Since 2011, the three young musicians Mathias Susaas Halvorsen (Piano), Magnus Boye Hansen (Violin), and Steven Walter (Cello) of the Olsen Trio have developed this concert program performed in absolute darkness.
On Sept. 22, at 6:30 p.m., Deutsches Haus at NYU presents a concert with the Olsen Trio, which consists of Susaas Halvorsen (piano), Magnus Boye Hansen (violin) and Steven Walter (violincello), who let their beautiful sound resonate in a dimly lit room, thus resulting in the ominously titled Dark Concert. The performance at Deutsches Haus will include works by Sergey Rachmaninoff, Arvo Pärt, Johann Sebastian Bach, and David Geppert.
Since 2011, the three young musicians Mathias Susaas Halvorsen (Piano), Magnus Boye Hansen (Violin), and Steven Walter (Cello) of the Olsen Trio have developed this concert program performed in absolute darkness. They have performed to great public and critical acclaim in Scandinavia and Germany, amongst others at the renowned Musikfest Stuttgart and the Düsseldorf Festival. The extreme musical accuracy and flexibility required of the ensemble in performing in absolute darkness has resulted in diverse and engaging formats performed in other environments as well.
Mathias Susaas Halvorsen, an acclaimed pianist, studied with Professor Jiri Hlinka at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo and with Professor Gerald Fauth at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig. During Susaas Halvorsens’ time at the Barratt Due Institute, he performed several times as a soloist with the schools’ orchestra in pieces such as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Poulenc’s concerto for two pianos and Schostakovich piano concerto no. 1. In 2009, he re -discovered and performed piano concert No. 5 by the Norwegian composer Halfdan Cleve in Vilnius with the Lithuania State Symphony and conductor Gintaras Rinkevicius. In 2008, Susaas Halvorsen founded the Podium festival in Hauges with Guro Pettersen. The festival was held for the seventh time in July 2014. Recently, he has performed in places such as Radialsystem in Berlin, St. John Smith Square, Ernst Deutsch Theater, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Hamburg Schauspielhaus, and Oslo Konserthus and collaborated with artists such as Laurent Chétouane and Peaches. He has also performed at several international festivals including Klara Festival in Brussels, Yoko Ono’s Meltdown, Brighton Festival, and PODIUM Festival in Esslingen.
Magnus Hansen, a Norwegian violinist studied at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo and the Universität der Künste in Berlin. He is a sought after musician and has thus had the opportunity to play at numerous festivals and tours. Some tours include tours in Europe and the USA with The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra with concerts in Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall. Magnus Boye Hansen regularly plays at festivals including Risør Chamber Music Festival and Podium festivals in Norway, Germany, and Iceland. Orchestras Magnus Boye Hansen plays regularly with the Tromsø Chamber Orchestra, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and Ensemble Allegria, an ensemble he also is a founding member of. He is an active chamber musician with a particular love for music that is rarely played. He has this experience because of numerous concerts in the festivals associated with the Podium network. Soloist Experience includes several concerts with Alfred Schnittke, Concerto Grosso No 1, Oslo Camerata, and Stephan Barratt Due.
Steven Walter is a cultural entrepreneur and a performing cellist currently based in Berlin and Stuttgart, Germany. Born in 1986 and raised near Stuttgart, Steven Walter was early to discover his passion for classical music. He started playing the cello at the age of 8 and soon began performing with various ensembles. After graduating, Steven Walter studied the cello in Oslo and Detmold. He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at many venues in Europe and throughout Scandinavia, and has received invitations to several international festivals, for example the International Chamber Music Festival, Egersund International Chamber Music Festival, Podium Festival Iceland, Idyllwild Festival, Markgräfler Herbst, and Podiumfestivalen Haugesund. He is a member of the International Mahler Orchestra as well as the founding member of the Badische Kammerphilharmonie. In addition to his performance career, Steven Walter is a very engaged cultural entrepreneur and manager. He has founded and currently is the artistic and managing director of the PODIUM Festival Esslingen (Germany), a very successful innovative European chamber music festival. In recognition of his work as an innovative music promoter he has received a prestigious ECHO Klassik Award in 2010 and nomination to Cultural Manager of the Year 2011.
Events at Deutsches Haus are free of charge. If you would like to attend this event, please send us an email to deutscheshaus.rsvp@nyu.edu. Space at Deutsches Haus (42 Washington Mews, at University Pl., New York, N.Y.) is limited, please arrive ten minutes prior to the event.