Brahms and Lindberg

Lisa Batiashvili is one of the world’s most acclaimed violinists and a frequent guest at Konserthuset Stockholm. She last appeared here in 2021, performing Sibelius’s Violin Concerto. Now we have the pleasure of welcoming her back, this time in Magnus Lindberg’s First Violin Concerto, written especially for her. With its Nordic radiance, the work also echoes the concerto by her compatriot Sibelius.

The concert opens with the overture to Estrella de Soria, Franz Berwald’s first opera. Here, we hear Nordic Romanticism in full bloom, imbued with melodic imagination and dramatic intensity. In his Second Symphony, Brahms instead paints scenes of captivating natural beauty. It is music of light, and its melodies have been likened to the gently flowing streams of the picturesque village of Pörtschach in Austria, where Brahms stayed while composing the symphony.

The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by its Honorary Conductor Alan Gilbert, who served as the orchestra’s Chief Conductor from 2000 to 2008. He is currently Music Director of the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm and, since 2019, Chief Conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in Hamburg.