Göteborgs Konserthus A tribute to Hillborg

Anders Hillborg’s significance to Swedish classical music cannot be overstated. We now celebrate his imaginative world in a tribute concert. Conductor Pekka Kuusisto and soprano Ida Falk Winland create sounds that have the entire auditorium vibrating. 

The beauty is in the details – which is particularly true when it comes to Anders Hillborg. From making music through mathematical systems, over the course of his 40-year career in music, has work has become increasingly intuitive and unpredictable. With compositions such as Liquid Marble, Peacock Tales, Sirens and the remarkable Sound Atlas – the world premiere of which was given by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in 2022 – he is well-established among the international elite of the music scene. His 70 years anniversary is in 2024 and we are celebrating. 

Anders Hillborg composed the song The Strand Settings as a commission for American opera star René Fleming – an indication of his magnitude. The work is based on four poems about longing and lamentation. “Hillborg’s melodic imagery appeals to the depths of the imagination,” wrote newspaper SvD. This time, Gothenburg’s favourite soprano, Ida Falk Winland, evokes these images within us. We also get to hear her in the song Kväll (Evening), written for Eva Dahlgren.

Hillborg’s greatness lies in constantly inventing timbres and sounds and letting them grow out of the symphonic mass. Collective movements always triumph over individual performance. In the work King Tide from 1999, which was commissioned by the Gothenburg Symphony, the orchestra creates a rising wave that grows higher and higher.

We also hear Through Lost Landscapes, which is built up by three saxophones and innovative bell sounds and percussion. Maybe we are on a remote island, in tropical forest where the bird-of-paradise is calling. It was premiered in 2020 and has not previously been performed in Gothenburg.

Step into a multidimensional world that creates unforgettable impressions.

Listen

Get to know the classical pieces:

Introduction to the concert

Take a seat in the Great Hall one hour before the concert begins and learn more about the music you will soon experience! You will get the stories behind the music, knowledge of the composers and own reflections about the classical pieces. The introduction last for about 30 minutes, it is free and free seating in the hall. Welcome!