1B1 Ensemble
Grieg and Saariaho meet the effervescent string ensemble 1B1.

For the string players in the Stavanger-based ensemble 1B1, the love of playing and passion for music always come first. Since the ensemble's inception in 2008 they have won a Spelemannspris (the Norwegian Grammy Award), entered the international music scene, and performed with great artists and composers including Arvo Pärt, Benjamin Schmid, Steve Reich and Lars Anders Tomter.

Artistic director and founder Jan Bjøranger claims that the ensemble works and thinks more like a rock band. The members play from memory, and communication and artistic expression trump perfectionism every time. This approach is audible: the ensemble has developed a tight, vibrant sound with a strong rhythmic drive.

In the 2017 Bergen International Festival you can experience 1B1 in a variety of venues. This concert includes their rendering of Kaija Saariaho's Terra Memoria and Edvard Grieg's Holberg Suite, the theme of their recording Holberg Variations, for which they received the 2014Spelemannspris.

'This is how music should be performed and experienced today.' – cellist Clemens Hagen

1B1 Ensemble
Jan Bjøranger conductor

EDVARD GRIEG (1843–1907)
Two melodies, op. 53
1. Norwegian
2. The first meeting

KAIJA SAARIAHO (1952–)
Terra Memoria (string orchestra version)

EDVARD GRIEG (1843–1907)
Holberg Suite, op. 40

Return transport included: 
Departure from Strandkaien (Tourist information/Food Hall) at 17:00;
Return from Troldhaugen at 19:30

Supported by The Savings Bank Foundation DNB – Dextra, the Anders Sveaas Charitable Foundation, FINNO, the Norwegian-Finnish Cultural Fund, the Sibelius Society of Norway.