Sibelius and Langgaard

The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo will be joined by the dynamic coloratura soprano Anu Komsi – a beloved guest at Konserthuset Stockholm who always fascinates with her vocal precision.

The programme travels about 100 years back in time to Finland and Denmark. Sibelius is paired here with Danish composer Rued Langgaard, “the outsider” who was often overshadowed by Carl Nielsen, but whose oeuvre includes works of such deep originality as to be among the most sensational pieces in music history.

Jean Sibelius begins. With the concert suite Pelléas and Mélisande, Sibelius paints a dark and dramatic love triangle. It is an adaptation of the theatrical music he wrote for the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki, to capture the magical nature in which the play unfolds. Anu Komsi solos in Sibelius’ tone poem Luonnotar – the title alludes to the spirit of nature and mother of the seas, and the text is based on the first part of the Kalevala, which is about earth’s creation.

To conclude, we will hear Rued Langgaard’s bright, slightly naive Symphony No. 2 (he wrote 16!) for soprano and orchestra. It is an intimate work by an artist of harmonies, as Langgaard’s mother called him. The symphony is subtitled Awakening of Spring and describes childhood and the nearly religious miracle of spring. It was written during a pleasant visit to Blekinge, Sweden.

The same programme will be performed at Gothenburg Concert Hall on Friday 17 February.