Featuring: Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Peter Szilvay
Label: LAWO Classics
Catalogue No.: LWC1490
Release: out now (digital), January 2028 (physical)
Format: Digital & CD

Norwegian composer Ståle Kleiberg presents a moving orchestral portrait with Across the Ocean towards a Higher Firmament, a new album recorded with his long-standing artistic partners, the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Peter Szilvay.

At the heart of the album is Kleiberg’s Symphony No. 3, Across the Ocean towards a Higher Firmament, commissioned by the orchestra and premiered under Szilvay in April 2025. Written in connection with Norway’s National Jubilee 2030, with 2025 dedicated to migration and identity, the symphony explores the great wave of Norwegian emigration to North America during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Across three movements, the work follows an emotional journey from yearning through drama to a hymn-like conclusion, reflecting the experiences of those who left Norway in search of a new life across the ocean.

The album opens with Lamento – Cissi Klein in memoriam (2001), a tender tribute to a young Jewish girl from Trondheim who was killed during the Second World War. The piece forms part of Kleiberg’s trilogy addressing Nazi persecution, alongside his Requiem and cello concerto Dopo.

It is followed by The Town and its People (2022), completing a musical journey that moves from the intimate to the epic.

Kleiberg is one of Norway’s most accomplished living composers and has developed a distinctive, warmly expressive musical language. His large-scale works, including Requiem – for the Victims of Nazi Persecution and David and Bathsheba, have received widespread international acclaim.

He is also Professor Emeritus of Music at NTNU in Trondheim.

Tracklist

  1. Lamento – Cissi Klein in memoriam — 13:25
  2. The Town and its People — 10:38
  3. Across the Ocean towards a Higher Firmament – Symphony No. 3: I. Espressivo e rubato. Andante — 11:53
  4. Across the Ocean towards a Higher Firmament – Symphony No. 3: II. Tranquillo. Drammatico. Misterioso — 12:27
  5. Across the Ocean towards a Higher Firmament – Symphony No. 3: III. Maestoso. Quasi corale — 08:23

Follow Ståle Kleiberg;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kleibergstale

Website: https://www.stalekleiberg.no
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/stalekleiberg