Philharmonic Close-Up – Strings in Transformation

Philharmonic Close-Up concerts offer the opportunity to encounter members of the orchestra in a more intimate setting in the beautiful Grünewald Hall. The programmes are characterised by a spirit of discovery, with music chosen by the musicians themselves.

The concert opens with British composer Sally Beamish’s bright and pulsating string quartet Opus California, inspired by a stay on the American West Coast. In Sibelius’s romantically glowing string trio, it is instead the Nordic landscape that colours the music.

Sibelius’s compatriot Olli Mustonen is widely known as a pianist and has appeared at Konserthuset on several occasions. As a composer, he moves freely between eras, and in Nonetto II there is both ineffable Romantic beauty and rhythmic drive with roots in the Baroque as well as in pop.

Pure musical Romanticism is found in Richard Strauss’s introduction to the opera Capriccio, and in Metamorphosen, where the string parts intertwine expressively in a constant process of transformation.