As the title intimates, "Last Spring" is a revisiting of spring. It is not an exulting, whirling awakening, but a sustained, minimalistic meditation, oriented strongly towards the details, the variance of the melodies, the breadth and beauty of the sound. It is based on the most perfect interaction possible: Wesseltoft's soft piano daubs melt like wax into the pizzicato melodies that Kraggerud entices out of his 1744 Guarneri violin, his Harald Lund viola and his unique six-stringed viola Concorda.
Every ACT Album has it´s own story. Schloss Elmau plays a role in many. This magnificent hotel at the foot of the Bavarien Alps, far removed from everyday life and constantly flooded with culture, has inspired a number of outstanding artists from Gidon Kremer and Brad Mehldau to Esbjörn Svensson. Moreover in recent times several award-winning albums by ACT artists such as Joachim Kühn and Michael Wollny, Gwilym Simcock and Dieter Ilg have been recorded at this unique place. This time it was the launch pad for a new and surprising collaboration, simultaneously building a bridge between Classical and Jazz, and helping many people revisit and resume a long-awaited success story.In early 2011, label owner Siggi Loch attended a concert by the Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud at Schloss Elmau. Afterwards, the two of them got talking, an...
line upBugge Wesseltoft / piano
Henning Kraggerud / violin, viola & viola concorda
Recorded by Jan Eric Kongshaug, Nov. 22 & 23, 2011 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, Norway
Mixed and mastered by Jan Eric Kongshaug
Produced by Siggi Loch
Henning Kraggerud plays a 1744 Guarneri Del Gesu violin owned by Dextra Musica (company owned by Sparebankstiftelsen DNB NOR)
on track 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13 & 14; a viola by Harald Lund on track 3, 6, 9, 11, 12 & 16; and a viola Concorda (with 6 strings) custom built as only instrument in the world by Ariane Becker on track 1, 4 & 15
Cover art: “Constable II” by Raimer Jochims, 1999 - 2000
