Oda Voltersvik
Dr Sally Garden, “Grieg`s Piano Concerto (…) in fresh North Sea exhange”, Grieg Society of Scotland newsletter (June 2024):
“(…) From the first bright flourish of the piano to the warmth of the final tutti, this was a performance of polish, and Voltersvik’s cadenza, strongly delineated with alternating flashes of sunlight and rumbling thunder – worthy of Norway’s Hardangerfjord or Scotland’s Glencoe – was thrilling. That she possesses such command of changing musical weather (and Norwegian dance rhythms!) is perhaps no surprise, as Lofthus – for a time Grieg’s Hardanger creative retreat – is local terrain for Voltersvik. It was nature and music in one breath.”
“(…) a guest star with the talent to make a serious name for herself.(…) Most of us are aware now of Grieg’s north-east roots. (…) the Piano Concerto is an exquisite piece, from the glorious opening, through sweeping melodies and folkloric touches, to the suitably climactic finale. And it’s a 30-minute spectacle to which guest pianist, Norwegian Oda Voltersvik, did more than justice, in front of an appreciative Music Hall crowd. An international prize-winning product of the Royal College of Music in London, Bergen-based Voltersvik is spending much of this year touring the US. Having her on the Steinway was a real coup for Aberdeen City Orchestra, the Music Hall, and the city.And in an unadvertised bonus, she also performed a short Sibelius piece. Just in case anyone was in any doubt of her talent. We weren’t.(…)»
Bill Halverson, expert on Edvard Grieg (author, translator and lecturer) on recital "Nordic Unrest", Minneapolis (March 2023):
"I want to thank you for your outstanding performance at Mindekirken on Friday. “Nordic Unrest” is a timely theme, and your selection of music to express this theme was brilliant. I hope you know from the applause and standing ovations you received that the skill and artistry with which you performed these pieces was deeply appreciated by the large audience that turned out to hear you on a cold winter day in Minnesota. I was glad to see a composition by Geirr Tveitt on your program. He is not well known in the States but I find his music endlessly fascinating. Thank you also for introducing me—and, I suspect, everyone else who attended your concert—to the Icelandic composer Atli Sveinsson. (...) I want to especially commend you, however, for your performance of the Ballade in G Minor. I have heard this piece played professionally many times, and your performance compares favorably with the best of them. I was waiting for that dramatic E-flat near the end of the piece. I actually timed it. You held us in suspense for nine full seconds before resolving it to a quiet D. That was thrilling."
“Kraftfull og lyrisk uro”, Harstadtidende, Kanebogen Kirke (June 2023):
«(…) Det var ein arist som verkelig var verdt å høyre på! (…) det namnet bør ein merke seg, for ho er ein ung artist med store musikalske og tekniske kvalitetar. Ho gjennomførte et krevjande program med stor kraft og musikalsk innsikt i så vel tradisjonelt klassisk repertoar som i eit moderne og nyare musikkuttrykk. (…) Alt fra første stykket “Agitato” merka vi pianistens gode grep om dei dramatiske kontrastana med ei stor spennvidde i dynamikk og musikalske rørsler. Likeins kunne vi glede oss over den poetiske “Til våren” der også dramatikken og uroen låg under, medan rein og vár naturinntrykk kjem fram i “Aften på høyfjellet”. Utsøkt pedalbruk! Avdelinga vart avslutta med den teknisk krevjande “Hvite Seil” med flagrande etydiske figurasjonar som minner om Liszt. Den nordiske uroen vart vidare malt ut med Atli Heimir Sveinssons notepenn.(…) Klangflate, serialisme, atonalitet, preparert piano med meir. Dette hadde Voltersvik eit godt grep om og formidla eit begripeleg innhald. Den store og kjenslelada «Ballade i g moll» er rekna som eit av Griegs viktigaste verk. Her er det komponistens eigen uro som er skildra. Det er eit særdeles krevjande teknisk og musikalsk verk og Oda Voltersvik gav oss ei formidabel kraftfull tolkning.”
Lori Ann Reinhall, the Norwegian American «Oda Voltersvik performs Grieg with Panache (May 2022):
« (…) the audience was awestruck. (…) With each note, it was all there for me: waterfalls rushing down the mountains in the first movement, peaceful green meadows of the slower second movement, the running of trolls and supernatural forces in the third movement (…). There were many spellbinding moments to bring the audience to a standing ovation»."
Grimstad Adresse Tidende, Dag G. Aasland: “Ildfull klaverkonsert“ (February 2018):
"(…) Flygelet og pianisten besto med glans, og vi får bare håpe at Oda Voltersvik igjen kan slå seg ned i denne byen for en liten stund og rive oss ut av døsen.”
Holly Harris, The Free Press, “NEO” review (May 2022):
“(...) immediately displays her sensitive artistry in Scriabin’s Fantasie in B Minor, Op. 28, with expansive sweeps across her keyboard. Voltersvik shows a natural affinity for the artist’s (Prokofiev`s) spiky music (..) performed with crisp attack fuelled by driving ostinato figures. She also demonstrates her ability to turn on a dime to instil more playfulness into several transitional sections that provide welcome sonic relief, with the Andante movement showing her more expressive side. Shostakovich’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61 further displays her technical prowess, first heard in its opening Allegretto. Its Largo central movement showcases her eloquent phrasing and carefully nuanced tonal palette before leading to its plaintive Moderato con moto."
Trond Erikson, at klassiskcd.blogspot.com (Sept. 2022):
"Oda Voltersvik is a skilled pianist who gives colour the musical landscape. The record "Neo" is a small dive into the Russian/Ukrainian musical sphere with Scriabin, Shostakovich, Gubaidulina and Prokofiev. Here we meet a wide spectrum of exciting music - written in the period 1900-1963 (...) Dmitri Shostakovich is represented with his sonata op.61 from 1943 - and here we plunge straight into the horrors of war - musically speaking. The sonata one of my favourites and Oda Voltersvik makes an excellent presentation of this work. Oda Voltersvik presents four great works. She is faithful to the composers' intentions and brings out both musical insight and a virtuosity that is excellent. The pianist has definitely made a good selection of music - both in terms of the timeline and a musical diversity within the relatively short period in which the music was written.
Ola Nordal, ballade.no (January 2023):
«Oda Voltersvik is one of Norway's many hard-working freelance pianists. She has been house pianist at Troldhaugen, won a number of competitions and played at several prestigious venues. The big breakthrough may not have come yet, but Neo testifies that she is a musician we want to see more of in the future.(…) Neo is an independent artistic project in which she asks: what is Russian piano music after Tchaikovsky? And what does she find? Yes, a line from Aleksandr Scriabin, via Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich to Sofia Gubaidulina. It is rather rare that Gubaidulina is framed together with these guys, since she is often treated either together with other Eastern European composers from her generation (for example Alfred Schnittke or Arvo Pärt) or other female composers. Voltersvik should therefore be congratulated for having seen a connection that I had previously overlooked. Because it is Gubaidulina's Chaconne (1962) that is my favorite on the album. This is an intricate work, where the baroque chaconne and fugue meet a modernist tonal language and a suppressed spirituality (the work was written at the height of Soviet atheism). In Voltersvik's hands, Chaconne becomes a sacred, pompous and magnificent work.»
Martin Anderson, Klassiskmusikk.com (Feb 2019):
“Hats off to Oda Voltersvik for such well-considered programme for her debut recording as a solo pianist: both familiar and unfamiliar names, and unfamiliar music from the familiar names, too – a pity that better-known musicians don’t manifest the same degree of imagination in their choice of repertoire. If Voltersvik’s selection was also intended to show off her technique, too, it has firmly ticked that box, too: she maintains clarity in the busiest of passages, and also knows how to project the warmth of the bass line without losing its focus – a sign that her feet are as intelligent as her fingers. (...) Guido Agosti’s transcription of three dances from The Firebird (...) I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she uses this piece to bring the house down at her concerts – it’s a cliché to say that all Russian music evokes bells at some point, but Voltersvik really makes the rafters ring in the final Firebird dance. (...) A most auspicious start to a recording career that promises much for the future – and already delivers generously here."
"Giulio Potenza and Oda Voltersvik have a great amalgam, the sound is always defined and mellow, and playing styles are well differentiated between the various periods. The finals are always very light, and the interpretative choices never predictable. There is a nice pearly touch and perfect phrasing of trills that feature in Bach."
Review of the CD `Khoreia` by the renowned Italian musical magazine "Corriere Musicale" (2016)
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"...I felt cosseted and highly entertained in their hands, not only with playing of the surest unison and harmony, but with the palpable joy and fun of their music-making...I wish them every success"
Review of the CD `Khoreia`, Des Hutchinson, Musicweb-international.com (May 2017)
Marla Fogderud, President of the Edvard Grieg Society of the Dakotas (December 2023):
“Since March of 2022 Oda has twice been a guest of the Edvard Grieg of the Dakotas (EGSOD) for several concerts in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota, all of which were met with the highest possible enthusiasm. Oda Hjertine’s expertly chosen repertoire was presented in such a way that audiences of all ages were drawn into her technical and artistic skills. After her initial concert in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Dr. Kenneth Boulton, Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Northern State University had this to say following her concert at Jewett Hall: “I found Oda to be a captivating artist and impressive scholar. (…) Oda’s humble temperament belies a dynamic technique and passionate approach to her art”. Her programs are unique in their balance of familiar and innovative repertoire, and her technical and interpretive mastery continually delights and stuns audiences. Music lovers of any background benefits from her exciting performances and insightful explanations of their musical origin (…) an artist and ambassador well worthy of support.”
Dr. Christopher Stanichar, Director of Aberdeen University/Civic Symphony & Worthington Area Symphony Orchestra (December 2023):
“(…) a world-class pianist (…) She wowed our audiences with her tremendous playing of Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Her expert and stunning performance received an immediate standing ovation. Truly, she is an excellent ambassador for her country and cultural traditions (…) Our professional musicians were dazzled by her musical prowess, ease, and virtuosity. She is a collaborator and makes everything work so naturally as we make music. She is very clear in her directions in rehearsals (…) My breath was taken away by the vastness of her repertoire and the intense emotion she brings into every piece. Oda possesses the excellent quality of artistry that makes a long-lasting impact on musicians and audience members (…)”
Seymour Adams, secretary, on recital for Oban Music Society (October 2021):
"This letter is to confirm your marvellous recital for Oban Music Society on Sunday 10th October in St John’s Cathedral Oban at 15:00. Your performance of Shostakovitch’s second sonata was particularly well received, but the whole concert was most memorable. We hope you will return to Oban soon, hopefully as part of a wider tour of chamber music venues in Scotland!”
Beryl Foster, chairman of The Grieg Society of Great Britain, 2019: “It was a great pleasure to hear Oda Voltersvik. Her wide-ranging and expertly performed programme was much admired.”
Marios Papadopoulos, MBE music director of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra (2015 & 2017):
“A pianist with great sensitivity and lovely tone” “ She has the touch to render the orchestral textures vividly and the technique to tackle the ferociously difficult piano writing with ease".
Niel Immelman, Piano Professor, Royal College of Music London (2017): “She is an excellent pianist and musician”
Gabriele Baldocci, Pianist and Piano Professor, Trinity Laban Conservatory, London (2015):
“A musician with a wonderful control of the instrument and innate sense of the music.”
Simon Kirkbride, director Edvard Grieg Kor (EGK) (March 2017): "Her performances are always original, and bring unique colour and interpretation to her chosen works. EGK would like to recommend her, not only as an artist of the highest level, but also as a trusted and generous colleague.”
Menahem Pressler, Masterclass during Oxford International Piano Festival, on Chopin Ballade no 2 in F minor, Op.38 (August 2014): “Either there is a very good pianist or a very good musician, you show you are both here.”
Powderham Castle Series, George Pratt (June 2016):
“She presented the Variations with superb aplomb and a dazzling technique in the more virtuosic movements (…) Oda and Giulio were not only superb technically, as an ensemble, and in their perceptive approach to the music, but most notably in communicating their refreshingly youthful and infectious enthusiasm.”