To the memory of an angel

With her unique interpretations and dazzling virtuosity, Norwegian Vilde Frang has been one of the world’s most coveted soloists for many years. She debuted with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in February 2009 and has appeared at Konserthuset Stockholm on multiple occasions since then. She also participated in the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Sakari Oramo’s tour of Spain and Italy in 2018. She is Konserthuset’s Artist-in-Residence for the 2021/22 season and performs on multiple occasions.

At this concert, she is the soloist in Alban Berg’s expressively charged violin concerto, dedicated to Alma Mahler’s daughter Manon Gropius, who was very close to Alban Berg and his wife Helene. When she died of polio at age 18, Berg composed this concerto and gave it the sub-heading: “In memory of an angel”.

Music is a force of nature that can completely fulfil a person and transform an entire life, according to Finnish composer Outi Tarkiainen. Her piece The Ring of Fire and Love was commissioned by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and first performed in March 2021 in a livestreamd concert. 

Robert Schumann has been called the most romantic of all Romantic composers. He was an emotional person whose life alternated between the greatest joy and the darkest sorrow, between manic creativity and the deepest depression. We hear this reflected in his inventive and powerfully expressive Symphony No. 4.