Press and media
You can read a selection of reviews and articles about Bjarte Eike and Barokksolistene’s activities here.
Dido and Aeneas review — purists may clutch their pearls but this rocked / The Times 22.02.2026
Bjarte Eike’s riotous energy made him the perfect choice to reinvent Purcell’s opera in this concert staging at the Glasshouse in Gateshead.
From Dark till Dawn review — the Proms party all night / The Times (UK), 12 August 2025
As the clock ticked past midnight the irrepressible Norwegian collective Barokksolistene, making their Proms debut, had the audience cheering, laughing, singing along and even skipping a light fandango in the arena. The Norwegians are a brilliantly organised bunch, yet give the illusion of freely improvising on the entire gamut of north European folk music, while also supplying very Scandinavian humour, exuberant dancing and haunting quieter numbers. If I were running the BBC I would book them for the Last Night of the Proms — they would put some pep into Rule, Britannia!
A Singalong Dido and Aeneas / The Observer, 3 August 2025
"Barokksolistene combine historical nous with their own style of tightly disciplined improvisation." - Fiona Maddocks, The Observer
Pubs, Purcell and Proms – Bjarte Eike’s new take on Early Music / Continuo Connect, 27.08.25
Violinist Bjarte Eike and his group treat the music of the 17th and early 18th centuries as source material that can be re-arranged and exploited to create energetic entertainments that are true to our times as well as to their origins.
The Alehouse Sessions, Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds [through the noise] / godisinthetvzone.co.uk, 9 June 2025
For 80 inspired minutes The Alehouse Sessions recreate the spirit of those times through song, dance, and theatricality ... It is wonderful entertainment and goes along way towards making such music far more accessible to a much greater number of people.