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Mari Samuelsen

Life

Deutsche Grammophon
Release Date: August 23, 2024

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1 Jo´hansson_The Theory of Everything_Cambridge 1963 (Arr_ Knoth for Solo Violin & Ensemble)  
2 Belli_Sapias  
3 Frahm_Hammers (Arr_ Knoth for Solo Violin, Piano, Strings & Electronics)  
4 Einaudi_DNA (Arr_ Knoth for Piano Quintet)  
5 Laginha_Coisas da Terra  
6 Dessner_Aheym  
7 Schubert_Piano Quintet in A Major, D_ 667 Trout Quintet_IV_ Theme – Andantino Vars_ 1-5 – Allegretto  
8 Rani_Glass (Arr_ Knoth for Solo Violin, Piano & Strings)  
9 Richter_She Remembers (From The Leftovers)  
10 Reich_Duet  
11 Dessner_Song for Octave (Arr_ Badzura for Solo Violin, Piano & Electronics)  
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Rich in contemporary colour and contrast, LIFE – Mari Samuelsen’s third album for Deutsche Grammophon – is inspired by her experience of becoming a mother. She will give the world premiere of Sapiasramming as well as her passionate and virtuosic playing, the Norwegian violinist has created a kaleidoscopic musical reflection of some of the emotional discoveries that come with parenthood. The album presents music by Olivia Belli, Bryce Dessner, Ludovico Einaudi, Nils Frahm, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Mário Laginha, Hania Rani, Max Richter and Steve Reich, with a dash of Schubert also thrown into the mix. Samuelsen was joined at Teldex Studios in Berlin last autumn by a small group of fellow musicians, including the string players of Scoring Berlin, conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer. LIFE  is out now digitally and on vinyl.

The initial idea for LIFE came to Mari Samuelsen around the time her first child was born, and she recorded the album while pregnant with her second. Welcoming new life into the world has inevitably brought an additional dimension to her own existence. “Having a child takes away layers of artifice,” she explains. “Getting to know a tiny new human being is fantastic; seeing their reactions to everything: how they start to communicate, how they react to surprises, to light, to smiles – for the very first time in their life. I wanted to put a sound to that: love, happiness, curiosity…”

The album begins with Cambridge, 1963 from Jóhann Jóhannsson’s soundtrack to The Theory of Everything (arranged for solo violin and ensemble by Max Knoth). Having children, Samuelsen says, has been an eye-opening  experience: “it’s like seeing the light for the first time, and that’s what Jóhannsson’s piece is to me”.

Olivia Belli’s similarly uplifting Sapias was written specifically for LIFE, the result of long discussions between violinist and composer. “I wanted to create the sound of an embrace, and I think Olivia captured that beautifully,” notes Samuelsen. She will give the world premiere of Sapias (and perform other works from the new album) with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra at the National Concert Hall in Dublin on 16 August 2024.

  • Max Richter's 'Vivaldi - The Four Seasons Recomposed' feat: Mari Samuelsen, delights Dublin audience / bachtrack
    Posted At: August 18, 2024 12:00 AM
    From bachtrack…..The sold-out audience at the National Concert Hall on Friday came for Max Richter's Recomposed: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons , performed by the Norwegian violinist Mari Samuelsen , leading the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. They got, as a bonus, 45 minutes more of music in the same vein.Michael Roddy writes…….To say that this was a filmic evening is to state the blindingly obvious. Samuelsen, in prog...
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  • Mari is almost like sound therapy / Violinist.com
    Posted At: June 14, 2019 12:00 AM

    At the emotional heart of the album is Bach's Chaconne in D minor, whose serenity Samuelsen has chosen to counter with the nervous agitation of "Knee Play 2" from Philip Glass's "Einstein on the Beach." The rest of the program grew organically from the seeds of Bach and Glass, tracing themes of change and renewal, from the increasingly complex variations of the Chaconne to the expansive melodic developme...
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  • Mari Samuelsen signs to Deutsche Grammophon / theStrad
    Posted At: January 15, 2019 12:00 AM

    The Norwegian violinist Mari Samuelsen has signed an exclusive agreement with Deutsche Grammophon. Her first single, Max Richter's ‘November', was released on Friday to coincide with the ARTE broadcast of her performance at Beijing's Forbidden City in October, as part of the DG 120 celebrations. Samuelsen's debut DG album, which will be released in early summer 2019, was recorded with the Konze...
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