Folkbladet 100308
By: ANNA SKÖLDH
A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim
De Geer Hall Norrköping
Norrköping Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Anders Berglund
Soloists: Helen Sjöholm and Fredrik Lycke
REVIEW A truly magnificent celebration of song and text maker Stephen Sondheim, we, who spent Saturday night in De Geer Hall, got. (I think it would be better to have it like “We who spent Saturday night in De Geer Hall, got a truly magnificent celebration…” etc.) The statement came quite vocal, quickly and immediately in Sjöholm-Lycke’s first number, where they recited with their tongues right in the mouth of what was to come.
No grips added, nothing flattering, no, only indomitable lyrics and melodies that just need to come up, so I think Sondheim can be summarized. Because there are no simple predictable songs that he delivered, this giant who will soon celebrate the 80th birthday.
With Anders Berglund on the podium, we know that there will be quality; and that the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra knows how to do it, we know for sure. Helen Sjöholm and Fredrik Lycke sometimes are singing, sometimes talking to us in a delightfully unpretentious dramaturgy about Sondheim’s music.
Helen Sjöholm threw herself between the tender, quiet ballads and more raw songs. She finds a new voice to any genre, and it appeals to me. “What Can You Lose” from Dick Tracy fitted in extra well in her soft setting. “Not While I’m Around” from Sweeney Todd as well.
Fredrik Lycke is like getting his tunes from the floor, or perhaps in his own depths, and picks them up to the surface.
Really nice, it was in “Back to Business” from Dick Tracy where Berglund flanked the singers in a nicely organized trio. Fredrik sung “Being Alive” from Company neat and well-phrased and there was real shiver warning in “Send In The Clowns” from A Little Night Music, where the focus and presence appeared in every single syllable. Powerful!
Follies’ “Broadway Baby” got a real fast, almost jazzy setting.
Sure, it was in the duets it burned a little extra, not strange with that material. West Side Story with “One Hand, One Heart” was sung beautifully with the backdrop of Berglund’s powerful arrangement.
A thoroughly enjoyable evening of music worth living on.