
Wagner, Anders Nilsson and Shostakovich played at this weeks concert with the Malmo Symphony Orchestra.
Shimmering prelude to a Romantic opera
The deeply serious opera Lohengrin is a knight’s tale, telling of the young Elsa who is unjustly accused of murdering her brother, the Duke of Brabant. Her innocence is proven by an unknown knight, Lohengrin, who arrives in a boat drawn by a swan. In the final act, he reveals his identity as the keeper of the Holy Grail. Wagner returned to the story of the Grail in his final opera, Parsifal, and, given that Lohengrin premiered 32 years earlier, this can be viewed as a prequel, as the mythological figure Lohengrin is Parsifal’s son. Although the preludes to these two operas share many similarities in tone and melody, the themes – for example, to the grail – are not the same. Lohengrin also includes the famous bridal chorus “Treulich geführt”, which remains popular at weddings around the world.
The soloist as inspiration
Anders Nilsson’s often romantic tonal language has provided many successes over the past two decades, not least his opera Zarah, which played to sold-out houses at Folkoperan in Stockholm in 2007. The MSO’s second world premiere of the season is provided by Nilsson’s Cello Concerto. He often has an intended soloist in mind when composing a concerto, and on this occasion it was Norwegian cellist Amalie Stalheim, who will be playing an instrument dating from 1687. “I have an internal image of the soloist, how they act both gesturally and musically, in front of the orchestra and in relation to it. I allow this internal image to inspire my music.”
Wagner the comedian
The Mastersingers of Nürnberg is Wagner’s only comic opera. A Wagner opera without giants, love potions or murder in which love is requited in the end – without the lovers having to die first. The prelude introduces the most important themes. including the grand theme of the mastersingers themselves. This work also has a distinct whiff of Wagner’s previous opera, Tristan and Isolde.
The prelude premiered in Leipzig in November 1862, although the opera in its entirety was not completed until 1868.
Stalin in a red nose
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 is one of his shortest works and is relatively cheery, comical even. This created problems. It was after all 1945 and the triumphant Red Army had just defeated Nazi Germany. The expectations resting on Shostakovich were such that he was to compose a tribute to Josef Stalin himself, something that the opposition-leaning composer found impossible to do.
Given these expectations, and what we know about the ruthless repression in the Soviet Union at the time, the results are verging on the reckless. The first and final movements adopt a playful tone that, with their skewed melodies and tones, would have been better suited to a Chaplin film. If Stalin is to be found anywhere in this music, it is clad in the red nose and battered top hat of a clown.
Initially censured by Soviet critics for its "ideological weakness” and its failure to "reflect the true spirit of the people of the Soviet Union”, the symphony was subsequently banned in 1948 and was not performed again until 1956, three years after Stalin’s death.
Medverkande
Malmö SymfoniOrkester
Malmö SymfoniOrkester (MSO) grundades 1925 och består av ca 90 heltidsanställda yrkesmusiker från nästan 20 länder. Orkestern är stolt bärare av den traditionella symfoniska repertoaren, men strävar också efter att föra den symfoniska musiken framåt genom samarbeten med nutida tonsättare och utveckling av nya konsertkoncept.
Flera inspelningar med Malmö SymfoniOrkester har under åren blivit internationellt uppmärksammade med första pris i tävlingar som Cannes Classical Awards och Diapason d’Or. I augusti 2013 inledde orkestern tillsammans med chefsdirigent Marc Soustrot det omfattande arbetet att spela in all symfonisk musik av Camille Saint-Saëns, allt som allt åtta CDs, på skivbolaget Naxos.
Läs mer om Malmö SymfoniOrkester genom att klicka här.
Patrik Ringborg dirigent
För tio år sedan erhöll Patrik Ringborg den prestigefyllda posten som Generalmusikdirektor vid Staatstheater Kassel i Tyskland, vars orkester är en av världens äldsta, grundad 1502. Gustav Mahler ledde orkestern från 1883. Ringborg, som inledde sina högre musikstudier vid Kungliga Musikhögskolan i Stockholm 1983, erhöll tidigt assistentskap både vid Semperoper Dresden och Canadian Opera i Toronto. 1993 började Ringborg arbeta på teatern i Freiburg som dirigent och senare som ställföreträdande musikchef. I slutet av 1990-talet blev Ringborg utnämnd till förste kapellmästare vid Aalto-teatern i Essen. Parallellt med arbetet vid Aalto-teatern erbjöds Ringborg posten som konstnärlig ledare för den tyska Kurt Weill-festivalen år 2000. Efter ytterligare internationella samarbeten blev han Generalmusikdirektor i Kassel och en kort tid därefter även president för Staatsorchester Kassels orkesterakademi.
Amalie Stalheim cello
Som vinnare av Kungliga Musikaliska Akademiens "Solistpriset 2018", har Amalie Stalheim fått en fin start i karriären. Åren 2018-2020 innehåller förutom samarbetet med Malmö SymfoniOrkester höjdpunkter som solistsamarbeten med Kungliga Filharmonikerna, Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester, Göteborgs Symfoniker, Bergenfilharmonien och norska Kringkastingsorkesteret. Stalheim är just nu också P2:s artist i Sveriges Radio under två säsonger och hon anses redan vara en av de mest lovande unga cellisterna i Skandinavien. Henne tidigare priser inkluderar bland annat prestigefyllda "Firmenich Prize" vid Verbier Festival 2016.
Last updated 2021-01-21
Shostakovich Symphony No. 9
SCENE: Konsertsalen
DURATION: approax. 1 hours 40 minutes incl. intermission
PROGRAM:
Wagner Lohengrin, Act I: Prelude
Nilsson Cello Concerto [WORLD PREMIERE]
- intermission -
Wagner Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Prelude
Shostakovich Symphony No. 9
ARTISTS:
Malmö Symphony Orchestra
Patrik Ringborg, conductor
Amalie Stalheim, cello
CONCERT INTRODUCTION:
Concert introduction at the Canal stage 6pm with
ORGANIZER: Malmö Live Konserthus