Barber and Elgar

The Canadian-American violinist James Ehnes has been praised for his silken tone and outstanding technical precision. Whatever repertoire he takes on, his playing is marked by visionary interpretations and analytical clarity.

James Ehnes has appeared at Konserthuset on several previous occasions, and this season we have the opportunity to hear him again in a number of concerts. Here, he performs with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra as soloist in the American composer Samuel Barber’s lyrically appealing – and, in its final movement, hyper-virtuosic – Violin Concerto.

The French-British conductor Stephanie Childress is enjoying a growing international career and is Principal Guest Conductor of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. This marks her debut at Konserthuset.

The concert both opens and closes with British music. First, Benjamin Britten’s effervescent and playful Simple Symphony – a work he himself returned to and conducted throughout his life.

To conclude, music by Edward Elgar, best known for his first Pomp and Circumstance March, which each year brings the famous Promenade Concerts – the Proms – at London’s Royal Albert Hall to a close. A similar spirit is found in the noble theme that opens his First Symphony. As Elgar himself put it: “It should be simple, noble and elevated – an idealistic call, not something forced or commanded, but something above the everyday.”