“Catch Light” is a portrait of the outstanding violinist Peter Herresthal, and features performances of four new violin concertos specially written for him. The title track is composed by Nils Henrik Asheim, whilst the other works are by Gisle Kverndokk, Henrik Hellstenius and Jon Øivind Ness. Also featured on the disc are the Oslo and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestras, the BIT20 ensemble, and the percussionist Peter Kates.
Norwegian violinist Peter Herresthal was born in 1970 and is recognised as a brilliant and inspired performer of contemporary music for violin. He enjoys a close relationship with Denmark's leading composer Per Nørgård. Peter has also given the Norwegian and Spanish premieres of Thomas Adès’ violin concerto Concentric Paths, and its Australian premiere at the Melbourne Festival with the composer conducting. Peter Herresthal is professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music Oslo and visiting professor at The Royal College of Music, London. He will curate a concert series at the Bergen Festival from 2011 to 2014.
Although all are contemporary pieces, the four violin concertos on this new CD are very different in character. In every one of them Peter Herresthal has been directly involved in the creational process, and in this way different aspects of his unique qualities as a musician are reflected in each work.
