Programtidning, Östersjöfestivalen 2008 (pdf) - Sveriges Radio

and timbre. Sinfonietta per archi (1990-91) is
an orchestral version of a string trio, written
for and premiered by Sinfonia Varsovia in 1992.
Karol Szymanowski is Poland’s most
important composer from the beginning of
the 1900s. His Violin Concerto No. 1 (1916) is
an impressionistic tone poem based on the
poem May Night by Tadeusz Micinski, who
shared Szymanowski’s interest in occultism
and mysticism.
Antonín Dvorák wanted to compose
music that spoke to his own countrymen
and described their life on the basis of their
own folk tales and wealth of folk music.
Symphony No. 8 (1890) is like a kaleidoscope
of impressions, ranging from the idyllic
countryside to more dramatic passages.
Wednesday august 27 7.30pm
romantic and anti-romantic
A new work inspired by ice and sea – the
festival’s commission by Klas Torstensson,
framed by Schumann’s beautifully romantic
and attractively expressive melodies.
Klas Torstensson is one of Sweden’s foremost
composers, resident in Holland since 1973.
His most famous work hitherto is the opera
The Expedition, but he has also written
chamber music, orchestral works, songs and
electroacoustic music. The Polar Ocean is the
Baltic Sea Festival’s commission.
Genoveva is Robert Schumann’s only
completed opera. The plot is based on
a popular medieval legend about Count
Siegfried of Brabant and his young wife
Genoveva, who was accused of having
been unfaithful, but was ultimately forgiven.
In 1850 Schumann and his family moved
to Düsseldorf, where he had secured a post
as Civic Director of Music. During a holiday
trip to Cologne the sight of the beautiful
cathedral in the light of the setting sun made
a strong impression on Schumann, and
became the starting point for his Symphony
No. 3, The Rhenish.
Thursday august 28 7.30pm
Longing for far-off places
and for home
Music that communicates a social
commitment and humanist message,
autobiographical music of love, longing and
pain, and a cello’s warm song about longing
for far-off places and for home.
Peteris Vasks is a free-lance composer
resident in Riga, and is deeply involved in
environmental issues. His music is extremely
communicative, and is often about the
relationship between man and nature.
Peter Tchaikovsky composed his own
life. At the time of his Symphony No. 4 he
had just fled his ultra-short and extremely
unhappy attempt at marriage. The ’content’
of the symphony revolves around Fate, the
inevitable, wine-induced inebriation and
exultant joie de vivre.
Antonín Dvorák thought a lot about
musical roots. In mid-career he changed
course and started basing his music on
traditional strains, folk tales and myths. During
his time in the USA Dvorák composed seven
major works, of which the Cello Concerto
(1894-95) is the final piece.
Friday august 29 7.30pm
Vendetta and reconciliation
Richard Strauss’s most expressionist
opera, about irreconcilability and rancorous
vindictiveness, about power games, intrigues
and evil sudden death.
The Austrian poet Hugo von
Hofmannsthal’s play Electra caught the
interest of Richard Strauss, becoming the
start of a long collaboration between the
two of them, resulting in several successful
operas.
The plot
King Agamemnon has been murdered
by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover
Aigisthos, who now lives with the daughters
Chrysotemis and Electra. Chrysotemis tries to
adapt, and wants the sister to cease her bitter
vindictiveness. The mother Clytemnestra
is plagued by nightmares and pangs of
conscience, and seeks Electra’s forgiveness.
Her brother Orestes was sent away after the
murder. Electra hopes he can return and take
revenge on their father’s murderer. The others
think he’s dead. He eventually returns and
murders Clytemnestra and Aigisthos. Electra
triumphs in ecstasy, and drops down dead.
Friday august 29 9pm
in a folk music landscape – the
heritage from the past
The folk hymns contain the deeply existential
experiences we all share – sorrow, joy,
love, power struggles, disappointment and
hope – and the music passes them on from
generation to generation, in ever new settings.
James MacMillan lives in Scotland, where he
teaches half of the time, whilst simultaneously
composing and conducting. His music is
direct and full of feeling, often based on
Scottish folk music and with a spiritual and
political message, and coloured by his own
Catholic faith.
Lasse Thoresen is Professor of
Composition at the Norwegian Academy
of Music, and one of Norway’s leading
composers. His music is based on Norwegian
folk music mixed with spectral music and
other modernist stylistic aids.
Edvard Grieg’s compositional style is
a mixture of the Central European musical
tradition and Norwegian folk music. Choral
singing was an important part of the
Norwegian independence movement in the
19th century.
Four Psalms (1906) was Grieg’s last work.
saturday august 30 7.30pm
nutcrackers, rogues and sinbad
the sailor
Using magic, fantasy and excitement the
Russian folk tale instils children with positive
values, providing solace and hope for a more
just world. The rich sounds of the music give
the tale life, fragrance and colour.
Peter Tchaikovsky was commissioned by the
Director of the Imperial Theatres to write a
new ballet after Sleeping Beauty and Swan
Lake. The theme was to be taken from E. T.
A. Hoffmann’s tale The Nutcracker and The
Mouse King. The story is the imaginative
tale of Clara, who is given a nutcracker for
Christmas. By way of thanks for helping him
in the battle against the Rat King he takes her
to the Kingdom of Sweets.
Rodion Shchedrin was one of the
Soviet era’s most successful and accepted
composers. Naughty Limericks (1963) is his
first concerto for orchestra and is based on
well-known Russian folk melodies and socalled
chastushkas, Russian folk poetry with
“humour, irony and sharp satire… Even such
powerful and feared names as Marx, Lenin
and Stalin were ridiculed in chastushkas,”
says Shchedrin.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov read the
Thousand and One Nights and immediately
envisaged an orchestral suite in four
movements, like “a kaleidoscope of fairy-tale
images and figures of an oriental nature”.
The background is the sly Sheherazade, who
saves her life by telling such exciting stories
that the Sultan has to let her live in order to
hear what comes next.
BiograPHies
Conductors
Daniel Barenboim has collaborated with the
world’s foremost orchestras and musicians
since the 1950s – both as a pianist and as a
conductor. In the course of time Barenboim
has become increasingly involved in peace
issues and projects that contribute to peace
and understanding between people.
Olari Elts won the 2000 Sibelius Competition,
and has since then been Principal Conductor
of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra,
Artistic Advisor to the Orchestre de Bretagne
and Principal Guest Conductor of the Scottish
Chamber Orchestra and the Estonian National
Symphony Orchestra.
Valery Gergiev is Artistic Director of the
Mariinsky Theatre since 1996, and has done
many highly acclaimed tours with them
throughout the world. Since 2007 Principal
Conductor of the London Symphony
Orchestra, he also guest-conducts some of
the world’s top orchestras, directs festivals
and has received many prizes.
Daniel Harding is Principal Guest Conductor
of the London Symphony Orchestra and
Principal Conductor of the Swedish Radio
Symphony Orchestra and the Mahler
Chamber Orchestra. He is also one of the
most sought-after guest conductors of
symphony orchestras and opera houses
throughout the world.
Grete Pedersen is equally at home in
baroque, classical, contemporary and folk
music, and often collaborates with jazz
musicians and actors. Since 1990 she has
directed the Norwegian Soloists Choir. She
has worked with prominent a cappella choirs,
and also conducts orchestras.
Krzysztof Penderecki has been one of
Poland’s foremost composers since 1959,
when he won all three prizes in a composition
competition. As a conductor he has enjoyed
international esteem since the 1970s, when he
toured throughout the world and conducted
his own works and those of other composers.
Esa-Pekka Salonen holds a unique position
amongst musicians of today, both as a
conductor and as a composer. Principal
Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony
Orchestra 1985–95 and the Los Angeles
Philharmonic since 1992, and as from next
season also London’s Philharmonia Orchestra.
Gustaf Sjökvist is cathedral organist at
Storkyrkan in Stockholm, where he conducts
Storkyrkan’s choir and his own chamber
choir. Principal conductor of the Radio Choir
1986–1994, and since 1994 Principal Guest
Conductor of the Bavarian Radio Choir.
Sjökvist devotes half his time to orchestral
conducting.
30 – östersjöfestivalen 2008 östersjöfestivalen 2008 – 31
soloists
Karolina Blixt mezzo‑soprano, completed
her training at University College of Opera
in Stockholm in 2008, but made her
breakthrough in the leading role in Handel’s
Xerxes at Drottningholm Court Theatre back
in 2007. She has also sung in Verdi’s Nabucco
and in lieder and church concerts.
Petri Bäckström tenor, made his debut at
Finland National Opera in 2001, where he has
since sung many important character roles.
Since 2003 Bäckström has appeared every
summer at the Opera Festival in Savonlinna.
He has sung with a number of Finnish
orchestras and choirs.
Malena Ernman mezzo‑soprano, is a versatile
artist with a wide musical range. During this
spring, she has been singing the title role in
Rossini’s Cinderella at the Royal Swedish
Opera. Internationally active above all in the
field of baroque opera, with conductors such
as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, René Jacobs and
William Christie.
Larisa Gogolevskaja soprano, was awarded
the 2007 Golden Sofit, St Petersburg’s top
theatre prize, for her interpretation of the role
of Electra. With the Mariinsky Theatre she has
toured to Japan, the USA, France, Slovenia,
Italy and Finland.
Vasily Gorshkov tenor, trained at Novosibirsk’s
Glinka Conservatory in 1992. He
was soloist at the opera in Novosibirsk 1989
and 1996–2000, and made his debut at the
Mariinsky Theatre 1991. Gorshkov became
soloist at the Mariinsky Theatre 1995, as a
permanent member since 2002.
Jakub Haufa violin, born 1980 and graduated
2003 in Poznan, has performed in Poland
and abroad in recitals, chamber concerts and
solo concertos with orchestras. Since 2003
he is the first concertmaster of the Sinfonia
Varsovia.
Dan Karlström tenor, has been employed at
the Schiller Theatre in Gelsenkirchen and the
State Theatre Darmstadt, and since 2002 has
been a permanent member of Leipzig Opera’s
ensemble. He has also performed several
times at the Opera Festival in Savonlinna and
at the Finnish National Opera.
Tuomas Katajala tenor, appeared in The
Journey to Reims at the 2007 Rossini Festival.
Katajala has given concerts throughout
Europe, in Japan and the USA, and with
conductors such as Goodman, Franck, Kamu
and Oramo. He has sung in Savonlinna and
at the Finnish National Opera.
Robert Künzli tenor, started as a baritone
but switched to tenor after his second year
at Munich Opera’s opera studio in the 1970s.
He has been a member of Stuttgart Opera’s
ensemble and has sung in the foremost opera
houses in Europe and in Carnegie Hall.
Mischa Maisky cello, has been one of the
world’s most sought-after cellists since his
debut in London in 1976. He has performed in
concert halls in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna,
New York and Tokyo. Maisky plays a cello
made by the 18th-century master Domenico
Montagnana.
Jussi Myllys tenor, started his international
career in 2005 with the Turku Opera and
the Comic Opera Berlin, and with concerts
in Prague, Riga and Japan. In 2006 Myllys
became a permanent member of the Frankfurt
Opera, and he has performed in opera houses
such as Berlin, Dresden and Geneva.
Henrik Måwe piano, gave his diploma
concert in spring 2008 with the Royal
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Other
orchestras Måwe has played with include
Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra and
Västerås Sinfonietta. Måwe has participated
in festivals in France and at the Gotland
Chamber Music Festival.
Elena Nebera soprano, studied at the
St Petersburg Conservatory. She then went
on to Graz Opera School. In 2000 she made
her debut at the Salzburg Festival, and she
currently has a contract with Dortmund
Theatre and has been a guest soloist at the
Mariinsky Theatre since 2006.
Hannu Niemelä bass, has been a member
of the opera houses in Karlsruhe, Mainz and
Dortmund, and made guest performances in
Savonlinna, the USA, Japan, Israel etc.
Berit Opheim soprano, has sung folk music,
jazz, opera and lieder recitals, and has
performed as a soloist with the Oslo Chamber
Choir (tour to the USA), Oslo Chamber
Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra etc.
Esa Ruuttunen baritone, graduated in
theology, then continued his singing studies
whilst simultaneously working as a priest. In
1985 he made his debut at Finnish National
Opera. He has also performed at Covent
Garden, German Opera Berlin etc.
Gabriel Suovanen baritone, is one of the
leading baritones at the Royal Swedish Opera.
He has also sung at the Finnish National
Opera, the Opera Festival in Savonlinna, Liceu
Opera in Barcelona, La Monnaie in Brussels,
Oslo Opera and the Comic Opera Berlin.
Agata Szymczewska violin, born 1985 and
graduated 2004 in Poznan, has won gold
medal at the XIII Henryk Wieniawski Contest
2006 and performed with Sinfonia Varsovia,
Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Seiji Osawa etc.
Eduard Tsanga bass, started his studies at
the Glinka Conservatory in Novgorod in 1998,
and since 2000 he is a soloist at the Mariinsky
Theatre’s Academy for Young Singers.
Elena Vitman mezzo‑soprano, studied
at the St Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov
Conservatory, and made her debut at the
Mariinsky Theatre in 1996.
ensembles
The Baltic Sea Festival Choir consists of
young, semiprofessional singers from all the
Baltic countries and it endeavours to inspire
interest in professional choral singing in the
next generation of singers.
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
was formed in 1927. In 2003 Sakari Oramo
became its Principal Conductor. The orchestra
has appeared at the BBC Proms, the music
festivals in Bergen, Edinburgh, Schleswig-
Holstein, Vienna, Spain etc.
Helsinki Philharmonic Choir is a symphonic
choir formed in 2007 that seeks high-class
collaboration with various orchestras and
musical institutions, as well as giving its
own concerts. The Artistic Director is Hannu
Norjanen.
The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra
is based in Riga, formed in 1926 and gives
around 60 concerts a year, as well as making
recordings. Performance of new Latvian
music is an important assignment for the
orchestra, which is conducted by the young
Gints Glinka.
The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra is one
of Russia’s oldest musical institutions,
having been founded in the 18th century.
It was conducted by Tchaikovsky in the first
performance of his Fifth Symphony. Under
Valery Gergiev’s direction the ensemble has
toured abroad and gained great recognition.
Since the 1950s The Swedish Radio Choir
has been one of the world’s foremost a
cappella choirs, with a repertoire ranging from
Bach to new music. The choir was formed
in 1925 and achieved world renown under
Eric Ericson. The choir is now directed by
the young Dutchman Peter Dijkstra.
In 1984 the Polish Chamber Orchestra
became Sinfonia Varsovia, and Yehudi
Menuhin was its first guest conductor. The
orchestra has made concert tours in the
USA, Canada and large parts of Europe.
The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
was formed in 1965, and under Sergiu
Celibidache’s direction it developed into an
orchestra of international standing, resulting
in successful foreign tours. Since 2007 Daniel
Harding is Principal Conductor.
The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra was
founded in 1999 by Daniel Barenboim
together with the writer Edward W Said, as
a workshop for young musicians from Israel,
Palestine and other countries in the Middle
East, with the aim of encouraging dialogue
between the different cultures.