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The Norwegian accordionist, Lena Rist-Larsen, began to play the accordion at the age of 3. She distinguished herself during her childhood years as an exceptional musical talent, and has since attracted attention nationally and abroad. She has won international competitions in Klingenthal, Gothenburg and Copenhagen, as well as national contests. In 1995 she was awarded the Honda prize for her performance of Baroque music.
Lena Rist-Larsen feels a particular kinship with the music of the first half of the 18th century, and has pioneered this music on her instrument. In the spring of 1996 she held an acclaimed debut concert in Olso, consisting exclusively of the music of J.S. Bach and all his 4 composer sons. In addition, contemporary music makes up a major part of her repertoire. She has premiered several new works for accordion in a chamber setting, as well as for accordion and orchestra. She also plays the violin and is a sought-after pedagogue on both instruments.
Lena Rist-Larsen plays on a Zero-Sette accordion with complete and independent manuals, tailor-made for both contemporary and Baroque music. Particularly the latter with its demand for timbral coherence is especially suited for the instrument, whose registration was chosen like that of an organ. It is furthermore an important objective for her to execute the music of Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) as faithfully to the original score as possible - it has therefore not been "arranged" for the accordion beyond the demands to accommodate the music to the range of the instrument. In other words, it is J.S. Bach's unfalsified score we are hearing, not a modified or modernised version. |
