A world-renowned orchestra

The English composer Dorothy Howell (1898–1982) garnered enormous attention in 1919 with the symphonic poem Lamia. The music is inspired by the John Keats poem with the same title. Her orchestral skill earned her the nickname “the English Strauss” already in her lifetime. Despite having been celebrated in the past, she has been relatively forgotten today – but there may well be a renaissance ahead. The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra first performed this piece in February 2021 under the baton of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.

Of Prokofiev’s five piano concertos, the third is his most performed and beloved. Since its world premiere in Chicago in 1921, when the composer himself performed the solo, it has remained a modern classic. This music is filled with energy, as well as elegance and melodic beauty. Roland Pöntinen, one of Sweden’s absolute foremost pianists, takes on the masterful solo part in this concerto.

Last, we hear Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4 – music with which Danish Thomas Dausgaard is very familiar, of course, but also a piece that the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra knows well after both touring and recording it with Sakari Oramo. Symphony No. 4 is subtitled “Det uudslukkelige” (“The Inextinguishable”). This dramatic music was composed in the middle of World War I, and is famous for its duel between two timpani players.

The English composer Dorothy Howell (1898–1982) garnered enormous attention in 1919 with the symphonic poem Lamia. The music is inspired by the John Keats poem with the same title. Her orchestral skill earned her the nickname “the English Strauss” already in her lifetime. Despite having been celebrated in the past, she has been relatively forgotten today – but there may well be a renaissance ahead. The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra first performed this piece in February 2021 under the baton of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.

Of Prokofiev’s five piano concertos, the third is his most performed and beloved. Since its world premiere in Chicago in 1921, when the composer himself performed the solo, it has remained a modern classic. This music is filled with energy, as well as elegance and melodic beauty. Roland Pöntinen, one of Sweden’s absolute foremost pianists, takes on the masterful solo part in this concerto.

Last, we hear Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4 – music with which Danish Thomas Dausgaard is very familiar, of course, but also a piece that the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra knows well after both touring and recording it with Sakari Oramo. Symphony No. 4 is subtitled “Det uudslukkelige” (“The Inextinguishable”). This dramatic music was composed in the middle of World War I, and is famous for its duel between two timpani players.

Over the Rainbow: Judy Garland’s life is defined by her search for the rainbow with which she is forever associated. She became an icon – a beloved, admired, highly awarded artist and actor, and she has a well-established place in history books as one of the foremost entertainers of the twentieth century.

Judy Garland was born in Minnesota on 10 June 1922. On this day 100 years later, Isabella Lundgren and a band, together with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, perform music and present stories from Judy Garland’s life. The music has been arranged for symphony orchestra by Mats Hålling. 

Isabella Lundgren is one of Sweden’s most prominent jazz singers. “This divinely talented singer is among the best on the jazz scene”, Svenska Dagbladet wrote.  ”It is as if she makes time slow down, simply by being.” Isabella Lundgren is a great admirer of Judy Garland, and the initiator of this tribute. We also hear a guest performance from Bo Sundström, frontman of Bo Kaspers Orkester.

Indeed, this is a tribute to Judy Garland and her immortal music, but it is also the story of the other side of success, and the power of music – which can alleviate loneliness, even when the rainbow and sparkle feel far away. In Judy Garland’s singing, we hear not the icon, but the person – the woman who experienced both heaven and hell. Audiences were so deeply moved when she sang that they hardly dared to breathe.

NOTE! The concert includes intermission