In the entertaining Epiphany Concert, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is led by the British conductor John Wilson. He is an authority on film music and has reconstructed and arranged many classic soundtracks for concert settings. Since 1994, Wilson leads his own hand-picked orchestra, specializing in film and musicals, and performs annually at The Proms summer festival.

The Twelfth Night Concert 2023 was a resounding success when British conductor John Wilson led the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in a program blending seductive film music with the best from the world of musicals. Therefore, it is with great pleasure that we welcome him back in a programme featuring irresistible musical hits by the very best in the genre – Bernstein, Sondheim, Gershwin, and Rodgers & Hammerstein, among others.

On vocals: the British actor and musical star Julian Ovenden. He has appeared in television series in both England and the USA and participated in numerous famous musical productions on Broadway in New York and in the West End in London. He has also performed on several occasions at Proms concerts alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

The concert will be recorded by SVT and broadcast later the same day, Sunday 5 January 2025, with a repeat on Saturday 11 January 2025.

***

As traditional as the concert itself is the dance afterwards in the Grünewald Hall. This time with Laszlo Royale – the band, led by singer Malena Laszlo, that has provided entertainment at countless Nobel banquets!

***

Menu

Puff pastry roll with mushrooms and shaved pecorino
Bouchée with crayfish Skagen, vendace roe, and dill
Cold poached salmon with dill mayonnaise
French potato salad with capers, spring onion, and a creamy dressing
Romaine lettuce with pickled cucumber, feta cheese, spring onion, and dill
Two types of cheese – Taleggio and Cheddar, served with marmalade
Bread, crispbread & whipped butter

Served with a glass of wine, beer, or a non-alcoholic alternative.

The Polstjärnepriset Symphony Orchestra is one of the leading symphony orchestras for young musicians in the Nordic region. It comprises some of the most talented young musicians of today. The soloist who wins the Polstjärnepriset competition will represent Sweden in Eurovision Young Musicians – Europe’s largest competition for young classical musicians, watched by millions of TV viewers across the continent.

In recent years, the orchestra has enjoyed a series of successes – including a performance at the 2023 Baltic Sea Festival in Berwaldhallen, conducted by none other than Esa-Pekka Salonen. 

The Polstjärnepriset is both a soloist competition and a course for young musicians aged 14–18, alternating each year between a Nordic and a Swedish edition. All twenty competitors and sixty course participants in the most recent Nordic edition make up the symphony orchestra. After the competition’s grand final at the Gothenburg Concert Hall, it is now time to present themselves in Stockholm.

In addition to solo performances by the winner of the 2025 competition and other finalists, the programme includes Antonín Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World, and music for string orchestra by Béla Bartók and Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. The Polstjärnepriset Symphony Orchestra is led by Swedish conductor Andreas van Tol.

Clara Schumann's piano concerto is stunningly beautiful and a sparkling fireworks display. She was one of the most admired and influential pianists of the 19th century, performing in the same league as Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt. In the concerto, we also hear the inspiration from Chopin, whom she preferred over Liszt. Clara Schumann was only 16 years old when she premiered the virtuosic concerto herself in Leipzig in 1835.

The soloist in Clara Schumann's piano concerto is the Romanian-British pianist Alexandra Dariescu, known for her expressive playing as well as her advocacy for female composers. Around the same time Clara performed her piano concerto, she met her future husband Robert, one of the great figures of Romantic music. His impassioned overture to the incidental music for Manfred is based on Lord Byron's dramatic poem.

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was a friend of Clara and Robert Schumann – also a great Romantic with a particular sense for melodic beauty. This is evident in his Fifth Symphony, which is also a tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach. Swedish conductor Magnus Fryklund makes his debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with this concert. Educated in Denmark, he has made a name for himself particularly as a skilled opera conductor, including in France.