Nobel Prize Concert

An outstanding line-up of international stars comes together for this year’s Nobel Prize Concert, the prestigious concert held during Nobel Week. Sir Antonio Pappano conducts, with Igor Levit as piano soloist and Fleur Barron as vocal soloist. The programme features music by Hannah Kendall, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. 

The Nobel Prize Concert is a highlight of the season at Konserthuset Stockholm. This year, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano, one of the most admired conductors of our time, with a long and distinguished career on both the operatic and concert stages. He is Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Royal Opera and Ballet, Covent Garden, London.

The concert opens with British composer Hannah Kendall’s newly written I have discovered the secret of death. The title is a line from Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man (1952), which explores racism, identity and social invisibility. Kendall writes dramatic, narrative-driven music, often incorporating unexpected instruments and sounds. The charismatic, award-winning mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron is the vocal soloist, captivating audiences around the world.

Igor Levit is one of today’s leading pianists and a much-appreciated guest at Konserthuset. He has made a particular name for himself as an interpreter of Beethoven, not least through his multiple award-winning recordings of all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Levit “guides the audience to the heart of Beethoven”, wrote the French newspaper Le Figaro after one of his concerts. Here, Igor Levit is the soloist in Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto – a central work of the entire piano repertoire.

The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Sir Antonio Pappano conclude the concert with Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, an intense musical drama about humanity’s powerlessness in the face of fate. The music encompasses profound melancholy, playfulness and feverish passion – an emotional rollercoaster that ultimately culminates in jubilant, festive music.

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The Nobel Prize Concert is an annual event of the highest international calibre, bringing the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra together with leading artists from around the world. Part of the official programme of Nobel Week, the concert is a tribute to the year’s Nobel Prize laureates.

The concert is presented by Nobel Prize Outreach in collaboration with Konserthuset Stockholm.