Pictures at an exhibition

Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is one of the world’s most well-known classical pieces. It depicts the memories of ten paintings by the artist Victor Hartmann, separetad by variations of the famous ”promenade” music that takes us from one painting to another. Originally composed for the piano, we now hear it in Maurice Ravel’s luxurious orchestration. Austrian conductor Emmanuel Tjeknavorian leads the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

Following directly in the tracks of rising star Johanna Wallroth is Rebecka Wallroth! The younger sister now makes her debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Both are from Stockholm and both studied in Vienna. Rebecka Wallroth, who is six years younger than Johanna, has already won numerous awards and an international breakthrough is likely soon to come. In autumn 2023, her studies continue at the opera studio of the Berlin State Opera.

Rebecka Wallroth performs songs by Alma Mahler, who gave up composition when she married Gustav. Her small but spectacular oeuvre has mainly received attention in recent years. The seven songs are originally arranged for piano, but are performed here in an arrangement for orchestra. They include the evocative Die stille Stadt: the music is a descent into the shadowy mood of Vienna at the turn of the last century.

However, the concert begins with an entirely different Viennese sound – that is, with a bang: Franz von Suppè’s overture to the operetta Leichte Kavallerie.