Norwegian violinist Mari Samuelsen has mostly been featured in duo material with her cellist brother, Håkon. He's present here, but Mari gets solo billing on Nordic Noir. Those looking for something to listen to while reading about the exploits of Lisbeth Salander may be disappointed; the music on the album, originating anywhere from Iceland to Estonia, is in a common vein running between pure minimalism and the unadorned film music style of, say, Michael Nyman. It's mostly restrained in hue, but not somber, with just a few explosions of strong emotion: you might call it Nordic Gris. The program is, however, novel in several ways. First is the nature of the solo role: Samuelsen asks how a solo violinist can make an album of this repertory, and her answer is stimulating and convincing: she chooses works with solo violin parts of various sizes and seems to emerge periodically from the textures laid down by the Trondheim Soloists. All the playing is at a very high level. The second novelty is the music played, much of which will be unfamiliar to audiences outside Scandinavia. There's a haunting, sparse Arvo Pärt work, Darf ich, that's not among his more frequently programmed pieces, and throughout is music that carries strong extramusical associations and creates them with the most economical of means. A rewarding listen, even if only intermittently noir.
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