Konserthuset Stockholm

When Beethoven moved to Vienna, his first breakthrough was as a pianist. Audiences were taken by his lightning-fast technique and improvisational ability. The five fantastic piano concertos are central among his works for piano. The Emperor Concerto, the fifth and last, was composed in Vienna in 1809, the year that Napoleon pursued the fleeing Archduke Rudolph of Austria for the second time.

Its title, the Emperor Concerto, refers to the majestic first movement which begins with powerful orchestral chords, and masterful arpeggios and runs across the entire keyboard. In contrast, the second movement has an inward-focused nature with an almost improvisational solo section, while the finale is an energetic, dancing and jubilant rondo which Beethoven charged with contrasts and powerful passion. The soloist is the highly acclaimed and award-winning French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, here in his debut at Konserthuset Stockholm.

Russian conductor Michail Jurowski will then lead the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra in a well-known repertoire, and this will be Jurowski’s debut at Konserthuset Stockholm. Powerful emotions flood Tchaikovsky’s sixth and final symphony, which is one of his most beloved. The composer wrote in a letter to his brother Anatol: “I am now fully entrenched in the new work and I find it difficult to pull myself away from it. I believe it will be one of my best works. I must complete it as soon as possible.” It was his brother Modest who suggested the name Pathétique, of which Tchaikovsky approved.

Jacob Mühlrad is undoubtedly one of Sweden’s most celebrated composers, including internationally.  He has received acclaim for his partnership with Swedish House Mafia and the work Time, which premiered last autumn and toured worldwide, and was performed by some of the world’s leading choirs. He has also given a talk on Swedish Radio’s Summer programme, and he is currently writing his first book for Norstedts.

On the album Time, which was followed up with portrait concerts in Malmö and at Konserthuset Stockholm, Jacob Mühlrad presents a collection of some of his foremost works. In this music, he reflects on the legacy of the universe – and on his own. The concert and album are a reflection on “the only note,” which is a metaphor for the story of creation as the first musical event. In four of his most acclaimed and praised works, Nigun, Anim Semiraus, Time and Kaddish, Mühlrad explores his own legacy and the legacy of the universe.

“Through music’s course of events, we are reminded of the genesis not only of our own existence, but also of the universe,” says Jacob Mühlrad.

The choral work Time is based on the Old Testament story of the Tower of Babel, one of the Bible’s most familiar stories, in which the people are building a city with a tower reaching up to the sky. To prevent the people from succeeding, God creates all the world’s languages. Time is a metaphor for the challenges of our era, in which different languages and cultures converge and the need for conversation across national borders increases, and it is simultaneously timeless, because in all ages, people have been dependent on communicating with one another. 

Jacob Mühlrad grew up in a Jewish family and was deeply religious as a child. He saw music as God’s creation. Today, he considers music to be holy in and of itself. But the religious element is prominent in his work, both thematically and musically. He describes the Big Bang as a major musical event and refers to the time in which we live as a “a continuing resonating note,” like the echo of a gong.

In cooperation with Universal Music Sweden

Konserthuset Stockholm is one of Sweden’s great architectural masterpieces. Created during a period of expansion in Stockholm, by the Swedish architect Ivar Tengbom, it opened in 1926. Konserthuset Stockholm was built for the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and has since the start been the dedicated venue for the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony as well as many other prestigious events.

The tour is in Swedish.

Violinist Malin Broman is the artistic director of Musica Vitae. She is also concertmaster with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and active as a soloist. Here, Broman and Musica Vitae will welcome Lisa Larsson – a highly coveted guest on international opera and concert stages.

For many years, Lisa Larsson has collaborated closely with composer Rolf Martinsson and here, we will get to hear her in Till Skuggan av en Verklighet (To the Shade of a Reality) for soprano and string orchestra. She is also a soloist, together with Malin Broman, in Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s emotionally charged Infelice! – Misery!, performed here in an arrangement by Rolf Martinsson. On a much more tranquil note, we will hear Pamela Harrison’s A Suite for Timothy for string orchestra, music she composed in 1948 for her son’s first birthday.

Britta Byström is one of Sweden’s most frequently played composers. She has composed several pieces that include the word “walk” in the title: Four Walks for viola and double bass, A Walk to Tchaikovsky for string orchestra, A Walk to Värmland for wind orchestra. Here, we will hear her A Walk by Heart for string orchestra.