Programme

Växjö-based Musica Vitae joins us accompanied by the British violinist and conductor Hugo Ticciati, who is active in Sweden. He founded the O/Modernt festival in 2011, known for its innovative and cross-genre programming, which also characterizes his concert with Musica Vitae.

The first part of the concert presents music infused with religious reverie. We hear the mysticism of Hildegard of Bingen in Vos flores rosarum and wordless violin song in Arvo Pärt's Fratres. Additionally, two meditations on the theme of the suffering mother: John Tavener's Mother of God, Here I Stand from The Veil of the Temple, and Lera Auerbach's Sogno di Stabat Mater (Dream of Stabat Mater). 

After the interval, the mood shifts from spiritual contemplation to exalted rapture. In the enigmatically dancing Aksak and Ciphers, Swedish composer Albert Schnelzer has encoded both Brahms and family members in the score. This is followed by a musical dialogue between Philip Glass’s Baroque-inspired Symphony No. 3 and arrangements of songs from the grunge rock band Nirvana’s iconic album Nevermind, and even a shivering spirit by the Baroque master Henry Purcell makes an appearance.

Through Konserthuset’s popular organ matinée subscription, audiences get to hear Sweden’s leading organists play the building’s organ – one of the largest in Europe, with 6,100 pipes. 

Latvian Ligita Sneibe is trained as an organist and composer at the Music Academy in Riga, and also holds an organ diploma from the School of Music in Piteå. She has performed around the world but is now most active in Sweden and Latvia, where she often plays on the famous Walcker organ in Riga Cathedral.

Ligita Sneibe begins with music from 2023 by her compatriot Indra Riše: excerpts from Natura siderum, or The Nature of Stars. It's about music inspired by human psychological traits according to the zodiac signs. Three of the twelve parts are composed for organ solo: Libra, Capricorn, and Leo.

We also hear Bach's magnificent and virtuosic Toccata and Fugue in F major and finally music by Naji Hakim, Chant de Joie – Song of Joy. Hakim was born in Beirut but is active in Paris, where he succeeded Olivier Messiaen as organist at Trinité Church some 30 years ago.

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The bar is open before and after the concert.

You are welcome to eat or drink something before or after the organ concert. The bar in the Main Foyer is open at 11.45–12.15 and 13.15–14.15, offering a variety of delicious food and drinks in our beautiful surroundings.

For children 3–5 years old.

Get close to the musicians in the Grünewald Hall – and discover the orchestra's woodwind 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 woodwind 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 orchestra's woodwind instruments.

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 orchestra's woodwind instruments.

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 orchestra's woodwind instruments.

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.

Konserthuset Stockholm at Hötorget is one of Sweden’s great architectural masterpieces. Created during a period of expansion in Stockholm, by the Swedish architect Ivar Tengbom, it opened in 1926. Konserthuset Stockholm was built for the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and has since the start been the dedicated venue for the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony as well as many other prestigious events.

• The guided tour is held in Swedish.
• Maximum 25 persons/tour.

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Subtitles
Subtitles in English and Swedish is activated by using the CC control in the video player.

The award-winning Norwegian-Swedish cellist Amalie Stalheim has an international career at the highest level. She has been a soloist with a range of top orchestras and has played chamber music with stars such as Janine Jansen, Yo-Yo Ma, and Leif Ove Andsnes.

Together with the visiting Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, she is the soloist in Prokofiev's magnificent Sinfonia concertante for cello and orchestra. In an almost magical way, the cello's lyrical qualities are exploited, and the music is also charged with power and drama. The orchestra is led by the young French conductor Maxime Pascal, who has conducted a great deal of opera throughout Europe, including at La Scala in Milan.

Like Prokofiev, we consider Stravinsky to be one of the giants of the 20th century. Symphony in C was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and completed shortly after his escape to the USA in 1940. It was a difficult time. In addition to being in exile, Stravinsky had recently lost his first wife, and he himself had been treated for tuberculosis. However, the music sounds like an antidote: classically pure, playful, and rhythmically swinging.

Equally captivating rhythmically is the French composer Camille Pépin's evocative Laniakea, which opens the concert. Laniakea means "immense heaven" in Hawaiian and is the name of a gigantic star cluster that includes the Milky Way and our solar system. Pépin (born in 1990) has received considerable attention in recent years from a range of top European orchestras.

The American composer Amy Beach (1867–1944) was a trailblazer and the first woman in the United States to compose a symphony. Her Piano Quintet in F-sharp minor, written in 1907, is an emotionally charged and dramatic work with influences from Brahms.

We also hear Amfortas’ Dream for winds and piano, composed by Johan Ullén, who himself takes part as pianist. The music is inspired by the character Amfortas from Wagner’s Parsifal – an opera with deeply religious and philosophical themes.

Francis Poulenc was a member of the French group Les Six, and his Sextet for winds and piano is a true burst of joy. Here, elegance, humour, and captivating melodies come together. It showcases Poulenc’s typically neoclassical style, infused with unmistakable French charm.

Since 2016, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra has hosted an ”Orchestra Academy”. The international RSPO Orchestra Academy is a one-year, advanced academic programme for young musicians. Under the guidance of the section leaders from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the Piteå School of Music, the musicians receive intensive training individually, in chamber music, and orchestral playing. They also showcase their talents through a series of public chamber music concerts – such as this one featuring this year’s academy musicians.