Peter Grimes, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Gardner, RFH review - more instrumental than vocal intensity

★★★★ PETER GRIMES, BERGEN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, RFH Superlative playing and conducting, some fine singing, but the protagonist is a bit peaky

Superlative playing and conducting, some fine singing, but the protagonist is a bit peaky

"Sadler's Wells! Any more for Peter Grimes, the sadistic fisherman?," a cheery bus conductor is alleged to have called out around the time of this towering masterpiece's premiere in 1945. The side of a "Grimes bus" today would probably proclaim over Britten and the work itself the "brand" of two stalwart perfomers - conductor Edward Gardner and leading protagonist Stuart Skelton, dominant forces of the opera over the last ten years.

Shadows, Coronet Theatre review - talking heads in the void

★★★ SHADOWS, CORONET THEATRE Jon Fosse's talking heads in the void

Multimedia haunting from Norwegian company De Utvalgte in Jon Fosse's theatre-poem

In a flowering branch of London theatre, Norway comes to Notting Hill with what's becoming revelatory regularity, thanks to the cultural support of that admirable country. Two visionary-searing Ibsen productions are now joined by an off-piste piece of performance art from the techno-innovative Oslo-based company De Utvalgte.

Hubro 10th-Anniversary Concert, The Spice of Life review – boundary pushing Norwegian label marks its birthday

Building Instrument, Bushman’s Revenge and the Erlend Apneseth Trio celebrate their imprint’s first decade

A fiddle projects upwards from between Erlend Apneseth’s knees. Seated, he holds another in his right hand facing-off the instruments against each other. He’s plucking both, the pizzicato pitter-patter suggesting water drops on a bell or a koto. On the other side of the stage, guitarist Stephan Meidell is looping the sound, treating it to form a wash akin to that of a waterfall. In between, percussionist Øyvind Hegg-Lunde is behind a drum kit rattling and scraping what looks like a cheese grater attached to some allen keys.

Andsnes, Oslo Philharmonic, Petrenko, Barbican review – polish and passion

★★★★★ ANDSNES, OSLO PHILHARMONIC, PETRENKO, BARBICAN Polish and passion

A centenary showcase for one of Europe's greatest orchestras

The Oslo Philharmonic finished its centenary tour of Europe at the Barbican last night with ample proof that it consistently delivers one of the continent’s most well-rounded, and richly satisfying, orchestral sounds. The Norwegians’ modern history may date to 1919, but their stellar reputation only emerged in the 1980s. Then Mariss Jansons, just like Simon Rattle over in Birmingham, shaped a supposedly “provincial” outfit into a regiment of world-beaters.

Phoenix review - Norwegian family tragedy with an autobiographical slant

Mesmerising child performers but Camilla Strøm Henriksen's debut doesn't quite deliver

“You’re so meticulous,” says Astrid (Maria Bonnevie) to her teenage daughter Jill (impressive newcomer Yvla Bjørkaas Thedin) as they create a batik artwork together at the kitchen table. Little son Bo (Casper Falck-Løvås) looks on as he munches a jam sandwich. A happy domestic scene? Anything but. “Meticulous” isn’t even really a compliment, coming from this chaotic, mentally fragile mother.

CD: Jenny Hval - The Practice of Love

Genre-busting Norwegian co-opts trance music to examine the impacts of ageing

On a first pass, The Practice of Love seems to be an electropop album in thrall to trance music’s tropes: the synth wash, repeated musical phrases, a whooshy programmed percussive pulse, an otherworldly atmosphere. But the lyrics invite further inspection. On the first track “Lions”, a narrator invites the listener to look at grass and trees, ants on the ground, flowers, mushrooms.

CD: Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity - To Whom Buys a Record

★★★★ GARD NILSSEN ACOUSTIC UNITY - TO WHOM BUYS A RECORD Energised yet structured reconfiguration on free jazz archetypes

Energised yet structured reconfiguration of free jazz archetypes

To Whom Buys a Record roams through 12 crisply recorded pieces confirming that jazz which isn’t shy of acknowledging its heritage can still have an edge. Though structured and tight, each composition is defined by an attack positing this as an unmediated music: not so much improvisation, but still free-flowing.

Blu-ray: Lords of Chaos

★★★ LORDS OF CHAOS Unpleasant yet humorous account of heavy metal's darkest true story

Jonas Åkerlund's bloody, unpleasant, yet sometimes humorous account of heavy metal's darkest true story

“All this evil and dark crap was supposed to be fun,” complains exasperated Norwegian black metal overlord Euronymous, played by Rory Culkin, as his world spirals out of control in a cataclysm of murder, suicide and church burnings. The true events that inspired Lords of Chaos are some of the most bizarre and twisted in the history of popular music. Fun they are not. Freakish, depressing and horrific, certainly.