The award-winning duo of Oda Voltersvik and Giulio Potenza grace the Norway Block to perform classic pieces for piano four hands. As a nod to their Norwegian and Italian backgrounds, Volt + Potenza will highlight legendary Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s time in Rome, including favorites from, In Autumn, Two Elegiac Melodies, and The Peer Gynt Suite.

Enjoy a gourmet Italian-inspired reception before the concert! Chef Francisco of ELMO Catering has created a special menu for this performance. Plus, we’ll take a moment to thank the Edvard Grieg Society of MN for their many years of excellent musical programming for Norway House’s members and patrons.

Read about Oda Voltersvik in The Norwegian American:

• Pianist Oda Voltersvik returns with “Nordic Unrest” (March 2023)

• Oda Voltersvik returns with “Nordic Unrest” (January 2023)

• Oda Voltersvik performs Grieg with panache (June 2022)

• “No art without blood from the heart!” (October 2019)

SOLD OUT: Reception tickets
Still available: Concert tickets

5:30pm Reception | Norway House
(SOLD OUT)
Menu by Chef Francisco
Cash Bar
Toast to EGSMN

7:00pm Concert | Mindekirken
(Available)

• VOLT + POTENZA

  The Volt + Potenza Duo is the first-prize winner of the Bradshaw + Buono International Piano Competition 2017. While studying at Trinity Laban Conservatory (London, 2015), pianists Giulio Potenza and Oda Voltersvik started a collaboration with the aim of developing their common interest in four hands and two pianos compositions. The duo has performed at several important venues and international festivals like Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall, New York), “Duettissimo” International Piano Duo Festival in Krakow, ”Palermo Classica” International Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Lofoten Chamber Music Festival (outside the festival season), Grieg Museum (Bergen), and St James's Piccadilly + St Martin in the Fields (London). Other concert series include “Music at Sandefjord Church” (MISK), Nyköping Chamber Music Society, Edinburgh Society of Musicians, Young Generation Artists’ Scheme at Powderham Castle, and Arcades Musiques Association, France. Their debut CD, "Khoreia" (Velut Luna Label, Italy, April 2016), which received great reviews internationally, includes some rarely executed pieces by J.C. Bach and Schumann and a commissioned work by contemporary Irish composer Philip Martin.

  Oda Voltersvik: www.odavoltersvik.com

  Giulio Potenza: www.giuliopotenza.net

• EDVARD GRIEG IN ROME

  “Grieg in Rome” is a program related to Edvard Grieg’s excursions to Rome, the first of which made a great impression on him artistically in 1865-1866. He wrote the orchestral work “In Autumn” during this trip, later transcribed for four hands. His meetings with Franz Liszt in 1869-1870 became a source of great encouragement for Grieg in his composing. Liszt praised Grieg`s piano concerto while Grieg was captivated by Liszt’s virtuosic playing. The year 1899 included performances of the well-known Peer Gynt Suites and more.

  As a tribute to its Norwegian-Italian cultural roots, the Volt + Potenza duo presents compositions for four hands related to Grieg’s presence in Rome and one of Franz Liszt`s thirteen symphonic poems, “Les Preludes.”

• PROGRAM

  (Subject to changes)

  E. GRIEG (1843-1907)
  In Autumn Overture, Op.11
  Composed in Rome 1866
  Arranged for piano four hands by the composer

  F. LISZT (1811 - 1886)
  Les Preludes
  1854—symphonic poem
  Arranged for piano four hands by the composer

  E. GRIEG (1843-1907)
  Two Elegiac Melodies, Op.34
  I. “Wounded Heart”
  II. “Last Spring”
  Performed in Rome in 1899
  Arranged for solo piano by the composer

  E. GRIEG (1843-1907)
  Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op. 46
  I. “Morning Mood”
  II. “Åse’s Death”
  III. “Anitra’s Dance”
  IV. “In the Hall of the Mountain King”
  Performed in Rome in 1899
  Arranged for piano four hands by the composer

  E. GRIEG (1843-1907)
  Norwegian Dances, Op.35
  III. Allegro moderato alla marcia
  IV. Allegro Molto

• PRAISE FOR VOLT+ POTENZA

  “I felt cosseted and highly entertained in their hands, not only with playing of the surest unison and harmony, but with the palpable joy and fun of their music-making(...) is as close as you’d wish to believe that one mind is controlling four hands. And again, there is an infectious brio and joie de vivre. (...) I would hope and expect to see perhaps a Wigmore Hall engagement in this duo’s future outings, they deserve every success.”
  —Des Hutchinson, MusicWeb International, May 2017.

  "Giulio Potenza and Oda Voltersvik have a great amalgam; the sound is always defined and mellow, and playing styles are well differentiated between the various periods. The finals are always very light, and the interpretative choices are never predictable. There is a nice pearly touch and perfect phrasing of trills that feature in Bach.”
  —Corriere Musicale, October 14, 2016. Translated from Italian.

  “... not only superb technically, as an ensemble, and in their perceptive approach to the music, but most notably in communicating their refreshingly youthful and infectious enthusiasm.”
  —George Pratt, Powderham Castle concert series, June 10, 2016.

  ”Giulio and Oda are two outstanding pianists with a very engaging approach to the instrument. The combination of their different personalities makes their piano duo very special as both characters emerge during their live performances, making them unique and memorable. Their debut album reflects the multitude of styles that this Duo is able to tackle with a deep understanding of the text and an engaging rendition of it.”
  —Gabriele Baldocci, pianist and professor at Trinity Laban Conservatory, January 2017.

  “Her collaboration with the equally gifted Italian pianist Giulio Potenza makes a very interesting piano duo—their performances are at a very high level, and I will hereby like to recommend any of their concerts or other artistic initiatives.”
  —Håvard Gimse, pianist and professor at Norwegian Academy of Music, December 2016.

• MENU

  Stuffed Mushrooms
  with spinach, gouda, and roasted red peppers

  Kabobs
  with olives, artichokes, peppers, and tomatoes

  Mini Bowls
  tomato basil soup

  Caprese Skewers
  seasoned fresh mozzarella with fresh basil, salt and pepper, and fresh tomatoes

  Crostini
  with bre, salami, ham, and cranberry sauce

  Meatballs
  Italian style

  Accompaniments
  Prosciutto, melon, and fresh basil

  Tiramisu
  Classic Italian cake