a-ha will be the main attraction at Hydro's Centennial Festival in Oslo's Frogner Park, when the internationally renowned Norwegian trio will premiere music from their forthcoming album for the people of Oslo who will gather to celebrate Hydro's Centennial on Saturday 27 August.
The public will also have the opportunity of hearing Howard Shore’s film score for 'Lord of the Rings', played by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra with Sissel Kyrkjebø as soloist. This will be the first performance of the score in the Nordic region. An international art project, reflecting Hydro’s activities throughout the world, will also feature among the attractions at Frogner Park.
One week later, on Saturday 3 September, the people of Bergen will be invited to an outdoor celebration of Hydro’s Centennial. Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra with Sissel Kyrkjebø will again perform The Lord of the Rings, while well-known Bergen artistes will provide further entertainment. The park events in Oslo and Bergen are just two of several hundred big and small Hydro Centennial celebrations worldwide.
Art and culture have been important elements throughout the company’s history and they also feature prominently in our current activities for society at large. We are grateful to the municipalities of Oslo and Bergen for enabling Hydro to share such fantastic music with our own employees and the local inhabitants of the two cities where most of our people in Norway are located," says Hydro President and CEO Eivind Reiten.
a-ha will hold a concert in Cologne on 29 October as part of Hydro’s Centennial celebrations in Germany. The Cologne concert will also mark the start of a-ha’s European tour.
The outdoor events in Oslo and Bergen will be further distinguished by an international art project. Hydro has engaged leading Norwegian and international photographers to give artistic expression to the idea of "viability", the major theme of Hydro’s Centennial year. The photographers have visited 20 Hydro plants and offices, taking pictures following discussions with employees about the company’s vision and values. Among the participating photographers are Jenny Marie Rydhagen, Shimon Attie, Anton Corbijn, Dag Alveng and Guri Dahl.
In addition, Hydro has sponsored the Norwegian State Theatre’s production of a play about Hydro’s founders, Sam Eyde and Kristian Birkeland. The play, written by Arthur Johansen, will be preformed in some 50 Norwegian towns during the autumn. All of Hydro’s Norwegian plant locations will be visited by the touring State Theatre, with the premiere taking place at Notodden on 16 September.
Also during the autumn, the result of the extensive Hydro history project will be presented. Hydro has made available funds for leading historians from the University of Oslo and the Norwegian School of Management to study Hydro’s 100-year history, which will be published in three volumes by Pax Forlag.
Visit Hydro's Centennial website
| www.centennial.hydro.com |