Composer Festival HK Gruber – Soup Concert

Like none other, HK Gruber has the capacity to twist music in such a way that imbues it with a humorous dimension while always retaining a spirit of the deepest earnestness.

Here, we will hear the composer as a vocalist together with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra’s pianist Stefan Lindgren, in a programme with the music of Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler. With their lightly jazzy cabaret style, these composers have served as something of a starting point for Gruber’s own compositions. He has commented on this himself, saying that “we’ve been perceived as subversive elements because we composed tonal music.”

Hanns Eisler was an outspoken Marxist and known for his belief in the social and political power of music. He grew up in Vienna but moved to Berlin, where he studied under Arnold Schönberg and began a collaboration with Bertold Brecht. Because he was a Communist and of Jewish descent, he was forced to flee from the Nazis. 

Better known for his partnership with Brecht is Kurt Weill. In the 1920s, they created together a series of groundbreaking performances such as the Threepenny Opera, the Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, and Happy End. 

Menu: Creamy fish soup, served with horseradish and sourdough croutons.