Trond Reinholdtsen Theory of the Subject (WP)
The Oslo Philharmonic
Cathrine Winnes – conductor
Ellen Ugelvik – piano
In the past, the piano concerto has often been themed around the individual soloist and his or her relation to the masses (the orchestra). Trond Reinholdtsen’s new piano concerto – entitled Theory Of the Subject – challenges this structure in the context of an era in which, in the composer’s view, ‘the rise of individualism grants everyone the status of a soloist, and the collective has become a utopia’.
The soloist’s role fluctuates between Maoist activism, depressive exhaustion (seen in a live video feed from the performer’s dressing room), resignation in the face of new technologies (represented by a player-piano that surpasses the soloist in mechanical virtuosity), and the total isolation from the public (retreating into a kind of shelter underneath the piano).
In collaboration with the Oslo Philharmonic.
