Rachmaninov and Pintscher

The American violinist Leila Josefowicz is one of the most charismatic and uncompromising soloists of our time. As she now returns to Konserthuset Stockholm, it is her first appearance here since 2013. Josefowicz is known for her intense stage presence and her strong commitment to contemporary music – she approaches new works with the same natural authority as the classics and has premiered a long line of works written especially for her.

This evening’s violin concerto, Assonanza, is composed by conductor Matthias Pintscher, a close collaborator of Josefowicz. It is personal, concentrated and virtuosic music, with the violin in constant dialogue with the orchestra – at times almost whispering, at others with explosive force.

The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is led this evening by Matthias Pintscher himself, an internationally active composer and conductor who moves effortlessly between these roles. The orchestra concludes the programme with Sergei Rachmaninov’s restlessly energetic Third Symphony, where sweeping melodic lines and Russian melancholy meet a modern edge. The symphony was written during Rachmaninov’s years in exile and encompasses both longing and dramatic intensity.

The concert opens with Olga Neuwirth’s Dreydl, a colourful and concentrated orchestral work full of surprises, in which fragments, rhythm and timbre are set against one another. Neuwirth is one of Europe’s most significant contemporary composers, fearless and experimental. In 2022, she was at the centre of Konserthuset’s annual international Composer Festival.