Stavanger Kammermusikk Festival

A chamber of treats

TEXT: LISA MARIA BERG | PHOTOS © PETER ADAMIK

Stavanger Kammermusikkfestival (Stavanger Chamber Music Festival) is, this August, once again transforming Stavanger and its adjoining towns into a mecca of classical music.

“The art is at the centre of what we do. We book musicians that could be playing at ours one week and then heading to Carnegie Hall the next,” says managing director Katrine Lilleland. It is only January, but Lilleland is, together with the artistic team, already planning for summer. They have a solid track record in putting together a top-quality festival. When chamber doors open in August, it will be for the 29th time.

It is a deep love for classical music that has earned Stavanger Kammermusikkfestival its international reputation. “We want to bring the very best of national and international talent to Stavanger, delivering a programme of high standards,” Lilleland explains. The Grammy nominated Choirs of Trinity Church Wall Street and New York Polyphony have both visited earlier festivals. This year, there is a particular focus on Nordic artists, and Det Norske Solistkor, made up of some of the leading voices in the country, will find its way to Stavanger in August.

The festival has not held back in its choice of venues and has, throughout the years, come to really spoil its loyal audience. Stavanger Domkirke (Stavanger Cathedral) is the festival’s flagship venue, with its 11th-century walls and central location – it is basically at the heart of the town – providing a concert hall with an atmosphere that could not be more fitting for classical music. What it lacks in raked seating and the ability to do a curtain call, the church more than makes up for in sheer ambiance.

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