere" - Kjell Hillveg, Dagsavisen
