Beethoven Festival VII – Beethoven and Byström

Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is extrovert and full of energy – music that, in this concert, is paired with a work by Britta Byström: Voyages extraordinaires. Of Beethoven’s Seventh, she has said that it seems to carry an unanswered riddle, something that cannot be fully grasped, yet comes alive with every new listening.

The symphony was a success from its very first performance. At the time, Napoleon had laid siege to Vienna, which affected Beethoven deeply. The second movement has therefore been interpreted as a monument to human suffering, and the finale as a triumphant outburst of victory. With its powerful rhythms, it is one of Beethoven’s most muscular symphonies.

Of her own work Voyages extraordinaires, Britta Byström says: “I borrowed the title from the writer Jules Verne – it is the collective name for his great series of novels about fantastical, or in reality impossible, journeys. The title felt fitting, as my work is conceived as a series of musical journeys, where the listener, through a recurring orchestral transformation, is suddenly transported into an entirely new sound world. I think of the piece as a kind of tribute to the power of art to transcend the limitations of life.”

In this concert, part of the Beethoven Festival, we hear the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Principal Guest Conductor Pekka Kuusisto.