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This year, we celebrate the 150-year anniversary of Hugo Alfvén’s birth. With titles like Midsommarvaka (Midsummer Vigil), En Skärgårdssägen (A Legend from the Archipelago) and Dalarapsodi (Dala Rhapsody), he is one of Sweden’s most beloved composers. In his second symphony, which was his major breakthrough, the scene shifts from sunny morning to twilight and stormy night. Alfvén often used elements of folk music in his work, but in this passionate symphony, he has turned his ear out towards Europe. 

Hugo Alfvén was charming and full of life, with a personality that has been described as magnetic. He was a composer and artist, an orchestral and choir conductor – for nearly 40 years, he led the Orphei Drängar men’s choir. A recently published book by music specialist Tobias Lund entitled Speltoken: Hugo Alfvén och Rosens Klang (Gidlunds förlag) (Playing Wild: Hugo Alfvén and the Sound of the Rose) presents a new understanding of Alfvén and his music.

The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is led by Patrik Ringborg, an internationally active Swedish conductor who has worked a great deal in Germany. Over the years, he has regularly featured Swedish music, and conducted the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at the Stenhammar Festival in autumn 2021. In spring 2022, he also led GöteborgsOperan’s acclaimed staging of Gösta Nystroem’s opera, Herr Arnes Penningar. 

This year, we celebrate the 150-year anniversary of Hugo Alfvén’s birth. With titles like Midsommarvaka (Midsummer Vigil), En Skärgårdssägen (A Legend from the Archipelago) and Dalarapsodi (Dala Rhapsody), he is one of Sweden’s most beloved composers. In his second symphony, which was his major breakthrough, the scene shifts from sunny morning to twilight and stormy night. Alfvén often used elements of folk music in his work, but in this passionate symphony, he has turned his ear out towards Europe. 

With the cello concerto from 2019 (revised in 2021), composer Anders Nilsson won Musikförläggarna’s classical music prize, and one reviewer described it as a concert “with hit potential.” And yes, it is a gripping and instantly engaging concerto in a romantic spirit. Anders Nilsson has had several major successes, including the opera Zarah at Folkoperan in 2007. At the Composer Weekend dedicated to his music the following year, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra performed several of his orchestral pieces. 

Now we hear his cello concerto, with Amalie Stalheim as soloist. She also performed the world premiere. After winning the Soloist Prize in 2018, Stalheim has become established as one of Sweden’s foremost cellists. As the prize jury wrote, she has “natural stage presence and a convincing, mature musical interpretation in interplay with the conductor and orchestra” and her “technical brilliance goes hand in hand with sensitivity and personal expression.” Patrik Ringborg leads the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

An action-packed musical journey with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Ayla Kabaca as storyteller. The story is inspired by Peter and the Wolf, but here, Rita is the hero of the tale. Christoffer Nobin leads the orchestra.

She is on the hunt for the Wolf, a super-villain who has stolen the enormous Crocodiamond. The audience must figure out who the wolf is by listening very carefully to the musical clues – which will help Rita find the diamond. Music by Jonathan Dove, original text by Anthony Horowitz.