The Ultima Festival in Oslo takes place from 11 to 20 September 2025, with more than 50 events across multiple venues. This year’s programme includes works by Henrik Hellstenius, Eivind Buene, Ellen Reid and John Cage
A new version of Buene’s Mahler Mixtape will be performed on September 12 as part of the concert "Liquid Room XII: A Perfect Life" at The Norwegian Opera & Ballet. The concert is structured as a continuous performance and includes contributions from Ictus Ensemble, POING, Contrechamps, soprano Nina Guo, Buene, and Tarek Halaby.
On September 13, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra will perform Reid’s West Coast Sky Eternal at Sentralen, conducted by Pekka Kuusisto. The work was orginally commissioned by Gustavo Dudamel for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Reid has described the work as a study in perspective, written during a period of personal upheaval.
On September 19, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra will give the premiere of Hellstenius’ And Fear of Loss Will Not Oppress Your Heart at NRK Store Studio with the soloists Ellen Ugelvik on piano and Jennifer Torrence on percussion conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer. Henrik Hellstenius says about the new work:
And Fear of Loss Will Not Oppress Your Heart grows from rhythmic, timbral and motivic seeds, allowing language and sound to merge in a constantly shifting interplay between the soloists and between the soloists and the orchestra. At the centre lies the tension between individual and collective, between self and others - and how the gaze toward the other can awaken envy and unease, expressed through texts by Dante and others.
Also on the program is John Cage's Lecture on the weather on September 20 at the National Museum. This event will combine Cage's work with a public dialogue about our dreams for society.
Ultima Festival writes about the event:
In his work, Cage asks about the visions that inspire us to reflect and act. He argues that vision is vital in troubled times—when corruption pervades, complexity overwhelms, power-hungry leaders spark wars and stifle justice; when herd mentality wins because resistance feels too isolating; and when unreliable information erodes self-trust while fear turns the unfamiliar into a threat.
These were Cage’s concerns fifty years ago, but do they not still resonate today? Both Lecture on the Weather and public dialogue ask how one can find new inspiration to shape the future.
Overview
September 12: Liquid room XII: A Perfect Life Concert
Ictus Ensemble, POING, Contrechamps, Nina Guo, Tarek Halaby
The Norwegian Opera & Ballet
September 13: West Coast Sky Eternal
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Pekka Kuusisto (conductor)
Marmorsalen, Sentralen
September 19: And Fear of Loss Will Not Oppress Your Heart
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Jonathan Stockhammer (conductor)
NRK Store Studio
September 20: Lecture on the Weather
The National Museum
For tickets and more information, please see the website of Ultima contemporary music festival.
