Trondheim Symphony Orchestra Records Kleiberg’s Music of Memory and Identity
A long-standing artistic partnership continues on Across the Ocean towards a Higher Firmament, a new album of music by Norwegian composer Ståle Kleiberg. The Trondheim Symphony Orchestra performs under Peter Szilvay, presenting a programme that places a major recent symphony alongside two earlier orchestral works. LAWO Classics will issue the recording digitally on August 28, 2026, followed by a CD release in January 2028.
The orchestra’s relationship with the central work began with its commission of Kleiberg’s Symphony No. 3. Szilvay conducted the premiere in April 2025, and the same conductor now leads the ensemble on this recording. Subtitled Across the Ocean towards a Higher Firmament, the symphony addresses Norwegian emigration to North America during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Written in connection with Norway’s National Jubilee 2030 and its 2025 emphasis on migration and identity, the symphony unfolds across three movements. Its opening, marked “Espressivo e rubato. Andante,” leads into a second movement headed “Tranquillo. Drammatico. Misterioso.” The finale, “Maestoso. Quasi corale,” brings the journey to a hymn-like conclusion, completing an emotional trajectory that moves through yearning and drama.
The recording opens with Lamento – Cissi Klein in memoriam, followed by The Town and its People. Composed in 2001 and 2022 respectively, these pieces extend the programme beyond the symphony’s migration theme. The memorial work, the portrait suggested by The Town and its People, and the expansive historical subject of the Third Symphony bring distinct perspectives to an album rooted in Kleiberg’s warmly expressive orchestral language.