Lofoten Cathedral
After borrowing the Lofoten Kulturhus concert grand piano for two years, suddenly something was missing in the Lofoten Cathedral. The Lofoten International Chamber Music Festival 2009 was also held for the first time without concerts in the Lofoten Cathedral. This was not liked in Kabelvåg.
STEINWAY & SON'S MODEL D, 2010
A faithful audience member for the festival - Elisabeth Mowinckel from Bergen - with roots in Kabelvåg - took the first initiative. In January 2010, she contacted Knut Kirkesæther with a desire to start a fundraising campaign. Kirkesæther thought the time was not ripe as there had been several grand piano cases recently. However, Mrs Mowinckel did not let herself be stopped so easily.
ENGAGED FIRE SOULS AT THE FRONT
Elisabeth Mowinckel herself contacted the leader of the parish council, Nan Andersen at the time. She presented the case and was herself willing to put in a considerable amount as start-up capital. Andersen then called Knut Kirkesæther to find out how much a suitable concert grand piano in the Lofoten Cathedral would cost. For a church with space for over 1,200 people, it was without a doubt the most relevant with Steinway & Son's largest model D. This then cost around 1 million. Nan Andersen was completely silent for a few seconds, before she said: OK!
After 2 weeks, late on a Friday evening, Nan Andersen contacted Knut Kirkesæther again. She was then at dinner with the local branch of Sparebank 1 Nord-Norge in Kabelvåg. The bank celebrated its 150th anniversary and had handed over a check for 500,000 to the concert grand piano in the Lofoten Cathedral.
SPEED ON THE MATTERS
The rest of the money was raised at a furious pace. After just one month of fundraising, a new Steinway & Sons model D for the Lofoten Cathedral. During the festival itself - on 10 July to be precise - it was the married couple Ami and Pascal Rogé who had the honor of inaugurating the grand piano in the then newly renovated Lofoten Cathedral. The concert was recorded for NRK P2.
Recordings at the concert grand piano in the Lofoten Cathedral:
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Marianne Beate Kielland and Nils Anders Mortensen: "Früh" (2012), songs by Schönberg, Berg and Webern
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Marianne Beate Kielland and Nils Anders Mortensen: "Sæle Jolekveld" (2012), with more.
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Marianne Beate Kielland and Nils Anders Mortensen: "Grieg" (2013), songs by Garborg, Vinje and Grieg.