Henrik Hellstenius is proud and happy to have been awarded TONO's composer prize during this year's Spellemann. He believes that prizes are extra important in contemporary music. – A prerequisite for people to listen to my music is that they know it exists.
/ 27/04/2022 / Kristian DugstadOn Friday afternoon, listeners to the radio program Klassisk vorspiel witnessed the live interview with Henrik Hellstenius being interrupted by sparkling cake torches.
The program host couple on NRK Klassisk, Per Sundnes and Frode Larsen, were able to announce with great enthusiasm that the composer has been awarded TONO's composer prize during Spellemann 2021.
– Thank you very much, now I feel a little moved, says the composer.
– Do you want a hug, asks Larsen.
– I would like a hug.
Hellstenius's compositional work spans a wide range, from opera, ballet and stage performances to electroacoustic works. In 2000 he received TONO's EDVARD Prize for the work Evening. And now he is one Spellemann richer, for "Henrik Hellstenius: Past & Presence".
The award-winning release consists of three works: As If The Law Is Everything, Still Panic and a recomposition of Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe. All performed by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.
- As If The Law Is Everything, is a kind of song cycle about the laws that people live by. Natural laws, legal laws, the law of love and so on. Tora Augestad is sung from different perspectives throughout the work. She is a judge, a thief, a murdered woman who was not protected, says Hellstenius.
The work was originally called praise, and was a commissioned work for the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra for the constitutional anniversary in 2014 – Then as a stage performance. The text by poet Øyvind Rimbereid has since been translated into English, and the work has been adapted.
Plata's latest work, Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe,is Hellstenius' recomposition of Schumann's famous works for voice and piano.
– I have turned around and developed the original works, and added my own material, to create a new look at these fantastic songs, he says.
He compares recomposition to the way a theater can modernize, rewrite, add and subtract when they stage classic plays by Ibsen or Shakespeare.
– As artists, we always stand on each other's shoulders. This is an ongoing work that all artists do, more or less clearly.
Together with the instrumental piece Stop Panic, with soloist Diego Lucchesi, these works constitute the winning entry in the category TONO Composer's Award – One of two awards under Spellemann for which TONO selects the jury and acts as guarantor.
The other is Copywriter of the Year, this year awarded Daniela reyes.
Henrik Hellstenius is both proud and happy to have been awarded the prize.
– This jury consisted of very competent composers. It is great to have been evaluated by equal women and men.
He also believes that this type of recognition can be especially important for those who are a little out of the media spotlight.
– What is important to me is to have my music performed and to be able to write new works. Then people have to listen. A prerequisite for that is that they know it exists. My genre is rarely mentioned in the mainstream media. In that sense, such awards are perhaps even more important in our sphere than for those who already receive a lot of attention.
Although Spellemann still clearly focuses on artists and record releases, several awards are now given out in categories that promote creators. In addition to TONO Composer's Award and the price for Copywriter of the Year, the categories are Songwriter of the Year og Producer of the Year.
During Spellemann 2021, Cashmere Cat was named Producer of the Year, and Marie Ulven, girl in red, received the award for Songwriter of the Year. The award in the category Copywriter of the Year was, as mentioned, awarded to Daniela Reyes.
However, when TONO became one of Spellemann's partners in 2008, the situation was different. At that time, none of the awards were given out based on who created the music.
As part of TONO's sponsorship agreement, three awards were therefore created: Lyricist of the Year, Contemporary Composer of the Year og Popular composer of the year.
Today, TONO still owns TONO Composer's Award og Copywriter of the YearTONO acts as guarantor for and appoints the jury for these.
