Programme

Full of inspiration, Robert Schumann began work on his second symphony in early December 1845. However, his depressions, poor health, and constant tinnitus meant that it wasn't until the following autumn that the symphony was completed. Yet, his severe personal condition has not left its mark on the music at all; instead, the symphony is bright and forward-looking, a resounding triumph over the darker aspects of life.

The concert begins with the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's hypnotically evocative Ciel d’hiver, Winter Sky – an arrangement of a part of her orchestral work Orion. The music is inspired by the Greek myth of the hunter Orion, who was transformed into a constellation. Saariaho's music possesses a strange beauty that makes her unique, and she is considered one of the most significant composers of our time. Saariaho passed away in 2023, and ten years earlier, she was awarded the Polar Music Prize.

Learn more about Chief Conductor Ryan Bancroft

Sibelius' Violin Concerto is one of the most performed violin concertos of the 20th century. However, its tonal language belongs to the late 19th century, and the music is warm and lyrical, dramatic and melancholic. Sibelius, himself a violinist, possibly wrote the concerto he himself would have wanted to play – albeit on a technical level far beyond his own. It is among the more challenging in the genre, as many violinists have attested.

Taking on the challenge is the Russian-born Israeli violinist Maxim Vengerov, one of the greats of our time, who has only performed with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra once before, and that was 30 years ago! He is ranked among the world's finest, and in addition to performing concerts on the major classical stages, he is a guest professor at both the International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland and the Royal College of Music in London.

Full of inspiration, Robert Schumann began work on his second symphony in early December 1845. However, his depressions, poor health, and constant tinnitus meant that it wasn't until the following autumn that the symphony was completed. Yet, his severe personal condition has not left its mark on the music at all; instead, the symphony is bright and forward-looking: a resounding triumph over the darker aspects of life.

The concert begins with the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's hypnotically evocative Ciel d’hiver, Winter Sky – an arrangement of a part of her orchestral work Orion. The music is inspired by the Greek myth of the hunter Orion, who was transformed into a constellation. Saariaho's music possesses a strange beauty that makes her unique, and she is considered one of the most significant composers of our time. Saariaho passed away in 2023, and ten years earlier, she was awarded the Polar Music Prize.

Learn more about Chief Conductor Ryan Bancroft

For children 3–5 years old.

Get close to the musicians in the Grünewald Hall – and discover the orchestra's string instruments in a classical concert with listening games, together with a music teacher. 

After this approx. 30-minute concert, there is a chance to try out different instruments in the foyer.

For children 3–5 years old.

Get close to the musicians in the Grünewald Hall – and discover the orchestra's string instruments in a classical concert with listening games, together with a music teacher. 

After this approx. 30-minute concert, there is a chance to try out different instruments in the foyer.

For children 3–7 years old.

Get close to the musicians in the Grünewald Hall – and discover the orchestra's instruments in a classical concert with listening games, together with a music teacher. At this concert you will meet the percussion.

After this approx. 30-minute concert, there is a chance to try out different instruments in the foyer.

***

Please note

The possibility of bringing a pram into Konserthuset is very limited, so please consider leaving the pram at home.

For children 3–7 years old.

Get close to the musicians in the Grünewald Hall – and discover the orchestra's instruments in a classical concert with listening games, together with a music teacher. At this concert you will meet the percussion.

After this approx. 30-minute concert, there is a chance to try out different instruments in the foyer.

***

Please note

The possibility of bringing a pram into Konserthuset is very limited, so please consider leaving the pram at home.

For children 3–7 years old.

Get close to the musicians in the Grünewald Hall – and discover the orchestra's instruments in a classical concert with listening games, together with a music teacher. At this concert you will meet the percussion.

After this approx. 30-minute concert, there is a chance to try out different instruments in the foyer.

***

Please note

The possibility of bringing a pram into Konserthuset is very limited, so please consider leaving the pram at home.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra draws attention to world peace 80 years after the end of World War II, and highlights the importance of Glenn Miller’s music in this context. The big band welcomes 21 additional musicians at this concert, thus replicating the lineup of the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. We hear a series of original arrangements, some of which have not been played since the war.

Through his music and the unique sound of the orchestra, Glenn Miller created his own genre of swing in the jazz world. In just four years, he launched 23 number one hits – more than Elvis and The Beatles. Glenn Miller became the biggest music icon in the US. He volunteered to join the military and brought his music to Europe through his military orchestra. This would ultimately cost him his life: he disappeared in an airplane over the English Channel. But his orchestra still performs his music all over the world, more than 80 years after his passing.

Glenn Miller Orchestra Scandinavia formed in 2010 with a license from Glenn Miller Productions, Inc., New York, USA. Based in Stockholm, the orchestra is led by trombone player Jan Slottenäs and regularly tours Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Regarded by many internationally as the leading Glenn Miller orchestra, the ensemble includes several young musicians from Sweden’s jazz elite.

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson is currently one of the most acclaimed and sought-after pianists in the world. The New York Times coined him ”Iceland's Glenn Gould”, and his recordings are showered with five-star reviews. This season, he is the Artist-in-Residence at Konserthuset Stockholm.

Last spring, he performed Bach’s Goldberg Variations to a full house at Konserthuset, and in the autumn he was the soloist in Brahms’s monumental First Piano Concerto. Now we welcome him back. This time, in a solo recital where he intersperses two piano sonatas by Beethoven (originally three were planned – No. 9 in E major has been removed) with music by his great idol Johann Sebastian Bach and Franz Schubert.

This is a programme that begins in the Baroque and moves into the Romantic era, imbued throughout with lyrical depth and an intense inwardness that unites the works into a musical whole. All pieces also stay within the keys of E major or E minor.

Just a few days later, on 14 and 15 May, we hear him again – this time with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, performing more Beethoven: the Piano Concerto No. 5, the so-called Emperor Concerto.

Icelandic Víkingur Ólafsson is currently one of the world's most acclaimed and sought-after pianists. The New York Times coined him ”Iceland's Glenn Gould”, and his recordings are showered with five-star reviews. This season, he is the Artist-in-Residence at Konserthuset Stockholm.

Following the success of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which he performed to a full house here at Konserthuset last season, he takes on more of the classical music world’s great Bs – Brahms and Beethoven. A few days before this concert, he  performs Beethoven’s late piano sonatas in a solo recital. Last autumn, he played Brahms' first piano concerto, and now Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

When Beethoven moved to Vienna, it was as a pianist that he first made his breakthrough. Audiences were captivated by his dazzling technique and improvisational skill. At the heart of his piano output are the five magnificent piano concertos, with the Emperor Concerto being the fifth. The title Emperor Concerto refers to the majestic first movement, which begins with powerful orchestral chords and virtuosic arpeggios and runs spanning the entire keyboard.

French conductor Stéphane Denève also leads the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in American Stacy Garrop's beautiful Penelope Waits from 2013, inspired by Greek mythology, and mythological music with dance themes by Paul Dukas and Richard Strauss.