Nordic Light

Halvkroppsbild på en medelålders man som sitter bakom sin cello. Han ler.

Event has already taken place. Irresistible classics of the Nordic repertoire, with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and conductor Osmo Vänskä. The crowning jewel is a lyrical Cello Concerto by Saint-Saëns with soloist Truls Mørk.

Concert length: 2 h 10 min incl. intermission Stage: Stora salen

400-560 SEKStudent 200-280 SEK Young up to 29 200-280 SEK

Listen Introduction Programme & Participants

Event has already taken place

Irresistible classics from the Nordic repertoire with the Gothenburg Symphony. As crowning achievement, a lyrical cello concerto by Saint-Saëns with soloist Truls Mørk. Conductor Osmo Vänskä is replacing previously announced Neeme Järvi.

We are treated to a sky sprinkled with brightly shining Nordic stars. With a lot in common. There will be irresistible classics from Stenhammar and Sibelius and Norwegian Truls Mørk is the soloist in Saint-Saëns’ lyrical cello concerto.

The composer Wilhelm Stenhammar was chief conductor in the early years of the last century and is still one of the cornerstones of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra today. The symphonic overture Excelsior! was written by a young, aspiring and passionate Stenhammar. As chief conductor, he would later link his friend Jean Sibelius to the orchestra. His Symphony No. 6 from 1923, which we hear tonight, is dedicated to Stenhammar.

As a Frenchman, Camille Saint-Saëns may fall outside the Nordic framework. Just like Stenhammar he probably could have just as easily made a career as a concert pianist. However, the universal genius Saint-Saëns also had an ear for cello music. His Cello Concerto No. 1 is said to be number 1 of its kind for quite a few conductors. Tonight’s soloist Truls Mørk has the heart and hand to do French Romanticism justice.

Conducting is Finnish conductor veteran Osmo Vänskä, previously esteemed music director of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, USA.

Unfortunately, following a temporary injury, Honorary Conductor Neeme Järvi has had to withdraw from his concerts with the Gothenburg Symphony in Gothenburg and Lugano. He expects to resume conducting again at the end of the year. Neeme Järvi very much looks forward to conducting the Gothenburg Symphony again as soon as possible.

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!

Programme

Intermission25 min

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) Symphony No. 6 Op 104 Allegro molto moderato Allegretto moderato Poco vivace Allegro molto As early as 1915, Sibelius had begun work on what would become the Sixth and Seventh Symphonies, but it was not an easy journey. In February 1920, work on the Sixth Symphony seems to have come to a halt. He writes in his diary: "I am getting older and youth brings new ideals and interests people in them. Shall the evening of my life find me listless and resigned, quietly awaiting death?" His question seems frighteningly prophetic. After the Seventh Symphony and Tapiola (1926), a 30-year musical silence awaited the Finn in Ainola. It was fundamentally about being true to himself, and Sibelius found that his voice was no longer relevant. But in the 1920s, a lively glow still remained. The Fifth Symphony was a success in the United States (with Stokowski in Philadelphia and Stransky in New York). Sibelius also received a well-paid offer to become a teacher at the prestigious Eastman-Rochester School, but after many turns he turned it down: "To leave composing now would be suicide." In the autumn of 1922, work on the Sixth Symphony gained new momentum and by January 1923 most of it was finished. The premiere took place in Helsinki on 19 February 1923. Just a week later, the symphony received its Swedish premiere in Stockholm, and on 10 April Sibelius took the symphony to Gothenburg. Julius Rabe wrote in Göteborgs Handels och Sjöfartstidning: "Yesterday's Sibelius concert was without a doubt the greatest day of this now-passing musical year. It had both a powerful inner significance and an outer festivity. And there was in the audience a willingness to receive and let themselves be carried away, which gives a concert such an invaluable addition of atmosphere and resonance, which welds together the thousand-strong crowd of the public into a humbly listening congregation, where the individuals disappear and merge into a collective personality."

Wednesday, 15 October 2025: The event ends at approx. 21.10

Participants

Listen

Get to know the classical pieces.

Here you will find all the necessary information that you need to know about before your magical visit in the Concert Hall.

Concert experience

Invite yourself or someone you like to an experience for all the senses. Welcome to visit the Concert Hall's restaurant or one of our foyer bars.

Food & drinks

Many of the works of art in Gothenburg Concert Hall are connected to music or have a relationship with Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Here you will find everything from portraits of composers such as Grieg and Sibelius to one of Sweden's largest tapestries, with design by Sven X-et Erixson.

Art in the Concert Hall