Korngold's Violin Concerto

Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir won the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2012 and often draws her sound elements from electronic music and the natural sounds of Nordic folk music. As the title Aeriality suggests, this piece portrays a sense of gliding forward through the air, entirely liberated from the ground below.

Austrian Erich Wolfgang Korngold was endangered by the escalating political climate and emigrated in 1934 to the US, where he quickly became one of Hollywood’s most coveted film composers. His beautiful violin concerto is based on themes from some of his films. Dedicated to Gustav Mahler’s widow Alma, it was premiered by Jascha Heifetz and was a huge success. German violin soloist Caroline Widmann most recently guest-performed with us during the Composer Festival in 2014, when she performed the solo in Anders Hillborg’s Violin Concerto.

We will also hear César Franck’s most significant work, his Symphony in D Minor. Music that unites majestic German sounds with French esprit. Franck was born in Liège, Belgium, but moved to Paris where he was active as a teacher and organist. It was also his students who encouraged him to compose the Symphony in D Minor, which he dedicated to the student Henri Duparc, who became an incredibly prolific composer himself.

In recent years, Daniel Blendulf has established himself as one of Sweden’s most high-profile conductors. He has a permanent position as Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor for Dalasinfoniettan. He is also on the path to conquering several major international stages and recently had his debut in Japan with the Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and his US debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He also regularly appears with Swedish orchestras such as the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has guest-performed with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra several times, most recently in a programme featuring, among other work, Eliasson’s violin concerto Einsame Fahrt, with Janine Jansen as soloist.