Programme

Successful South Korean composer Unsuk Chin was the focus of Konserthuset’s Composer Festival in 2013. She now returns with a newly composed orchestral piece. It is a joint commission from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. Entitled SPIRA, the piece is a masterful concerto for orchestra.

After intermission, we will hear Bruckner’s symphonic world through one of his best-known symphonies: the seventh. This symphony was a major turning point in his career and a resounding audience success! It was also the first of his symphonies to be recorded.

Bruckner deeply admired Wagner, and the symphony’s adagio features a melancholy elegy to the masterful composer, who Bruckner idolized. The scherzo is a heavy-footed folkloric dance and features a crowing rooster via the trumpet, while the finale reprises a theme from the introduction.

The concert is conducted by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra’s previous chief conductor, now Conductor Laureate, Alan Gilbert (who is also the newly appointed chief conductor of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg). If you would like to hear him play the viola, you are welcome to Konserthuset on 19 January to hear the Philharmonic Up-Close concert subscription performance.

The Clarinet Quintet is one of Mozart’s most played and popular pieces, thanks in particular to its fantastically beautiful second movement. The inspiration came from one of Mozart’s best friends, clarinettist Anton Stadler. They became acquainted in Vienna in the early 1780s and belonged to the same Freemason order. Stadler inspired Mozart to compose the Clarinet Trio in E-Flat Major, the so-called Kegelstatt Trio, Clarinet Concerto and Clarinet Quintet. In one of his many letters, Mozart himself referred to the quintet as the Stadler Quintet.

Swedish composer Victoria Borisova-Ollas has roots in Russia and began her education at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. She was at the centre of Konserthuset’s Composer Weekend in 2013 and received enormous acclaim for her opera Dracula at the Royal Swedish Opera.

Here, we will hear her Seven Singing Butterflies for clarinet and string quartet featuring clarinettist Johan Fransén, alternate section leader and member of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra since 1997. Other participating philharmonic members include Daniela Bonfiglioli and Lola Torrente on violin, Vicki Powell on viola and Marie Macleod on cello.

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.

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.

Successful South Korean composer Unsuk Chin was the focus of Konserthuset’s Composer Festival in 2013. She now returns with a newly composed orchestral piece. It is a joint commission from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. Entitled SPIRA, the piece is a masterful concerto for orchestra.

After intermission, we will hear Bruckner’s symphonic world through one of his best-known symphonies: the seventh. This symphony was a major turning point in his career and a resounding audience success! It was also the first of his symphonies to be recorded.

Bruckner deeply admired Wagner, and the symphony’s adagio features a melancholy elegy to the masterful composer, who Bruckner idolized. The scherzo is a heavy-footed folkloric dance and features a crowing rooster via the trumpet, while the finale reprises a theme from the introduction.

The concert is conducted by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra’s previous chief conductor, now Conductor Laureate, Alan Gilbert (who is also the newly appointed chief conductor of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg). If you would like to hear him play the viola, you are welcome to Konserthuset on 19 January to hear the Philharmonic Up-Close concert subscription performance.

Spanish string quartet Cuarteto Casals will perform all of Beethoven’s string quartets in 2020 – the big Beethoven year. The 16 quartets came in three phases throughout his lifetime – and each phase comprised a dizzying stride forward for the art of the quartet. The acclaimed Cuarteto Casals debuted at Konserthuset in 2007 and have returned several times, most recently in 2016.

Here, the ensemble begins their grand Beethoven initiative with two of the six quartets from Beethoven’s first collection, Opus 18. Both the Quartet in D Major and No. 2 in G Major are bright, with a lyrically pastoral atmosphere. After the introductory original theme which then dominates the first movement of the Quartet in D Major, Beethoven paints the slow second movement in broad strokes, while the finale is brilliant and exhilarated.

In the Quartet in G Major, the elegant introductory movement transitions in the middle movement to a lyrical melody, while the jovial scherzo has a contrast in the dazzling finale.

The Quartet in F Major, Opus 59, is the first in the collection with three quartets known as the Razumovsky Quartets. Their presentation is infused with symphonic intensity, and Beethoven uses the entire register of the instruments, often in extreme ways that recur later in all of the subsequent quartets.

Spanish string quartet Cuarteto Casals will perform all of Beethoven’s string quartets in 2020 – the big Beethoven year. The 16 quartets came in three phases throughout his lifetime – and each phase comprised a dizzying stride forward for the art of the quartet. The acclaimed Cuarteto Casals debuted at Konserthuset in 2007 and have returned several times, most recently in 2016.

Of the six quartets in Opus 18, the Quartet in A Major is utterly uncomplicated. It radiates light and harmony and generally lacks contrasting episodes. It is entertaining in the best meaning of the word, with beautiful themes, constantly shifting instrumental combinations and a conversational tone, all expressed with elegant playfulness and ethereal grace.

Quartet No. 10 in E-flat Major is more intimate, and the contrast between the movements is more important than continuity. This quartet is often called the Harp Quartet because of the harp-like effects of the first movement.

The Opus 127 Quartet was perceived in Beethoven’s time as the most accessible of the five late quartets. The first movement is tender, lovable and lyrical; the second has a lofty theme with six variations. The third movement is one of Beethoven’s longest and most remarkable scherzo movements, while the fourth and final is an allegro with constant surprises.  

In the 1800s, it was not uncommon for a single concert to offer a blend of symphonies, lieds, piano music, and even a recitation or performance art. We may not get quite that wild on 27 January, but it should still be a memorable evening as a star-studded group of musicians gathers in Grünewald Hall to do what they love most of all – perform music! On this evening, pianists Bengt Forsberg and Magnus Svensson will unite for a duel on a single piano. We will enjoy chamber music for piano four-hands and strings, piano quartets, lieds and solo music for piano.

Variation is the spice of life! In addition to soprano Christina Nilsson, who may be Sweden’s biggest vocal star of the moment, the pianists are joined by the cream of the crop of our nation’s finest string musicians: Tobias Ringborg, Christian Bergqvist, Natalia Goldmann, Ylva Larsdotter, Ylvali Zilliacus, Patrik Swedrup and Erik Wahlgren.

The main man of the evening will be Mozart – it happens to be his birthday!

A show designed by artist, songwriter, comedian and scriptwriter Danny Gordon. He began his path as a visual artist and has had several exhibitions throughout the country. Gordon has also written and performed one-man shows at Judiska Teatern, Mosebacke and Södra Teatern.

And, of course, he has been a cloakroom attendant at Konserthuset for many years. Here are the tragicomial tales he wants to share with us. At this concert, Danny Gordon performs his own music and texts with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Wind Quintet; we will also hear music by Franz Schubert, Giuseppe Verdi and more.

The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Wind Quintet is a successor to the legendary Philharmonic Wind Quintet, which had enormous global success in the 1960s and 70s. In 2001, five solo wind musicians from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra reinstated the ensemble. The ensemble is now considered among the best in the country.

How does an orchestra work? What instruments are included? What do notation and scores look like? What does the conductor do? 

In conjunction with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic's hour-long concerts on some Wednesdays, one of Konserthuset’s music guides or a musician from the orchestra will present an introduction of the orchestra and the music to be played at the evening’s concert. 

The introduction is held in Swedish. A vegetarian sandwich is included. 

Attend the concert after the meet-up! 

Remember to book a ticket separately to the concert for the same evening, which begins at 18.00. Youth tickets are available from SEK 60 (choir balcony). 

Tonight´s concert – Pettersson´s Seven Sympony