"Superb Collaboration"
"Superb collaboration when Lise Hummel, from Borlänge returns to her home town stage Maxim. The auditorium is sold out and after standing ovations you realize that this has been a rewarding encounter for both the artists and the audience.
"Already as a young girl I actually stood on this stage" says Lise Hummel. /.../ She has been singing and playing for as long as she can remember, and with ability and ambition she applied for and got accepted at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, majoring in singing.
"It was great fun to meet new people who had the same interest and passion for music as I had. Almost immediately me and Gertrud Stenung found each other" Lise says smiling. Sitting beside each other on Maxim's stage, there's no doubt they're still the best of friends.
"It feels as if I have two marriages" says Lise. "One with my husband of course, and the other one with Gertrud. We are so in sync with one another, we even had our babies at the same time. When we're off stage our families also spend a lot of time together"
Now this unique couple is on stage in front of a packed auditorium. Classy dressed in black. Gertrud though, has a cello in front of her.
"I have played the cello ever since I was a little girl, and through different music schools, already at an early age, I had the opportunity to develop my singing as well"
At the music academy, Lise and Gertrud soon realized they wanted to do something together. We came up with the idea that Gertrud's cello would be our perfect companion. Gertrud is a highly talented instrumentalist, and few are able to measure up to her standard. She could have a career as a percussionist, with her perfect timing.
Gertrud very rarely uses the bow, more often though as an acoustic bass, or as percussion. She uses distortion, bends the strings and bangs the body of the cello. At the same time the girls sing in harmonies with infallible pitch. Refined music, created with precision.
/.../ Just before intermission a piece of music starts, accompanied by the seductive sound of waves and seagulls, followed by a Jaco Pastorius influenced bass. Incredibly beautiful, as is the ballad that develops in bossa nova tempo.
Later on, Lise sits down behind the piano, and strikes a couple of meticulously chosen notes. With exquisite timing she starts playing a Swedish version of Charles Aznavour's "She".
/.../ Two girls, two instruments, live on stage. What makes the sound so rich? /.../
" Early on we searched for a rich and full bodied sound, within our small concept" says Lise. Now she's in her home town, playing for friends and family as well as people she doesn't know.
"Unfortunately most of our venues are in Stockholm, but with this show we want to say that we are ready for the rest of the country. And to get back home to Borlänge is great" That is certainly a point of view she shares with an enthusiastic audience".
Lars Rindeskär, Annonsbladet 2011-02-20
"Food meets culture"
"Strange food and graffitti, or dishes composed to music. Four tuesday nights in August, starting tonight, chef Rune Kalf-Hansen will cook, inpired by various guests and different art expressions. The venue is the roof terrace at Kulturhuset.
"Lise and Gertrud take music further with small talk and conversation, which is exactly what I want to do with my food. If you speak a little and explain about your products, people will then eat with devotion." says Rune Kalf-Hansen.
"We thought it was a fun and a different idea, and we really like food. Maybe something new will be the outcome of this-when the mouth gets all watery from the scent of the food - will we be able to sing then, says Gertrud Stenung smiling".
Åse-Marie Nilsson SvD 2005-08-09