VIDEO
Two months ago, in March 2023, my colleague and great Peruvian clarinetist Marco Antonio Mazzini showed me his latest video where he played a piece for alto clarinet and piano that I didn't know at all. It was "Ordner Seg", also named in English "It'll be alright", by the Norwegian tuba virtuoso and composer Øystein Baadsvik. Ordner Seg's original instrumentation is for tuba and piano duet. Marco Antonio used in his video the excellent backing track of the pianist Rena Hashimoto. Listening to the piece caused me a feeling that was difficult to describe, since in addition to be really beautiful, I could not sort out it into a precise musical style. Academic or pop music? I would say that it is more of a crossover, that is, a work that combines different musical genres. I immediately sent Marco a message to congratulate him on his beautiful video, and told him that I liked the piece so much that I wanted to play it. So he very generously prepared and sent me a transcription for Bb clarinet and piano. This transcription was the one I used in my video that you can see above, also with the pianist Rena Hashimoto. Who is Øystein Baadsvik, the composer of "Ordner Seg"?
Øystein Baadsvik was born in Trondheim, Norway, in 1966. He is a tuba soloist, chamber musician, teacher, conductor, composer and arranger recognized worldwide for his quality as a musician and for his originality. Øystein Baadsvik is voted one of the top ten brass players in history by the listeners on Classic FM. He did the first TED talk on the topic tuba and is one of the most popular classical musicians on YouTube with more than six million views. His multi-faceted musical career as a soloist and recording artist has taken him all over the world. He regularly gives masterclasses and clinics at major universities worldwide. About his piece Ordner Seg, the author wrote these words:
“In Trondheim, where I live, the sun is absent for much of the winter. One day in February I was in my kitchen cooking when the sun was coming through the window for the first time that year. Along with the sun a simple and peaceful melody appeared, like a gift, ready to be orchestrated”.