Category Archives: Blog

Other Works for String Orchestra reviews in Norwegian

photo by Marte Haltli Ukens anbefaling (Spellemann spesial): Maja S.K. Ratkje – Works for String Orchestra av Ola Nordahl 13.02.21, Musikkskriverier Det pågår noe så sjeldent som en liten estetisk debatt (eller krangel om du vil) i det norske samtidsmusikkmiljøet … Continue reading →

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Interview in TQ Zine

by Rory Carr, TQ38/39/40, a TUSK Virtual special triple issue, published Jan 2021 “It’s hard to keep up the mood and inspiration in these times, but it helps to keep myself busy with taking on unfinished tasks and being flexible … Continue reading →

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Corona lockdown concert for TUSK Festival 2020 reviewed in TQ Zine

by Rory Carr, TQ38/39/40, a TUSK Virtual special triple issue, published Jan 2021 “There’s a clichéd joke about watching live electronic music shows which says you might as well be watching someone read their emails. The physical gestures required to … Continue reading →

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Can music be “true”?

Text written for Nordic Music Days 2019. Festival theme is “truth”. How true is art? Should art be true? The answer lies already in the semantics! The word ‘art’, present in ‘artificial’, even so in Norwegian translation, ‘kunst’ in ‘kunstig’. Thank … Continue reading →

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Svar til Emil Bernhardts kritikk i Morgenbladet (NO)

Svar til Emil Bernhardts kritikk i Morgenbladet (link for abonnenter). Mitt sammendrag: Komponisten driver også med improvisasjon. Derfor viser verkene hennes stor idérikdom. Når de komponerte verkene hennes ikke fungerer, er det fordi den utemmede improviseringa tar overhånd. Når de … Continue reading →

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Works for String Orchestra reviewed by Dagens Nyheter (SE)

5/5 (…) I händerna på denna stråkorkester blir det en allvarsam lek där det destruktiva – verket är inspirerat av såväl myten om Atlantis, översvämningarna i Venedig och den rådande klimatkrisen – är en förutsätting för det konstruktiva. En mirakulös … Continue reading →

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Being for the Benefit of Kafé Hærverk!

Record link (on Bandcamp only) This compilation contains 8 hours of genuine never before released music from 64 contributers. Supporting Kafé Hærverk maintain a scene for experimental music in Oslo, it’s also a unique opportunity to dive into a small … Continue reading →

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Buddy til S. K. Ratkje! (NO)

photo: Norsk Jazzforum Intervju i NTT Det føles riktig at det ble utdelt to Buddy-priser i år – regelboka gikk jo på peisen for lenge siden – og jubelen i mange hjørner av musikken var stor da Maja S.K. Ratkje … Continue reading →

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Echo Chamber 3.0 reviewed by The Wire and The Free Jazz Collective

Julian Cowley, The Wire: Echochamber is all about what it means to have a voice, metaphorically as well as physically,” explains Maja Ratkje at the outset. Composing this intricate work she interviewed members of Trondheim Voices, and made exact transcriptions … Continue reading →

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Echo Chamber 3.0/Ekkokammer 3.0

Echo Chamber 3.0 is a concert performance for the ear, by Maja S. K. Ratkje written for Trondheim Voices in 2020. The piece is a continuation of Ekkokammer 2.0 which is a staged performance, premiered in 2015. The album is … Continue reading →

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Echo Chamber 3.0/Ekkokammer 3.0

2020; dur: 53′; Concert performance for the ear by Ratkje/Trondheim Voices Continue reading →

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JSK Corona Sessions #13

2020; dur: 11’20; Film by Jo Strømgren Continue reading →

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JSK Corona Sessions #1

2020; dur: 17′; Film by Jo Strømgren Continue reading →

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Svartskog 6. oktober 2020 (NO)

Plateselskapet Fabra lanserte 28. november 2020 en CD med to verk av Maja S. K. Ratkje, begge fremført av Trondheimsolistene ledet av Geir Inge Lotsberg. Komponisten bor landlig et par mil sør for Oslo. Der møtte jeg henne til et intervju … Continue reading →

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Svartskog, 6 October 2020

A new CD with works by Maja S. K. Ratkje: Pictures From a Sinking City and Tale of Lead and Frozen Light, written for string orchestra and performed by the Trondheim Soloists and their leader and artistic director, Geir Inge … Continue reading →

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Works for String Orchestra reviewed by Guy Rickards

Rarely has the notion of the collapse of everything we know been expressed so compellingly. Trondheim Solistene’s performances of both works are impeccable in their precision and musical understanding. They sound as if they have been playing both works for decades not a few years or, in the case of Pictures, weeks. Continue reading →

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Maja S. K. Ratkje: Works for String Orchestra

Pictures From a Sinking City was commissioned by the Trondheim Soloists, and had its world premiere in Trondheim on 30 January, 2020. Tale of Lead and Frozen Light exists in two versions: one for a string quartet, Tale of Lead … Continue reading →

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Koronaberetning 2020 (NO)

6. november 2020, rett før alt på nytt ble stengt ned og jeg ble permittert for første gang i mitt liv. En gang spurte folk hvor du var da Oddvar Brå brakk staven. Mange år senere, blant musikere, fikk askeskyen … Continue reading →

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Corona lockdown concert for TUSK Festival 2020

Still photo from concert film by Marte Ingeborg Haltli and Elias Habbestad Kjelsås. Composed and performed for TUSK Virtual 2020. Part 1 of 2. Maja S. K. Ratkje is using voice and live electronics (with software by Øyvind Brandtsegg). Link … Continue reading →

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SPUNK 25 år (NO)

photo by Kim Hiorthøy Guro Kleveland, Ballade.no 22.09.20 – Lasse Marhaug fikk tilgang til vårt arkiv og frie tøyler, forteller Maja S. K. Ratkje i SPUNK. – Det er jo så mye, og noe av det er ganske gammelt! Og … Continue reading →

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