Morten Qvenild is the winner of the 2016 EDVARD Prize in the Open Class category, for the album "Personal Piano". – I am incredibly happy and grateful for this prize, and am deeply moved by the jury's reasoning!, says Qvenild about winning.
/ 31/10/2016 / codexPHOTO: Janne Sievers
Qvenild was presented with the award on stage at Oslo Concert Hall on Saturday, October 29. Morten received the award on stage just before the concert "Trail of Souls" together with Knut Reiersrud, Solveig Slettahjell and the rest of In the Country. It was last year's winner in the same class, Valkyrien Allstars, who presented the award on behalf of the EDVARD jury. The award consists of a trophy by Bruno Oldani, a diploma and 50.000 kroner.
– I am incredibly happy and grateful for this award, and am deeply moved by the jury's reasoning! It is special to hear such things from colleagues at Kred! Furthermore, I would like to say that being part of the pedigree that has received the Edvard Prize makes me incredibly proud, says Qvenild, and says that the prize money on kr 50,000 is invested directly into the creation of new music: – The prize money has already been spent on a fancy microphone system for the grand piano. Good sound means inspiration and new songs!
«With the album Personal Piano, the concept of personal expression becomes inadequate. This is like musical DNA in album form. Personal Piano is the destruction of known genre barriers. Here, jazz, noise music, art music, electronica, pop, folk songs and indie rock are mixed in a unique way.
What should a piano be in 2015? Or what could it be, for me? That train of thought, that challenge, Qvenild has dedicated his last years to. The album is the result of three years as an art fellow at the Norwegian Academy of Music.
Morten Qvenild has explored the expanded tonal possibilities of the grand piano through the use of various forms of electronic manipulation, and has ended up with a "relaunch" of the instrument - where all the possibilities of the recording studio are available live.
The music is intensely personal. Electronics, samples, drum machines, synths and vocals create distorted landscapes. When virtuoso improvisations on acoustic piano are also allowed to take place, the spectrum is complete. Qvenild does something with us. It is deeply human and poignant. The distilled, deconstructed, intensely low-key and insistent expression is definitely original even though the references go in all directions.
As a composer and musician, Morten Qvenild has a keen ear for melodic music and an ever-present melancholy. He masters the balance between quirky and listener-friendly, with songs that speak to both the heart and the brain. The music is brewed on curiosity and the urge to create in combination with a solid nerd gene.
The album is disturbed and restless but suddenly loose and wind-skewed. There is unrest, but still no panic to be detected. The highlights come close, and it is a great experience to take part in Qvenild's musical diary.
The EDVARD Prize
The EDVARD Prize, named after Edvard Grieg, is a prize that TONO has awarded annually since 1998, and is awarded to composers and songwriters who have created musical works and lyrics of high artistic quality. With the prize, TONO wants to increase attention to Norwegian composers and lyricists, and to increase Norwegians' understanding of and knowledge of newly written Norwegian music. The prize winner's music or lyrics must have been premiered or published in the previous year. Emphasis is also placed on the composer's other production. See a overview of previous EDVARD winners here.
The 2016 EDVARD jury consisted of composers Nils Henrik Asheim (jury chairman), Arvid Wam Solvang, Claudia Scott, Rita Engedalen, Terese Birkeland Ulvo, and music publisher Jan Stefan Bengtsson.
For more information:
Janne Sievers, communications advisor at TONO, mobile 95760286, email: janne.sievers@tono.no