"We once had a visitor who could not see the point of our continuous creative struggle. He asked what it would eventually lead to. Whether we would ever get anything back?
The painter Birgit Abrahamsen looked at him: "I will tell you," she said quietly. "We're hoping to shake hands with Wergeland once."*
Eivind, you deserve to shake hands with both Wergeland and others you've given musical response. Personally, I want to give you a handshake today. What it means that another art form replies, when the answer is as wonderful as yours, can not be understood unless experienced. That experience is enough payment."