Tomáš Netopil João Miguel Silva Leoš Janáček Bohuslav Martinů Antonín Dvořák

Brahms Dvořák

Brahms Dvořák

Dvořák 9

One symphony isn't a symphony, while the other is among the most famous. Stravinsky's "Wind Symphony" may surprise. Dvořák's "New World" Symphony captivates with its Bohemian romanticism, influenced by New York. Its popular adagio features a catchy English horn solo. Stravinsky's work is rhythmically sharp and melodically cutting. Thierry Escaich's cello concerto is like a Bach-inspired aria. Concert duration: about 120 minutes including intermission.

Dvořák 9

One symphony isn't a symphony, while the other is among the most famous. Stravinsky's "Wind Symphony" may surprise. Dvořák's "New World" Symphony captivates with its Bohemian romanticism, influenced by New York. Its popular adagio features a catchy English horn solo. Stravinsky's work is rhythmically sharp and melodically cutting. Thierry Escaich's cello concerto is like a Bach-inspired aria. Concert duration: about 120 minutes including intermission.

Smetana and Dvorák

The oceans, lakes, streams, and rivers have always been important sources of inspiration for artists, poets, and composers. In the famous Moldau by Smetana, celebrating its 200th anniversary, we hear how the babbling smaller streams wind their way through the landscape before flowing together into the mighty river. The melody comes from an old folk song that we recognize as Ack Värmeland, du sköna. Perhaps Smetana heard the melody when he was working as a conductor in Gothenburg in the 1850s?Like Smetana, Antonín Dvorák was from Czechia. In both their music, Czech culture and nature are important ingredients. Dvorák had great international success during his lifetime, being appointed, for example, as a composition professor in New York. His Symphony No. 9, From the New World, is the most famous, but many consider the seventh symphony to be one of his very best works.The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is led by German conductor Ruth Reinhardt – currently involved in the Royal Swedish Opera's production of Verdi's La traviata in spring 2024. She made her debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at a summer concert in 2018.

Haydn and Dvorák

Due to illness, cellist Amalie Stalheim has been forced to cancel. This also results in a programme change for tonight's concert. Instead of Grażyna Bacewicz’s First Cello Concerto, we will hear the German cellist Julian Steckel perform Haydn’s First Cello Concerto.The seas, lakes, streams, and rivers have always been important sources of inspiration for artists, poets, and composers. In Smetana's famous Moldau, celebrating its 200th anniversary, we hear how the bubbling smaller streams meander through the landscape before merging into the mighty river. The melody comes from an old folk song that we recognize as Ack Värmeland, du sköna. Perhaps Smetana heard the melody when he was working as a conductor in Gothenburg in the 1850s?Like Smetana, Antonín Dvorák was from Czechia. In both their music, Czech culture and nature are important ingredients. Dvorák had great international success during his lifetime and was appointed, for example, as a composition professor in New York. His Symphony No. 9, "From the New World", is the most famous, but many consider his seventh symphony to be one of his very best works.Julian Steckel steps in at the last minute as the soloist in a true classic: Joseph Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major – a masterpiece that disappeared and was rediscovered almost 200 years later, in the mid-20th century (incidentally, in Prague, which adds a Czech connection to the programme). The renowned German cellist Julian Steckel is admired for his emotional depth and communication with audiences. His career took off after winning the ARD Music Competition in 2010, and since then, he has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras.The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is led by German conductor Ruth Reinhardt – currently involved in the Royal Swedish Opera's production of Verdi's La traviata in spring 2024. She made her debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at a summer concert in 2018.

Mozart and Dvorák

In Mozart's fifth and final violin concerto, there is a new richness in the musical language compared to the previous ones. Here, the music is majestic and powerful. The soloist is Alva Holm, who in 2022 won Sweden's premier music competition: Solistpriset, the Soloist Prize. The citation stated: "With musical conviction, technical brilliance, and total presence, Alva Holm captivates the audience from the first note."The concert opens with a newly composed work by Tebogo Monnakgotla, one of Sweden's most acclaimed composers in her generation. In connection with the world premiere of her violin concerto in 2023, with Johan Dalene and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Dagens Nyheter's Camilla Lundberg wrote that "her colorful and elegant orchestral sounds captivate the listener" and gave the concert the highest rating.To conclude Norrköping Symphony Orchestra's guest appearance under the baton of Ola Rudner, we hear Dvorák's life-affirming Eighth Symphony. It is nature-inspired music full of joy and exuberant energy. Swedish Ola Rudner began his career as a violinist and has been internationally active as both a violinist and conductor, notably in Austria.

Giovanni Antonini & Maria João Pires

Schubert was just sixteen years old when he began working on the first of his eight symphonies in 1813, the last of which he completed in 1825. At the age of nineteen, he began writing his Fourth, the “Tragic,” which moves from C minor to C major, i.e. from darkness to light – “per aspera ad astra.” The Fifth Symphony is even more optimistic, striving from the first bar towards a “brighter, better life” and a cheerful buoyancy that dissolves all melancholy. Incidentally, this is the closest Schubert ever got in his compositional output to the Mozartean ideal of beauty – as exemplified in the “Jenamy” Piano Concerto, “Mozart’s Eroica” (Alfred Einstein): original, virtuosic, and daring. Another highlight of this concert is the collaboration of Maria João Pires and Giovanni Antonini, two artists with whom the BRSO has a close relationship.

Giovanni Antonini & Maria João Pires

Schubert was just sixteen years old when he began working on the first of his eight symphonies in 1813, the last of which he completed in 1825. At the age of nineteen, he began writing his Fourth, the “Tragic,” which moves from C minor to C major, i.e. from darkness to light – “per aspera ad astra.” The Fifth Symphony is even more optimistic, striving from the first bar towards a “brighter, better life” and a cheerful buoyancy that dissolves all melancholy. Incidentally, this is the closest Schubert ever got in his compositional output to the Mozartean ideal of beauty – as exemplified in the “Jenamy” Piano Concerto, “Mozart’s Eroica” (Alfred Einstein): original, virtuosic, and daring. Another highlight of this concert is the collaboration of Maria João Pires and Giovanni Antonini, two artists with whom the BRSO has a close relationship.

Concertgebouw Orchestra & Maria João Pires: Mozart

When Maria João Pires takes her place at the piano and leads you into Mozart’s sound world, you simply lose track of time. You can’t get any closer to the composer than this! The ‘Jeunehomme’ concerto is named after the amateur pianist Victoire Jenamy – a discovery not made until 2004 – rather than referring to Mozart’s own youth at the time of its composition.Honorary guest conductor Iván Fischer also leads the Concertgebouw Orchestra in two works brimming with optimism, joie de vivre and a love of nature. Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony is a work of mature mastery. The composer had achieved international fame and was at the height of his powers when he wrote it. And as his operatic ambitions grew, so did the dramatic quality of his symphonies, as the richly varied Eighth demonstrates. Marsyas by Alphons Diepenbrock, the Dutch classicist turned composer, is a fine rarity. Diepenbrock stayed true to classically Greek themes, as in his incidental music about a faun who challenges the gods to a musical duel. Performed here is the Entr’acte, nicknamed ‘Zwerftochten door het woud’ (Wandering Through the Forest).