A world-renowned orchestra

The concert can been seen at Konserthuset Play

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The young Russian pianist Alexandra Dovgan is exceptionally talented. She was born in 2007 and has already performed at many of the most prestigious venues, including Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Berliner Philharmonie. World-renowned pianist Grigory Sokolov elevates her to new heights and she has performed solos with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and the symphony orchestra at the Moscow Conservatory, where she is still a student. Here, she will play Beethoven’s charming and elegant Piano Concerto No. 2.

The conductor will be Baroque specialist Ton Koopman, who will lead the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in music by Johan Helmich Roman – often referred to as the father of Swedish music. And with good reason. After travelling through Europe, where he was influenced by Handel and Italian music, he returned to Sweden and built up our increasingly rich musical scene. He is best known for Drottningholm Music, but here, we will hear one of his most beautiful, elegant, and melodically vivid sinfonias.

Just like Roman’s Sinfonia, Mozart’s Symphony No. 36 begins with a slow section that transitions into an allegro. Mozart composed the symphony in the autumn of 1783, after visiting friend and patron Count von Thun in Linz, where he also organised a concert. Because he had not taken any music with him on the trip, in just two days he composed this symphony which, naturally, is called “Linz”. 

The concert can been seen at Konserthuset Play

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Grand Finale: Sakari Oramo’s final concerts as chief conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra are an in-depth journey through Jean Sibelius’ creations, including all seven symphonies in chronological order. “In his case specifically, I believe the order matters,” says Sakari Oramo. “He worked on several symphonies simultaneously, and there are always elements in one symphony that can be detected in the symphony preceding it.”

After composing the “choir symphony” Kullervo, and several symphonic poems, Sibelius was ready for the pure symphonic form. Symphony No. 1 from 1900 (an earlier version premiered in 1899) is wilful from the very beginning, with its peaceful introduction for solo clarinet and timpani. But it also contains the thematic seeds for the rest of this impressive and personal symphonic debut.

In January 1901, Sibelius, his wife, and their daughters arrived in Italy. Several ideas for his second symphony were born there. After its world premiere in 1902, the symphony became a symbol of national liberation from Russian control, and upon hearing this sincere, singing and ultimately triumphant music, it is not difficult to understand why. Even if Sibelius himself categorically denied any political intentions whatsoever. 

The concert can been seen at Konserthuset Play

***

Grand Finale: Sakari Oramo’s final concerts as chief conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra are an in-depth journey through Jean Sibelius’ creations, including all seven symphonies in chronological order. “In his case specifically, I believe the order matters,” says Sakari Oramo. “He worked on several symphonies simultaneously, and there are always elements in one symphony that can be detected in the symphony preceding it.”

After the first two national romantic symphonies, Symphony No. 3 bring something else entirely to the stage. It has been said that it is more classicist, in that the music seems to nod to older styles and tones. The third and final movement does, however, break free from simpler labelling, with its enigmatic blend of scherzo (jest) and hymn. The symphony was started in 1904, but the third movement was not finished until only a few days before the world premiere in 1907. Sibelius had now opened the door to something new.

In the years around 1910, a fourth symphony had occurred to him, but he also faced financial challenges and he was involved in other engagements. In spring 1911, after some delays, he was finished and he noted “Jacta alea est” in his diary – the die has been cast. This dramatic music is underscored by a recurring tritone – sometimes known as “the devil’s interval” – which infuses the music with internal anxiety and instability. The fourth and final movement is pure conflict between two notes on the tritone interval.

As usual, Sibelius worked on multiple pieces at once. Luonnotar – the creation myth in the first poem of the national epic, the Kalevala – recurred in different garb: it was intended as an orchestral poem at the time of Symphony No. 3; before then, in the form of Pohjola’s Daughter for orchestra (the title was originally Luonnotar); and even earlier, in an idea for an opera that never came to be. Luonnotar Op. 70 for soprano and orchestra was completed in 1913, after Symphony No. 4. Luonnotar (Nature’s Daughter) is a dizzying, evocative and breath-taking piece – with a rare, short composition time, during what seems to have been a flood of inspiration.

We will hear Finnish soprano Anu Komsi, whose precise and intense interpretation of Luonnotar has been universally acclaimed, and is something of a speciality.

The concert can been seen at Konserthuset Play

***

Grand Finale: Sakari Oramo’s final concerts as chief conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra are an in-depth journey through Jean Sibelius’ creations, including all seven symphonies in chronological order. “In his case specifically, I believe the order matters,” says Sakari Oramo. “He worked on several symphonies simultaneously, and there are always elements in one symphony that can be detected in the symphony preceding it.”

In the summer of 1914, Sibelius wrote in his diary: “Found a wonderful theme!” He had seen 16 swans. “One of my life’s great experiences! My God, what beauty.” At that point, the fifth symphony had been in his mind since 1912. Yet these were uncertain times: World War I was around the corner and he personally faced significant financial troubles. He struggled with the form in Symphony No. 5 and felt hesitant to the very end. Four movements became three, with a hugely eventful and original first movement. After a contrasting, almost naive middle movement comes the triumphant finale, including the famous “swan call”. Along with Symphony No. 2, Symphony No. 5 is perhaps Sibelius’ most beloved.

While working on the fifth symphony, Sibelius had also started planning a new violin concerto, but those thoughts ultimately evolved into a sixth symphony. The violin concerto that eventually came to fruition originated in sketches from 1899. In late 1903, two of the three movements were finished. Sibelius, a violinist, worked on the piece intensively. “He keeps watch all night long,” said his wife Aino Sibelius, “plays incredibly beautifully, unable to break free from these enchanting notes – he has so many ideas, it is truly astonishing. And all of these motifs have much to develop, they are full of life.” After the world premiere in 1904, the piece underwent a major revision and the version that is best known today was published in 1906.

Sibelius’ Violin Concerto is one of the most played of all violin concertos composed in the twentieth century. This concerto gave Georgian-German violinist Lisa Batiashvili’s luminous career an international running start – when, as a sensational musician at only 16 years of age, she was a finalist in the prestigious Sibelius Competition in 1995. It was also the first time that Batiashvili played with an orchestra. Sakari Oramo was the conductor and now they meet again.