Programme

Award-winning lieder with Duo Lorenzen-Ekberg.

The legendary concert singer and educator Dorothy Irving (1927–2018) left a powerful impression on the Swedish music scene. Her artistry was bold and meticulous, with a deep dedication to the expressive power of lyrics and music.

Before they passed away, she and her husband Lars Fjellstedt founded a scholarship administered by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music to “promote and preserve the art of the lied.” The scholarship is now being presented for the second time and goes to Duo Lorenzen-Ekberg, comprising soprano Kathrin Lorenzen and pianist Oskar Ekberg: “for their breathtaking lightness and cooperative, playful and in-depth presentation of historic and human dimensions in a modern, international vocal repertoire, and for revealing the existential depth of Scandinavian lieder.”

Kathrin Lorenzen, born in Flensburg in 1994, has become established as a popular soloist and concert vocalist in Germany and Scandinavia. In January 2024, she won the Royal Swedish Academy of Music’s Soloist Prize. In May 2024, Kathrin won second place and the audience prize in the international Mirjam Helin Competition in Helsinki, in competition with 485 singers from 57 countries.

Oskar Ekberg, born in 1977, has been an in-demand soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician nationally and internationally since his debut with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2004. He has garnered significant appreciation for his dedication and recordings of Swedish music, including all of Johan Helmich Roman’s harpsichord suites, earning him a nomination for a Grammis Award in the category of Best Classical Album.

Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto is a classic among classics, constantly featured on concert programmes worldwide, and probably available in hundreds of recordings. Grieg was 25 when he composed the music, and the fact that it was his first work with an orchestra is astonishing. Taking on his compatriot's superhit is none other than Leif Ove Andsnes, one of the world's leading pianists.

The concert opens with the exciting premiere of Rocking Bodies by Chrichan Larson. Rocking Bodies plays with the idea of resonant bodies moving in waves around a centre – sometimes repelled, sometimes drawn in. Larson is active as a composer and cellist, a prominent musician who has often been seen in the cello section of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

Concluding the concert, Chief Conductor Ryan Bancroft leads the orchestra in Wilhelm Stenhammar's exquisite Serenade. Stenhammar got the idea for the music during a stay in Florence in 1907. In one of his letters, he wrote: ”I want to compose as beautifully and tenderly about the South as only a Nordic person can.” He succeeded, for the Serenade is a masterpiece.

Read more about chief conductor Ryan Bancroft

For children 3–5 years old.

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

***

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

Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto is a classic among classics, constantly featured on concert programmes worldwide, and probably available in hundreds of recordings. Grieg was 25 when he composed the music, and the fact that it was his first work with an orchestra is astonishing. Taking on his compatriot's superhit is none other than Leif Ove Andsnes, one of the world's leading pianists.

The concert opens with the exciting premiere of Rocking Bodies by Chrichan Larson. Rocking Bodies plays with the idea of resonant bodies moving in waves around a centre – sometimes repelled, sometimes drawn in. Larson is active as a composer and cellist, a prominent musician who has often been seen in the cello section of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

Concluding the concert, Chief Conductor Ryan Bancroft leads the orchestra in Wilhelm Stenhammar's exquisite Serenade. Stenhammar got the idea for the music during a stay in Florence in 1907. In one of his letters, he wrote: ”I want to compose as beautifully and tenderly about the South as only a Nordic person can.” He succeeded, for the Serenade is a masterpiece.

Read more about chief conductor Ryan Bancroft

The 24 preludes completed by Chopin during the notorious winter he spent on Mallorca with his lover George Sand, are some of the most demanding pieces a pianist can tackle. The range is enormous, from small and short simple pieces to brutal outbursts and virtuosic explosions. The famous Raindrop Prelude No. 15 is said to be inspired by the perpetual raining on the island.

Norwegian Leif Ove Andsnes, one of the world's most acclaimed pianists, begins his recital with his compatriot Edvard Grieg's piano sonata, written three years before the famous piano concerto. And there are similarities: romantically flowing melodies and glimpses of Norwegian folk music. Grieg has also, like Bach and Shostakovich, embedded himself in the music: the first three notes are e, h, g – the initials of his name Edvard Hagerup Grieg.

Between Grieg and Chopin, Andsnes performs music by another compatriot, Geirr Tveitt (1908–81). He was a concert pianist himself, and his both powerful and sometimes meditative music is often inspired by folk music from Hardanger Valley.