Café de Concert

 

 

Today - Café de Concert has become the atelier and concert gallery of the young and multitalented pianist and composer Aksel Kolstad. It took him 10 years to brand this concept and turn it into one of the most original and innovating classical concepts in the world. Here´s the story behind...... The Idea The origin and still driving force behind Café de Concert is to present classical music to a larger audience. The genre has by no means the same appeal as pop, rock or jazz. Creating a more relaxed atmosphere, and not to forget Kolstad´s magical ability to present classical music with humor and showmanship, it all results in a more intimate and fun concert format than the traditional solemn style. The idea that classical music can once again become popular music, the way it once was, is the motivation behind the concept Café de Concert. Classical concerts at cafés – Café de Concert recruits musicians, both students and professionals, to play classical music for the people. The goal is to stimulate as well as strengthen everyone’s interest in classical music. The level of musicianship is high, and with a relaxed, positive atmosphere, between the pieces, it is possible to have a cup of coffee, have something to eat or perhaps talk with the person sitting beside you. Café de Concert is an arena for all creative arts. In addition to musical performances, there are regular arts exhibitions and ballet/modern dance performances directed by CdC.  

Concert on a bridge in Fredrikstad


Last saturday Kolstad wanted to get a little attention about the upcoming Café de Concert-festival in Fredrikstad. I guess he managed just that.... Together with violinist and concert meister of Fredrikstad Chamber Orchestra, Jonas Båtstrand, Kolstad made Beethoven sound all over Fredrikstad from the pedestrian bridge down town.







Young talents at NCC



Last sunday Café de Concert had a season opening at its Nordic Chamber Music Center (Elingaard manor in Fredriktad, Norway). This time we invited young musicians which all were prize winners in the previous national competition for young, classical musicians in Norway. Pianists Eirik Haug Stømner and Christoffer Behn Stensrud, saxofonist Elise Setterberg and flutist Kristin Hammerseth all gave an outstanding performance for a very impressed crowd at the manor. The thing that impressed the most, however, was how these young musicians verbally entertained the audience with great skills! Café de Concert likes this very much! Keep on stayin´cool, youngsters, you are our laid back future!



Season Opening in New York



Caffe Vivaldi,New York, was once again crowded with an amazing audience while the music of Mozart, Bach, and Haydn filled the room with passion. On stage were Curtis Stewart and Jessie Montgomery on violins, NIck Revel on viola and Amanda Gookin playing cello. Joshua Rubin, on clarinet, joined as a guest and made this Saturday night feel very special. Even the people walking outside on the street could not help to stop and look through the windows while the music sang through the keyhole. It was such an amazing and successful concert that managed to bring back classical music to the people of New York once again. Thank you all for coming, c u next time:) Bravo Café de Concert New York-team for produceing your first series in the big apple!





CdC´s Health-program / yoga



Hello, everybody:)

My name is Elizabeth Lyseng, and like most yoga teachers I'm a fan of communicating the value of yoga to as many people as possible. I have a bit of the same relationship to classical yoga as “force of nature” Aksel Kolstad has to classical music: a strong desire to bring it home to people. The tradition that I practice and teach is classical yoga, which is a direct continuation of Swami Satyananda’s understanding of yoga.

Aksel has invited me to write a monthly post on CDC’s blog, with a particular focus on yoga for musicians, and I am very happy to accept! Yoga is a far-reaching topic, and, of course, yoga is for everyone! The way yoga is being portrayed in today’s media, it may seem a little daunting for some. However yoga does not prescribe a certain style of clothing, or what a yogi should or should not practice. Yoga is about taking care of one's body and mind, based on each person’s own experience and the understanding gained through the practice of yoga. Yoga is an ancient science of the body, deriving from a traditional Eastern philosophy where taking care of the whole body is at the core. With the whole body is meant that the physical body is not seen as separate from the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of man. From this holistic viewpoint, an imbalance in the mental, emotional or prana related areas (prana being the energy currents in the body) can manifest as stress in the physical body's weakest organ, or other physically weak areas in the muscles and skeleton. In this first presentation I have chosen to give a general idea of the scope and potential of yoga based on some important truths:

Physical exercise strengthens your body and releases tension
Breathing exercises focus the mind
Relaxation techniques calm the mind and body
Mantras and recitations calm the emotions
Meditation balances the soul



Yoga gives you a stronger and more supple body, increases your ability to concentrate and strengthens your mind. Asanas (physical exercises) and Pranayama (breathing exercises) provide specific stimuli and effects on the organs, joints and muscles. Through relaxation and meditation you can release tension and bad energy, providing more room for reflection, and energy to cope with stressful situations.

Breathing (Pranayama) is one of the most vital processes in the body. The breath affects the activity of every cell in the body, and most important of all, breath has an intimate connection with the activity in the brain. Many people use only a limited portion of their lung capacity. Through Pranayama exercises you can become aware of the full potential of your breathing, and how to use your breath.

Meditation has a surprisingly positive impact on the functions of the body. Through meditation you can get a stronger and more flexible body, which many people believe can only be achieved through strenuous physical exercises. By sitting still in deep concentration over an extended period, energy is focused in the body and mind. Meanwhile, joints and muscles all the way in to the skeleton are strengthened when the body is kept in one position over time. Meditation gives mental power and strength to the mind, so that your body relaxes, lets go of muscle tension, and uses less energy on holding itself up. Through regular meditation practice you will be able to meditate for longer and longer periods without effort.
Relaxation may be practiced in short or long sessions. Through relaxation your body achieves a state that balances between wakefulness and sleep. In this state the skeleton and muscles are invited to accept the favours of gravity and release the body’s full weight onto the floor. Thereby the body lets go of all tensions and quickly achieves a rested state. At the same time the mind releases unnecessary tension, is "reset", and receives a renewal of energy. Relaxation can be practiced anywhere from 5 -10 minutes up to an hour or longer, with immediate effect on the body and mind. Through regular relaxation practice with a yoga teacher you can learn to master shorter sessions of relaxation for self-practice.



Don´t hesitate to contact me for further information. My contact info can be found on the Café de Concert website.
All the best, Elizabeth Lyseng

Unforgettable concert at Nano, Tallin



Despite the fact that the football semifinals between Spain and Germany was going on at the same time as the concert, over 100 people found their way to the wonderful backyard of Nano - and stayed long in to the night after the concert as well.
Kristina, Levi-Danel and Aksel got tons of bravo and bravissimo´s after their last spitfire-pice by Schubert.
Tradition has been made, Nano is Café de Concert´s summer residence in Tallin! Looking forward to see you all there next time!





First Café de Concert-concert in Tallin



Our producers in Estonia, Pille Lille Music Foundation, chose "Museum" - one of several wonderful venues of the Estonian company the "Sparkling Group" - as our first pick. And MAN, was that a success! The event coordinator Helen Löhmus made sure of a full house, and already after the first half the musicians were going on and off the stage several times due to the very enthusiastic audience. On the program was Mozart, Beethoven, Grieg and Schubert. Kristina Kriit and Levi-Danel Mägila totally kicked ass playng with sparkling eyes, which made the "Sparkling Group" glitter in the audience. And once Aksel saw the concert was beeing flimed, well - you know unstoppable Aksel;)





CdC´s Health-program / training



Artistic Director Aksel Kolstad (photo) is very proud to present his very good friend from from his childhood neighbourhood
as Café de Concerts personal trainer in the concepts new health program for musicians. Sondre Bjerke is a fitness instructor and has won several prestigious medals for his great skills and muscle performance

-

Hello all people of advanced musical creation,

My name is Sondre. Almost everyone who talks english calls me Sondra, a female name. I am a man, 33years of age, like to fish, but almost never get the time....oh well...you can read more about that in my profile on the Café de Concert website.



I have worked as a personal trainer for a while now and have many ideas on how to help musicians to a better performing physique. I can almost see now that many of you reading this have a ? over your head. Musicians and physical development are closely correlated, as hairdressers or truckdrivers. We all need a physique that can handle what we want to do. I hate to break it to you, but here goes: No, your body will not develop ideally to what you do even if you do it a lot. When a body for several hours a week is exposed to sitting in front of a piano, holding a violin with one arm and a chin, holding a piccoloflute to the side and so on, it will develop muscle tension and sore muscles.
Muscle tension, muscle soreness and shortening of muscles will in time bring pain and in worst case, injury.

I know you love your instrument. I know you love to play on it many hours a day. I admire and eny you for haveing such a passion about music, buit please listen to me, because my passion is exercise and nutrition. I love to explain and teach other people how they can avoid injuries and muscle soreness. I love to talk about training and how to get results in every level. It doesn't matter how great you physique is, it is all about where you are and where you are going. I will help you along the way starting today! Every month I will come up with the exercise and the stretch of the month.

This months exercise: Seated row with rubberband


Purpose: strengthening and conditioning the muscles in your upper back and rear deltoids(shoulders)
How:
1) Fasten the rubberband under your feet in front of you sitting with straight legs. Point yuor toes slightly away from you.
2) Hold the handles firmly in front of you and pull your arms out to the side like on the drawing.
3) Hold for a brief second then calmly bring your arms forward again.

How much: 2 series and 12-20 repetitions (you should feel a light burning sensation in your muscles)
How often: 2-3 times pr week. Not the same day as important concerts as you may feel fatigue in your upper back before the concert is over.

Don´t hesitate to contact me for further information. My contact info can be found on the Café de Concert website.

Yours truly in the name of fitness and health
Sondre

Out door concert at the Nordic Chambermusic Center



On June 3rd the "Quartet on the corner" played a light and refreshing out door concert in the corner of Elingaard manor!
National television (NRK) was also there to capture the many magical moments from the concert, as for exemple when Haydn´s "Bird-quartet" obviously inspired a little local bird to dance for us, up above the audience.







Garden and house-concert at Aksel´s place



Stand up comedy with Aksel Kolstad on "Russians" and Fred Uno Huvenes on "Arabic litterature", Russian Gipsy songs by Solfrid Molland, Shumann Gershin/Kolstad by Aksel Kolstad, Benjamin Britten´s solo suite for cello by Ingvild Nesdal Sandnes and a little encore by Farué... and THEN the party began... Check out our mediacenter for more photos https://www.cafedeconcert.no/mediacenter

















Full house at Caffe Vivaldi






We performed at the legendary Caffe Vivaldi again yesterday night with a full house of crazy Norwegians and local customers.
Aksel was on fire, super inspired by the wonderful musicians Jessie Montgommery and Amanda Gookin. These two gifted musicians seduced the audience in a way Café de Concert has never seen! And the best part is that they are super cool too!!
A lot of projects in the US will involve these two in the future, and Café de Concert will actually be bringing them to Fredrikstad Café de Concert festival in Norway already this September! Watch out Norway, here comes two funky musicians!!



Great party after the concert...



PS: And guess who showed up, guys - the superfamous Norwegian comedian Sturla Berg Joannsen!! :)

Café de Concert YouTube Channel

The history of Café de Concert

Café de Concert began a few days before the 19th of June 2003 when Aksel Kolstad together with a colleague performed live on Midt i Musikken, a classical music program on NRK radio P2. During the program, the trial concert was announced, to be held at Kastanjen restaurant on Bygdøy Allé in Oslo.
Read more...

Visit the old Café de Concert media centre HERE

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