The start of the festival exceeded all expectations.

With a concert hall filled to the brim, this year’s opening performance was just as grand as we had hoped. A few hiccups at the start – involving seat allocation between ticket holders and course participants (who were a bit too quick to claim the best seats) – didn’t dampen the atmosphere; quite the opposite.

The musical program was both diverse and powerful, and according to Alexander Rybak, who performed a jazz number with Felix & Co, it’s all about building bridges between genres.

– It’s to show people that the distance between musical genres isn’t that great, he said in an interview with NRK.

Our artistic director, Alf Richard Kraggerud, summed it up like this:

– You don’t need any prior knowledge of classical or other music – music can strike straight to the heart, no matter which genre it comes from.

A Poetic Start in a Mirror-Like Landscape

But the festival actually began earlier in the day with Water Play at the beautiful Noraker Gårdet—places where the landscape itself participates: water, mountains, a low evening sun, and people gathered in calm and anticipation.

I approach the sea, yes, the sea,
where, far away, it rolls in tranquility and majesty...

Thus opens Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson’s poem The Sea—and with that very feeling of longing and movement we launched this year’s festival program. In Water Play, we sought something greater: a return to roots, a connection with nature, a journey into music.

Noraker is renowned for its rakfisk—a cultural expression shaped by nature and tradition. Much like chamber music, both demand respect, patience, and craftsmanship, and both offer something in return—nourishment, a sense of community, and an experience that lingers in the body long afterward.

First Night at the Castle

To round off the opening day, we invited our audience to Night at the Castle – I, set in entirely new surroundings: the castle in Lo, hosted by Norbert Kühn. With views over Strandefjorden and over 20 degrees in the evening air, guests were welcomed to an evening of calm, perspective, and powerful musical experiences. The red carpet was rolled out, and the host himself greeted the guests with open arms – and a brief tour of the estate.

Mozart and horn – performed by Sytske Pas together with a viola quartet. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata was interpreted by David Meier, and OPUS13 followed with a striking rendition of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden.

All in all, it was a musical journey we won’t soon forget.